You may have seen the commercials for Goldline.com, advocating investments in gold. The spots are presented by Jay Johnson, a former local TV news anchorman, U.S. Congressman and, later, Director of the U.S. Mint.
Johnson died Saturday night of a heart attack at his home outside Washington, DC. He was 66.
After a 32-year journalism career that took him to Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin, in 1996 Jay ran as a Democrat for the 8th District congressional seat and won. After losing re-election in 1998, Pres. Clinton appointed him director of the U.S. Mint.
“He could just light up a room,” said Danielle Bina, who was Jay’s co-anchor at WLUK-TV in Green Bay. “He could work a room like no one I’ve ever met… I would categorize him as having the biggest heart of anyone in the business.”
On a personal note, I worked with Jay at WLUK from 1990-1995. He was the main anchor, and I was an intern. I would later land my first TV job at the station, not often working directly with him, but learning from him, nonetheless. I was saddened to learn of his passing.
More recently Jay headed up Jay Johnson Coins and Consulting and he was doing the spots for Goldline.com, which, as of today, are still running. One aired on CNN and another on Fox News around 6:26pmET this evening.
After the jump, a YouTube clip of the ad…