Johnson, who grew up in Nebraska and attended high school in Omaha, said she became interested in journalism because of her parents, who were both journalists at some point in their careers. In her household, Johnson said journalism was seen as a public service.
Johnson started writing local news at the Post, then switched to covering politics, including coverage of Virginia’s governor race and the Maryland Legislature. The big shift came in 2015 when Johnson went from local to national news and covered the 2016 presidential election. She was the reporter assigned to Donald Trump.
She covered Trump’s first year in office, then returned to reporting national news and then editing. In April, she was asked to be the deputy democracy editor for the new team.
“Since her move last year into editing, Jenna has distinguished herself with her sharp ideas and keen ability to elevate reporters’ work in stints on the America, Health and Science, and Politics desks,” the Post said in announcing her new position.
In her new role, Johnson found the transition a lot less bumpy than expected. She said she was prepared for the new job by the previous jobs she held and the experiences she gained.
What Johnson did find surprising was the kind of content the democracy team would create. She believed they would do more think pieces.
“The thing that has surprised me the most is how there’s so much daily news to cover,” she said. “Every day, there are dozens of stories that our team could be doing about people who are trying to challenge democracy.”
Johnson has her own goals for the team. She wants to make sure the stories are lively and keep the reader’s attention but don’t overwhelm them. She said she wants to be sure the stories relate to people’s everyday lives.
“This idea of democracy is so abstract,” she said. “You say to them, ‘Democracy is under attack.’ And they’re like, ‘What does that mean?’ It’s difficult to know what that means. They need to know how it’s impacting their lives.”
Johnson said she and the team are continuing to work on new stories and plan to launch a social media project that will help explain the facts and myths surrounding the election process. The team hopes to publish the project on Instagram and TikTok during the midterm elections.
Johnson has high hopes for the newly formed team.
“I want us to tell good stories,” she said. “I want us to do work that’s not being done elsewhere. But my number one goal is I want to demystify all of this for readers.”
