A native of southern Louisiana, Virginia Johnson was born in Lafayette, and she grew up in Devil's Swamp in Thibodaux with her large Cajun family.
Virginia has been working as a journalist in the Tampa Bay area since 2002. She joined the Spectrum Bay News 9 family in 2007. She works on Chef’s Kitchen and On The Town segments, special events and long-form series.
She’s won two Emmys and a Murrow Award Spectrum Bay News 9 with her co-worker, photographer Bobby Collins. She is deeply humbled for the privilege to meet people and tell their stories.
Virginia studied International History and Political Science at St. Joseph's College in Indiana. She holds a master’s degree in International Business from Loyola University Chicago and another in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University. She worked as a reporter and an anchor in West Lafayette and South Bend, Indiana, before landing in the Sunshine State. She's written a documentary about water restoration in Florida, helped birth a cow at the State Fair and reported from an emergency room during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
She resides in Manatee County with her young family and pets—dogs and birds-- and she cheers for the 2019 National Football Champion Louisiana State University. Geaux Tigers.