Biographical Information
Linton Johnson
Manager, Strategic Programs
BART Office of External Affairs
L
inton Johnson was appointed to the position ofthe San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s (BART)manager of strategic communication programs in November 2011.
In his current role, Johnson works with BART departments to develop and implement large scale communications strategies for major District programs, which include the acquisition of a new rail car fleet for BART and “Building a Better BART” – the initiative to renew, restore and reinvest in the aging BART system.
From 2004 to 2011, Johnson was the “voice and face” of BART, serving as the District’s second chief spokesperson in BART history. He was also BART’s first African-American and first openly-gay spokesperson.
In October 2010, Mass Transit Magazine recognized him with one of the industry’s most elite honors by naming him as one of the “Top 40 under 40” year olds in the nation for his innovation in the field of communications.
Prior to joining BART, Linton was the weekend anchor and transportation reporter for KNTV/NBC11, which is the San Francisco Bay Area’s NBC station. He joined KNTV in January of 2000.
Linton's career in news began at the age of 15. He was on a bus when he heard a promotional spot on KEZ 99.9 FM Radio to meet its two morning deejays at a mall near where he lived in Scottsdale, Arizona. He went and the rest is history in the making. Linton's life consisted of waking up each morning around 3:30 a.m., getting to KEZ by 5:30 a.m., re-writing news stories, joking around on-air with the morning deejays, and then off to school by 9:15 a.m. He would return to KEZ at lunch then work again after classes in the promotions department. The Gulf War launched Linton into his first major news role, as he became the head news writer for the morning show and then promoted to host two talk shows.
At NorthwesternUniversity, Linton became the founder of the campus' first student-produced television newscast, "Northwestern News Network," which still continues today. During breaks, Linton returned to Arizona for assistant producing at KEZ and eventually produced investigative pieces for KTVK, the then ABC affiliate in Phoenix.
As a senior in college, Linton worked as an on-air reporter in Topeka, Kansas. By the age of 21, Linton won the highest journalism award in Kansas, for exposing a plasma bank that was accepting disease-tainted blood simply to make money.
After that, Linton held reporter and anchor positions in Wichita, St. Louis and in the Bay Area. He has won a number of awards including an Emmy for live spot news reporting and a 2003 Emmy nomination for a story about a blind man who shows people how to get people from point A to point B in a city he’s never seen.
Outside of his busy schedule, Linton loves to workout and finds thrill in outdoor activities. In his spare time, he enjoys reading about aviation and hopes to achieve the goal of updating his pilot's license, which he received in high school.
Linton is currently a member of numerous organizations: the Northern California chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Association and he is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and a board member of the Radio, Television and News Directors Association.
Linton lives in the Oakland Hills with his husband, Jeff Johnson. Linton and Jeff were married in October 2008 He was born in Lafayette, IN, but has lived in 17 other places including BrestFrance, Huntsville, AL and Columbia, MD. Regardless, Linton still calls the Bay Area his home. He indicates, "The Bay Area - it's truly the best place on earth, I’ve lived in enough places, so I should know!"
Communications Department –February 20, 2015