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.
-
Body cam footage of the brutal arrest in Memphis of the Black man has sparked protests in several cities. The five ex-officers involved face a litany of charges, including second-degree murder. -
The five former officers each face a litany of charges, including second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
-
Nichols died on Jan. 10, three days after he was stopped by Memphis police for reckless driving. Five Memphis police officers have been fired following an investigation into Nichols' death.
-
Authorities say they are searching for a motive for the deadly mass shooting that took place over the weekend in a city east of Los Angeles at the beginning of the Lunar New Year.
-
If convicted, 71-year-old Collier Gwin could face up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine, officials say. The case remains under investigation.
-
The Mega Millions' estimated jackpot has increased to a total of $1.35 billion — the second-largest jackpot in the game's history, officials say.
-
Before being flown to Buffalo, N.Y., Hamlin had been treated for nearly a week at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football.
-
The proceeds from the T-shirts will benefit first responders and the University of Cincinnati's Trauma Center where Hamlin had been receiving treatment.
-
Doctors say they are still unsure what caused Hamlin's collapse during the Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals a week ago.
-
The Phoenix Police Department says that it has launched an internal investigation following the arrest of Journal finance reporter Dion Rabouin, who was conducting interviews outside a Chase Bank.
