How People Not In News Get Their News: Meet DeVonna Johnson

DeVonna Johnson is a marketing analyst and self-described social media geek who has three degrees, is studying for more degrees, and volunteers, reads, binge watches movies, and does aerial yoga. In her own words, she is a “hilarious, by-the-rules (only if I feel like they make sense) over-achiever who is very likely to integrate hashtags, song lyrics, and/or movie lines into everyday conversation.”

DeVonna, who tweets @DeVonna_J, was kind enough to answer some questions about how she gets her news. If you’d like to participate and you don’t work in news, please let me know. To read others in the series, click here.

1. How do you get your news?

I get most of my news from Social Media and my RSS feed (Feedly). Between Tumblr and Twitter, I’m always made aware of current events very soon after they take place. I subscribe to news sites such as NPR (my fave) in my RSS feed, so they keep me “in the know” as well.

2. Please send me a gif or video that captures your attention span.

See attachment.

I’m just being a smart-a** for using him, given the current spotlight on his “alleged” wrongdoings.

3. How do you take your coffee?

I don’t. I prefer tea. I collect it, in fact.

4. Who’s doing it right in news?

Stephen Colbert, because despite being a male who experiences white privilege, he manages to acknowledge and remain informed about the plight of those who are not….. while doing it in a satirical matter.

5. What’s the first news event that you remember?

When two young Black girls in Chicago, Diamond and Tionda Bradley, went missing. It was a really big deal because everyone pretty much knows that the girls’ mother and her boyfriend were responsible for their disappearance but no one could prove it. Update: they’re still missing. They even made it onto an episode of TVOne’s show “Find Our Missing.”

6. What was the best thing that happened to you this week?

One of my best friends received word that he just got 2 Grammy nominations….. And I had some delicious deep-dish pizza. #NomNom

7. Where do you live? Region is fine. City is better, but optional.

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, but I currently reside in Oak Park, a western suburb.

8. What do you absolutely hate about the news?

I hate the tendency for news stations to always show the worst in African Americans while showing the best in non-POCs. I also hate how story lines and facts are skewed to better align with the stations stakeholders’ interests.