Rheta Grimsley Johnson

Rheta Grimsley Johnson has covered the South for over three decades as a newspaper reporter and columnist. She writes about ordinary but fascinating people, mining for universal meaning in individual stories. In past reporting for United Press International, the Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a number of other regional newspapers, Johnson has won national awards. In 1986, she was inducted into the Scripps Howard Newspapers Editorial Hall of Fame. In 1991,...See more

Rheta Grimsley Johnson has covered the South for over three decades as a newspaper reporter and columnist. She writes about ordinary but fascinating people, mining for universal meaning in individual stories. In past reporting for United Press International, the Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a number of other regional newspapers, Johnson has won national awards. In 1986, she was inducted into the Scripps Howard Newspapers Editorial Hall of Fame. In 1991, she was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Syndicated today by King Features of New York, Johnson's column appears in about 50 papers nationwide. She is the author of several books, including America's Faces (1987) and Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (1989). In 2000, she wrote the text for a book of photographs entitled Georgia. A native of Colquitt, Georgia, Johnson grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, studied journalism at Auburn University, and has lived and work See less