Jonathan Franklin
Jonathan Franklin is a digital reporter on the News desk covering general assignment and breaking national news.
For the last few years, Franklin has been reporting and covering a broad spectrum of local and national news in the nation's capital. Prior to NPR, he served as a digital multiskilled journalist for the TEGNA-owned CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., WUSA. While at WUSA, Franklin covered and reported on some of the major stories over the last two years – the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Black/African American community, D.C.'s racial protests and demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
A scan of Franklin's byline will find hundreds of local breaking news stories, engaging ledes and well-calibrated anecdotes that center the individuals and communities in service of the journalism he's pursuing.
Prior to WUSA, Jonathan produced and reported for various ABC and CW affiliates across the country and was a freelance multimedia journalist for The Washington Informer in Washington, D.C. He began his journalism career at WDCW in Washington.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Franklin earned his master's degree in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast and digital journalism from Georgetown University and his undergraduate degrees in English, Humanities and African/African American Studies from Wofford College.
Franklin is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., both the National and Washington Associations of Black Journalists, Online News Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
In his spare time, Franklin enjoys traveling to new cities and countries, watching movies, reading a good novel, and all alongside his favorite pastime: brunch.
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The suspect expressed admiration for Elliot Rodger, the gunman who killed six people and injured 14 others in Isla Vista in May 2014, according to the DOJ. -
In a statement to NPR, a spokesperson for the New York State Unified Court System said the defense has "neither filed a notice nor requested an extension to do so." -
The new initiative is a broader effort by the Justice Department that it plans to launch across all 94 United States attorneys' offices over the next year. -
The storm landed in South Carolina after devastating southwest and central Florida. Ian brought heavy rain, high winds and flooding along South Carolina coast, causing damage in some areas. -
People with disabilities, people who can't afford it and people who don't want to abandon their pets are among the many who can't easily get up and leave before a hurricane. -
The 23-year-old suspect burned the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, according to the U.S. Justice Department. -
Family Dollar says it is not aware of any complaints from customers nor any reports of illnesses related to the recall. -
Residents across Martha's Vineyard say they were scrambling to care for the nearly 50 immigrants, who arrived without warning at the local airport. -
Social media has been filled with videos of Black children watching the teaser of the trailer for the new Little Mermaid movie, which stars Bailey. -
The lawsuit names the city of Childersburg, Ala., which oversees the police department that arrested Jennings, as a defendant.
