{"id":1773,"date":"2023-07-31T15:26:52","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T19:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/?post_type=inductees&p=1773"},"modified":"2024-01-10T16:49:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T21:49:01","slug":"ernie-johnson","status":"publish","type":"inductees","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/inductees\/ernie-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernie Johnson, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"
The postgame show. Fans may come for the sport itself, but, when done right, the postgame show can be as entertaining. Perhaps, more critically, it serves as a true \u201caudience surrogate\u201d for the event.<\/p>\n
Over the past 30 years, the studio show that has cemented its place as the greatest in its class has been\u00a0Inside the NBA<\/em>. Although he would be the last to admit it, much of the program\u2019s success reflects its smart, steady, and gifted host, Ernie Johnson Jr.: one of sports broadcasting\u2019s great audience surrogates.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEJ is a trailblazer behind the desk,\u201d says Craig Barry, EVP\/chief content officer, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, \u201cand, as impactful as he has been to this industry, he is an even more impactful human being. His ability to bring that authentic human quality creates a unique emotional bond with his audience. It\u2019s a gift, and it\u2019s truly special to have that kind of connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Milwaukee-born Johnson is the son of former Major League Baseball player Ernie Johnson and moved with his family to Atlanta following his father\u2019s retirement from baseball and transition into the broadcast booth for the Atlanta Braves. Junior dreamed of following in his dad\u2019s footsteps as a player.<\/p>\n Following a short stint on the University of Georgia baseball team, however, he turned his sights to broadcasting, getting his start as a local news anchor and expecting to follow a trail of on-air talents he admired, such as Dan Rather. He even studied the late, great Johnny Carson.<\/p>\n In 1989, Turner Sports came calling, and, in 1990, Johnson took over hosting duties for the program that would ultimately define his career:\u00a0Inside the NBA<\/em>. The weekly postgame show on TNT has reached iconic status over the decades. A winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards, the show has the unique distinction of having been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It has also developed a long-standing reputation as one of the more fun and informative studio shows in sports-television history, one whose charm lies in its chaos.<\/p>\n