Jiquanda Johnson facts for kids

Jiquanda Johnson, born in 1976, is an American journalist. She started a news website called Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan in 2017. Her reporting helped people understand the Flint water crisis. Her work and Flint Beat have become very important. National news groups and local people use her stories. They learn about the long-term effects of the water crisis in Flint.

Jiquanda Johnson's Career

Jiquanda Johnson grew up in Michigan. She reported on many important topics. This included the Flint water crisis. She worked for newspapers like The Detroit News and The Flint Journal. She also reported for NBC News. Today, Johnson is the CEO of Brown Impact Media Group. This is an independent media company she started in 2014. She also helps lead East Lansing Info. This is a local newsroom that covers East Lansing, Michigan.

Starting Flint Beat

Johnson began her journalism career in 2002. She first worked at The Detroit News. Later, she moved to The Flint Journal. After that, she started Flint Beat. In 2019, she talked about Flint Beat on a TV show called "The Follow Up" on PBS. She explained that she started the website because there were "news gaps" in Flint. This meant people in Flint did not have enough local news.

Johnson wanted to give a voice to the community. She said, "They're not voiceless. They just don't have a platform. Flint Beat is that platform." This shows that community was key to creating Flint Beat.

Reporting on her own community was sometimes hard for Johnson. She grew up in Flint. She has shared how her own daughter was affected by lead in Flint's water. She also faced challenges getting enough money for Flint Beat at first. But in 2020 and 2021, the newsroom raised a lot of money. They also got help from programs like Report for America.

In 2021, Flint Beat won a big award. The Michigan Press Association named it "News Media Publication of the Year."

The News Movement Program

After creating Flint Beat, Johnson started an education program. It is called News Movement. This program teaches students about journalism. It helps them learn how to report news stories. News Movement is an after-school and summer camp program. It is for young people in North Flint. The Ruth Mott Foundation helps fund the program. It is located at the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village.

Facebook and News Reporting

In 2018, Jiquanda Johnson gained national attention. This happened when some of her posts were removed by Facebook. She had shared images related to her father's truck being damaged. Her posts were taken down, and she was temporarily blocked from Facebook.

Later, Facebook changed its decision and apologized. This happened after many people spoke out online. Johnson believes her being a journalist helped. She said people in her professional network contacted Facebook about the issue.