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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Officials expect the charges to run in the dozens, and — if convicted — suspect Robert "Bobby" Crimo III could face a mandatory life sentence without parole. -
Officials are calling the 22-year-old a person of interest. Police Chief Lou Jogmen says the man gave himself up after a brief pursuit in his car. -
The Justice Department argues that the order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early 2021 "falls easily within the CDC's statutory authority." -
The case is currently being investigated by the FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is prosecuting the case. -
In the fight to get justice for his brother's murder, Terrence Floyd has turned to the unlikeliest corners to do just that: NFTs — or non-fungible tokens. -
The Russian invasion stirs international condemnation, roils global markets and a promise by Ukraine's president to defend the country. -
Black History Month grew from a weeklong celebration that started nearly 100 years ago — and it's not random that it's in February. -
We answer key questions about COVID tests: What types are there? Should you self-test right after exposure to someone with COVID? And what should you do if you test positive? -
The agency's decision to ease access to the drug mifepristone comes at a time when abortion rights are being increasingly restricted nationwide. -
The parents of Oxford High School student Ethan Crumbley made a brief appearance in court on Tuesday related to their four involuntary manslaughter charges.
