Becoming Storytellers Becoming Storyterllers

Legendary journalist Bruce Johnson's story is one of grit, survival, grace and ultimately perseverance. He grew up poor in a racially segregated Louisville but never one to view himself as a victim, Johnson pushed through obstacles that could've killed him, to became a 22-time EMMY award-winning, Edward R. Murrow award-winning, Society of Professional Journalists & Washington D.C Hall of Fame inductee among many other accolades in his 44-year career at WUSA in Washington D.C.
Johnson chronicles his remarkable life and career in his new book Surviving Deep Waters: A Legendary Reporter's Story of Overcoming Poverty, Race, Violence, and His Mother's Deepest Secret.
In episode 32 of the Becoming Storytellers Podcast, Johnson gets candid about it all-- Drugs, discrimination, rejection, mistakes, family, navigating the news business and how it all came together in serving as a journalist for the people in the nation's capitol for more than four decades. 

Chundria Brownlow is a talk show host, speaker, and filmmaker. Born and raised in Chicago, she has produced entertainment TV and hosted events for more than a decade. Chundria caught the TV bug as a young girl watching her father who was a long-time broadcast engineer at a local Chicago TV station. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, with a Bachelors degree in Television and a concentration in Production/Directing, Chundria, like many young journalists, struggled to land her first job. That experience propelled her to start her own platform, "The Chundria Show" which discusses health, wellness, love, relationships, entrepreneurship and lifestyle topics with special guests. Her show currently broadcasts in 200 cities across the country. Chundria recently completed her MBA and plans to continue to excel in TV, film and production and help others do the same. 

Freedom is the way forward for Emmy nominated journalist Garin Flowers, with three journalism jobs and an upcoming Netflix movie appearance, the former “Bachelorette” contestant and local TV news reporter now spends his time doing what he loves, on his own terms.
Garin left local news to pursue his passion in Los Angeles and his leap of faith paid off. He’s currently a reporter for Yahoo News, host for Cinemark and a professor teaching the next generation of journalists at the University of Southern California.
Garin talks about how he got his start as a journalist, being chosen as a reality TV show contestant, what it’s like landing entertainment gigs with steep competition and his upcoming appearances on Netflix and on a popular TV show + much more!
 

His viral skateboarding on live TV has garnered more than 5 MILLION views on social media but WDIV-NBC Detroit reporter, Victor Williams, wasn’t always praised for his skateboard skills. Growing up in Southwest Atlanta, Victor was teased and told “Black people don’t skateboard”. He kept at it anyway. 
Victor hopes his story will inspire young Black kids that it’s ok to be different and to stay true to who they are. 
In this episode, Victor talks about his journalism career, his love of skateboarding, his plans for his new fame & more!

After more than 30 years gracing our TV screens, veteran NBC News correspondent Tracie Potts is stepping into a new chapter; she’ll be taking over the reins as Executive Director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College in less than two weeks!
In this episode, Tracie & I chat about her decades long career doing live reports each morning on dozens of NBC stations across the country, the highlights of her career, challenges, her new chapter, words of wisdom for younger journalists & much more

Award-winning producer Georgia Dawkins counts ABC's Good Morning America and Will Packer's Central Ave. talk show among her many producing credits. She's worked in television markets both large & small across the country and has earned a name for herself in the broadcast industry. 
 
While at a crossroads in her life, Georgia wrote her memoir Everybody Knows: The Power of Being in Position, detailing her journey from humble beginnings to the news business. She then launched the Purpose Producer podcast centering people using their gifts to help others; now she's expanding the Purpose Producer podcast into a daily talk show!
 
Listen to episode 27 of the @ BecomingStorytellers podcast to hear why Georgia decided to leave TV news to create her own media empire, the challenges & successes along the way, her top three "Journey Gems" & much more.