Jonathan Franklin Jonathan Franklin is a reporter on the Newsdesk covering both race & identity and breaking news.
Headshot of Jonathan Franklin
Stories By

Jonathan Franklin

Ajani Daniel/NPR
Headshot of Jonathan Franklin
Ajani Daniel/NPR

Jonathan Franklin

Reporter, Newsdesk

Jonathan Franklin is a reporter on the Newsdesk covering both race & identity and breaking news.

For the last few years, he has been reporting and covering a broad spectrum of local and national news across the nation's capital.

Franklin has been at the forefront of reporting on some of the most significant national stories to break during his time at NPR, including the Tops Supermarket mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., the Waukesha, Wis., Christmas parade attack, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

His reporting can be seen and heard across NPR's digital, social and audio platforms — such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition and NPR News Now.

He is also a frequent contributor to ESPN's The Right Time with Bomani Jones podcast.

Prior to NPR, Franklin served as a digital multimedia journalist for WUSA, the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., where he covered the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Black community, D.C.'s racial protests and demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd, the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

You can quickly scan for Franklin's byline and find hundreds of breaking news and feature stories filled with engaging ledes, videos and live reporting along with well-calibrated anecdotes that center the individuals and communities in service of the journalism he's pursuing.

He began his journalism career as a news fellow and freelance journalist for WDCW in Washington.

Originally from Columbia, S.C., Franklin graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown University with a master's in journalism (with an emphasis in broadcast and digital journalism) and Cum Laude from Wofford College with undergraduate degrees in English/digital media and African/African-American studies.

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.

Story Archive

Thursday

University of Nevada, Las Vegas professors Naoko Takemaru (left), Cha-Jan "Jerry" Chang and Patricia Navarro-Velez were killed during a shooting on campus on Wednesday. Takemaru oversaw UNLV's Japanese Studies program while Chang and Navarro-Velez were both professors in the business school. University of Nevada, Las Vegas hide caption

toggle caption
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Wednesday

Darryl George, 18, will spend the remainder of the year in in-school suspension, extending a punishment that was first imposed in August over his hairstyle that district officials maintain violates their dress code policy. Michael Wyke/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Wyke/AP

Thursday

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa as she was choking Thursday during a closed-door GOP lunch. Here, Paul and Ernst look over a folder provided to them by the White House, during a luncheon in 2017 in the State Dinning Room of the White House. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Tuesday

Sean "Diddy" Combs has stepped down as chairman of Revolt, following multiple allegations against him of sexual assault. Here, Combs accepts the global icon award during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Wednesday

In this image taken from security video, a light-colored vehicle (top center) flies over a fence into the Rainbow Bridge customs plaza on Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP hide caption

toggle caption
U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP

Thursday

Shy'Kemmia Pate was just 8 years old when she was last seen at her residence in Unadilla, Ga., on Sept. 4, 1998. Twenty-five years later, her family is still hopeful for her safe return as they continue the search efforts for her. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children hide caption

toggle caption
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Wednesday

A United Airlines jetliner lifts off from a runway at Denver International Airport on June 10, 2020, in Denver. Two United Airlines flight attendants have filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging they were excluded from working charter flights for the Los Angeles Dodgers because of their race, age, religion and appearance. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption

toggle caption
David Zalubowski/AP

Wednesday

The Alexandria Police Department in Virginia says it's investigating a display of a pig wearing an "I Can't Breathe" shirt inside one of its police cruisers. The video, posted to YouTube, shows the discovery of the police cruiser and the materials inside. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption
YouTube

Saturday

Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. "Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair," says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. Kenya Hunter/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Kenya Hunter/AP

Thursday

Darryl George will be sent to an alternative school program, from Oct. 12 through Nov. 29 for "failure to comply" with multiple campus and classroom regulations, the Barbers Hill High School principal said in a letter. Michael Wyke/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Wyke/AP

Wednesday

Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders members Suzette Shaw, left, holding photos of 10 victims, and Margaret Prescod, at podium, join relatives of victims speaking after the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," in Los Angeles Superior Court in August 2016. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Damian Dovarganes/AP

Saturday

Robert Wayne Lee — known as "Boopac Shakur" — would pose as a teenage girl online to lure and expose alleged pedophiles. Lee was shot and killed Sept. 29 in the Pontiac, Mich. area. A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with funeral expenses. GoFundMe hide caption

toggle caption
GoFundMe

Tuesday

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an interview in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Newsom signed a bill on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, to ban school boards from rejecting textbooks based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities, calling the measure "long overdue." Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Sunday

Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead serves as Maryland's 31st adjutant general — making her the only Black woman who leads a state military in the U.S. Here, Birckhead sits inside NPR's studios for an interview with NPR's Jonathan Franklin. Ajani Daniel/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ajani Daniel/NPR

Friday

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell (left) along with NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson (right) signed an agreement this week outlining ways in which the two organizations will work together to center equity in disaster preparedness and response efforts. NAACP hide caption

toggle caption
NAACP

Monday

Joe Armstrong, the owner of WJBE, is shown outside the station. A Federal Communications Commission judge rejected an effort by the agency to strip the license of WJBE 99.7 FM/1040 AM — whose call letters pay tribute to the original WJBE's owner, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown — Knoxville's only Black-owned radio station. Institute for Justice hide caption

toggle caption
Institute for Justice

A pilot ejected from an F-35B Lightning II near Charleston, S.C., prompting a search for the advanced fighter jet. The plane is from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501; an F-35 from the squadron is seen here at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, south of Charleston. Lance Cpl. Kyle Baskin/Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort hide caption

toggle caption
Lance Cpl. Kyle Baskin/Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort

Tuesday

This combo of images provided by the Memphis Police Department shows officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and bottom row from left, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. The five former officers are now facing federal civil rights charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second-degree murder charges in state courts arising from the killing. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Sunday

This image provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows Danelo Cavalcante early Sunday morning with what police called "a changed appearance." Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023 that Cavalcante was seen overnight near Phoenixville in northern Chester County. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

Thursday

A screenshot from the video released by the Chester County Prison shows the moment escaped Pennsylvania inmate Danelo Cavalcante begins to crabwalk up a wall and out of sight. Chester County District Attorney/Facebook Watch hide caption

toggle caption
Chester County District Attorney/Facebook Watch

Wednesday

President Biden's son Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance July 26 in Wilmington, Del. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Aug. 11 that he appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election. Julio Cortez/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Julio Cortez/AP

Sunday

A business owner was fatally shot Friday after someone allegedly took issue with a Pride flag she had displayed at her clothing store in Cedar Glen, Calif. Here, a Progress Pride Flag is held above a crowd of LGBTQ+ activists in West Hollywood, Calif., in April 2023. Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images

After a relatively quiet start to the Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center was monitoring multiple storm systems in the Atlantic on Sunday. National Hurricane Center hide caption

toggle caption
National Hurricane Center