Today we’d like to introduce you to Autumn Johnson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I went to college at Kennesaw State University, I felt so lost. Growing up, all I knew was basketball. Practice, games, traveling, hanging out with my teammates, and going to school were the only things that occupied my agenda. I had too much free time on my hands without basketball, and it didn’t feel right. I kept asking myself “did I make the right decision to stop playing?” After two months of regret, I immediately went to our women’s basketball program to see if they held tryouts for walk-ons. They said no, but they were looking for a basketball manager. That was the closest thing I could get to being on a basketball team and around the game, so I happily accepted the offer.
At that time, I was seeking to be a collegiate and/or professional Athletic Trainer and majored in Exercise and Science. That quickly changed when I got an inside look of what our trainer did on a day-to-day basis. I couldn’t see myself doing that my entire life. So, I immediately changed to undeclared. I remember being so frustrated with myself that I didn’t have any control in my life at that moment. At that time, I was trying different things to learn if there was more to Autumn than sports. I was venting to one of my best friend’s Amari, and she said that she heard on the radio about Ryan Cameron hosting a broadcasting Bootcamp. We looked it up, and I registered for it. I went to the event not knowing what I would get out of it, but I met this woman named Rachel Baribeau, who is a sports broadcaster. She spoke so highly about how she talked about sports for a living. I can do that! I was really hesitant about pursuing it, but I had a strong alliance of friends that supported this new dream and pushed me to go for it.
I went to the basketball staff and expressed my new interest to them. They told me that the athletic’s department had a video department that worked with ESPN3. They had an analyst but did not have a reporter. I remember emailing them and receiving ‘no’ after ‘no, and that the position did not exist.’ I went into their office weeks later and they finally gave me a chance to at least send them a sample of what I could do. So, I ask two of the basketball players could I do a one-on-one interview with them, rented some cameras to do it, edit it together, and presented it to them. They loved it! That season, I was Kennesaw State’s first women’s basketball sideline reporter for ESPN3.
From that experience, I was fueled to heavily pursue this dream but realized it wouldn’t come easy. I had to truly fight for it and be my own advocate. I wanted to do more outside of Kennesaw State, so I went to many sporting events to network. Networking alone has gotten me camera and production positions throughout college at Turner Sports, SB Nation’s Swish Appeal, R3play.TV, Fangirl Sports Network, and ESPN. I’ve been able to interview many big-name professional/collegiate athletes, legends, and celebrities because of these opportunities.
With all that I was doing, my friend Jaye Newton suggested that I brand myself and create a platform that would showcase all of my work and lifestyle. That’s when AJTV came alive. AJTV is a platform that allows me to publish all of content as if it’s a sports network. It makes it easier for viewers to navigate through all of my interviews and articles. Jaye helped me build a website and pushed me to do more with reporting to really take off. My friends also helped me set up a website launch party. It was a really special moment.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing has been smooth about this road. It has been a lot of sleepless nights, stress, tears, and doubts. Plus missed opportunities, parties, events, and experiences. Throughout this journey, post-graduation has been the bumpiest part of the road. I worked extremely hard to be able to make an easy transition from college into my carer. I thought I had it in the bag when the demo reel, I created and posted on Twitter went viral. I just knew that everything was going to fall into place. But as months went by and thousands of applications later, I wasn’t running across any luck of picking up a full-time sport reporting gig. Again, I got frustrated with not having control in my life, but I had to stop being so hard on myself, relax, and understand that everything will happen in God’s timing.
I think this took a toll on me because I was comparing my journey with others. My advice for young women who are starting their own journey is to have tunnel vision and focus on your own path. Everyone has their own blessings, and it will all happen in different timing than the next person. Remember your end goal and consume all of your energy investing into your own unique story.
Please tell us about AJTV.
Currently, I am a color analyst and sideline reporter for ESPN+. I am also a Sports/News MMJ at WJBF NewsChannel 6, production runner at Turner Sports, digital reporter for PlayBook Athlete, and a social media host for Fangirl Sports Network for the Indiana Pacers… so, really piecing a thousand things together to make one full-time gig. I am known for sports, but I specialize in storytelling! I am more than just X’s and O’s. I can go from the field/court with athletes to reporting breaking news and human interest stories. My position with WJBF has been able to help me out of my comfort zone to be more well-rounded. So, that’s one thing that sets me apart from others. Also, my personality, drive, and passion are unlike anyone else’s. I am genuinely myself and being a former athlete makes it easier to be comfortable in any sports atmosphere. For my brand, I am proud of the diverse coverage I’ve been able to produce. It speaks volumes on the hustle that I’m continuously putting in.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
There’s definitely more opportunities that women are being positioned for, because of the fearless, trailblazing women today that are continuously breaking barriers of the norm. In this male-dominated industry, it’s known that men are the main voices analyzing and calling the play-by-play in games. It’s also the norm to see in a studio that all men are analyzing at the desk and the women are the ones asking them the questions. Now you have women like Doris Burke, who’s the first woman to be an NBA Game Analyst. That gives women like me bigger dreams that we can be more than just telling stories. We can also break the game down too just like a man can, which is why I decided to take on the color analyst role this year. Even out of my role, there are women like Becky Hammon, who’s the Spurs assistant coach, proving too little girls that they can do this, too. Recently, three referees made history in the G-League being the first team of refs to be all women. It wasn’t done to just be a trend. It was done because they were all qualified. So, I thank all of those women who are knocking down these doors for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.autumnjohnsontv.com
- Email: autumnjohnsontv@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnjohnson.tv/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/autumnjohnsontv
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