ABC News is promoting 20/20 senior producer Janice Johnston to the role of executive producer.
Johnston will be just the fourth person to lead 20/20 as executive producer in nearly 43 years, and she’ll report directly to ABC News senior ep of network prime time content David Sloan, who is the most recent executive producer of the broadcast.
Sloan was named executive producer of 20/20 in 2000, went on to be promoted to senior ep of the broadcast, and earned the additional title of senior ep of network prime time content in 2019.
Johnston is well-known at ABC News and among 20/20 tstaffers in particular. Over her 13 years working on the broadcast, she has senior-produced, produced and directed dozens of prime time specials, including ABC’s town hall The President and The People, Highwire Over Niagara Falls: Live, the CMA Awards In the Spotlight series, and entertainment documentaries on Dolly Parton, Bobby Brown, Luke Bryan and more. She’s also overseen productions on location all over the world, from Hawaiian volcanoes and Mount Kenya to Taylor Swift’s house and the White House.
Johnston has spent 22 years at ABC News. Prior to joining 20/20 in 2008, she was a supervising producer on GMA where she spent ten years. She began at ABC News as a network associate, producing segments for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and produced segments for the network’s overnight newscast World News Now.
Johnston is the first woman to be executive producer of 20/20 and is also the first Black executive producer of 20/20.