Haynes Johnson

Haynes Bonner Johnson (July 9, 1931 – May 24, 2013) was an American journalist, author, and television analyst. He reported on most of the major news stories of the latter half of the 20th century and was widely regarded as one of the top American political commentators.

Biography Johnson was born in New York City to journalist Malcolm Johnson and Emma Ludie (née Adams), a pianist. His parents moved to Long Island, where he grew up.

He was the author or editor of sixteen books, five of them best-sellers, including his most recent work, co-authored with Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz, The Battle for America: 2008. Johnson also was a regular commentator on the PBS television shows Washington Week in Review and The News Hour.

He held academic appointments at Duke University, Princeton University, University of California at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University and served as the Knight chair of public affairs journalism at the University of Maryland from 1998 until 2013.

Personal life He married Julia Ann Erwin in 1954; they had five children, and later divorced. In 2002, he married Kathryn Oberly.

Former advisor to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, former Chicago Tribune political writer and current NBC News senior political analyst David Axelrod stated: "When I was a young political reporter, Haynes Johnson was one of the great, iconic journalists we all aspired to be. May he rest in peace." University of Maryland President Wallace Loh said of Johnson: "He helped anchor a new generation of journalists."

Johnson was scheduled to be inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists Washington DC chapter's hall of fame in June, 2013.