Robert S. Johnson is an American communications consultant. He previously was the principal news anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago.
Early life and education
Johnson went to grade school in St. Louis, Missouri. Johnson and his family moved to Brussels, Belgium when he was in 8th grade, and Johnson graduated from the International School of Brussels in 1986. Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in Communications from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana in 1990. He is a graduate brother of DePauw's Lambda chapter of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
Professional career
He joined WBBM-TV in Chicago in August 2006 from WLS-TV where he had worked since 1998 as weekend anchor and reporter. He co-anchored the 5, 6, and 10pm news until March 2019. Johnson has covered numerous major news events in recent years - from Chicago to New Orleans, to Honduras. He anchored and reported from New Hampshire, Texas and Pennsylvania during the 2008 Presidential primaries. In 2007, Johnson traveled to Germany to cover then-Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn's visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to meet with wounded soldiers during the holiday season. Earlier that year, Johnson reported extensively on the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl run in Miami, including live reports from South Florida during Super Bowl week. In both 2010, 2013, and 2015 Johnson, an avid hockey fan, covered the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victories. In 2005, Johnson reported from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The year prior Johnson covered John Kerry's defeat in the 2004 Presidential election from Boston. During his career, Johnson has been at the scene of other breaking stories from Hurricane Andrew to the Centennial Park Bombing during the Atlanta Olympics, to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in Houston. Johnson has also covered Papal visits to Denver and St. Louis, and has reported from the countries of Haiti, Mexico, Honduras, and Germany. Before moving to Chicago, Johnson worked at KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas as an anchor and reporter. Prior to that, Johnson worked as an anchor and reporter at stations KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, KLFY-TV in Lafayette, Louisiana, and KALB-TV in Alexandria, Louisiana. Johnson also interned at CNN in Washington, D.C., KARK-TV, and KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was bitten by the broadcasting bug at DePauw University's campus radio stationWGRE-FM. In October 1998, Johnson joined WLS-TV in Chicago as a weekend news anchor and general assignment reporter. In August 2006, he subsequently moved to WBBM-TV as a 5 pm news anchor and as a general assignment reporter on the 10 pm newscast. In June 2007, the station promoted Johnson to be its 10 pm news anchor. He ultimately teamed with Irika Sargent on the weeknight editions of the 5, 6 & 10 pm news. On March 13, 2019, CBS Chicago announced that his contract with the station would not be renewed. In his current career as a communications consultant, Johnson has joined TechCXO, a firm specializing in temporary placement of senior corporate executives; as a Chicago-based partner, he will focus on marketing and communications. In addition, he has also launched Rob Johnson Communications, offering media training, executive coaching, public relations, image building, crisis management and related services.
Johnson serves on the National Board of Directors for the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a concussion awareness and prevention group, serves on the Board of Hockey On Your Block, which provides inner city kids with an opportunity to learn and play hockey, and the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Illinois. He also dedicates much of his personal time to organizations that support people with disabilities. In 2015 Johnson published a Children's Fiction book about a young hockey player who gets a concussion and what he does to overcome it. The book is published by Outskirts Press. In his spare time he enjoys golfing, skiing, and ice hockey. Johnson, his wife Stacey, and son live in Hinsdale, Illinois.
