Nicole Johnson is a multiple Emmy award-winning journalist for WPIX.
Over her 20-year-plus career in journalism, she has built a reputation for her compelling, fair and honest storytelling that galvanizes the community and brings about change.
Her reporting has covered many high-profile crime stories including the shooting death of Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell, to the choking death of Eric Garner as well as countless exclusive interviews with victims and their families.
Nicole’s reporting often brings about change. In 2016, Nicole spearheaded an Emmy-nominated three-part special, Sickle Cell Disease: A Silent Killer. The series gave WPIX viewers an in-depth look at how patients deal with pain crisis, the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with the disease as well as medical breakthroughs. Nicole has made it her life’s mission to use her voice to help those battling Sickle Cell Disease, like her son Parker, who at age 11 authored “The Adventures of the Sickler” a book for children battling the disease.
Nicole has also brought attention to the need for bone marrow donation and its importance in the African American community after her story about Shannon Tavares, an 11 year-old Broadway star battling leukemia, gained national attention. This led to a record number 10,000 people registering to become donors. Another notable story, Domestic Violence: A Bronx Woman’s Nightmare, led to improved state laws to protect victims of domestic violence.
Since first joining WPIX in 1997, Nicole has held a variety of positions including assignment desk editor, which proved to be a critical position on Sept. 11, 2001 when she was sent to Ground Zero for several days to provide coverage on the attacks. From 2002-12, Nicole worked as a general assignment reporter for WROC-TV in Rochester, New York, NY1 News, Fox 5 News and My 9 News before returning to PIX11 in 2012. She began her journalism career as an editorial writer for The Orlando Sentinel in Florida, where she attended Rollins College.
Nicole is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists, a recipient of two NABJ Awards and several Associated Press Awards for Breaking News. In 2012, she was named a McDonald’s Media Legend for her reporting work.
Each summer, Nicole teaches journalism to students at Lehman College in the Bronx. She also dedicates time to help her community by volunteering at local schools, and for the Sickle Cell Thalassemia Patient’s Network.
Nicole resides in NYC with her fiancé, Sean Ringgold, an actor and producer, and her greatest accomplishments — her son Parker and daughter Skylar.
