Johnny Edwards
Johnny Edwards joined FOX 5’s I-Team as an investigative reporter in 2023, making the jump to broadcast news after 25 years in print journalism. He previously worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he served on the investigative team and won numerous awards for rooting out corruption and abuse.
Over the course of his career, Johnny reported on how a county commissioner engineered a kickback scheme to cover up her financial problems and how two rural sheriffs turned jail inmates into personal laborers for their reelection campaigns and private businesses. He dodged bullets in Iraq, stood next to Chuck D at James Brown's funeral, and later became the first Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter to win an Emmy Award.
Johnny is an Atlanta native who grew up in Cobb County and graduated from the University of Georgia’s journalism school with a degree in telecommunications. After abandoning plans to become a media lawyer, in 1998 he answered an ad for a job with a North Fulton County weekly newspaper, and immediately became hooked on a career that pays people to relentlessly pursue the truth, no matter who doesn’t like it. Johnny moved on to daily newspapers in Marietta, Canton, Lynchburg, Va., and Augusta. While working for The Augusta Chronicle, he spent time as an embedded reporter with U.S. Marines and Army Reservists during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
After more than a decade away, he returned to Atlanta to work for his hometown newspaper. In 2014, he exposed how DeKalb County elected officials used their discretionary budgets for personal benefit, triggering an FBI investigation that resulted in criminal charges against a county commissioner, her husband, her chief of staff and an evangelist. Edwards won Common Cause Georgia’s Democracy Award for that work, as well as an Emmy for his collaborations with WSB-TV.
In 2016, he served on the team behind the newspaper’s "Doctors & Sex Abuse" project, a Pulitzer finalist, and recorded a related 6-episode podcast series called "Predator M.D." Johnny led the newspaper’s 2019 coverage of the Georgia House speaker’s use of legislative leave to delay criminal cases for clients of his private law practice, which won an Atlanta Press Club award for investigative reporting. In 2022, he was part of the team behind the AJC's "Dangerous Dwellings" series on persistently dangerous apartment complexes, winner of national awards from both Investigative Reporters & Editors and the National Headliners Awards.
Johnny has one adult daughter and lives in DeKalb County with his wife and their border collie. Johnny is a certified scuba diver, a jogger, a history buff, a Jekyll Island lover, a Pink Floyd fanatic and, along with his daughter, a major Hawks fan. If you have tips or story ideas, you can follow Johnny on X at @JohnEdwardsFox5 or email him at John.Edwards@fox.com.
The latest from Johnny Edwards
Georgia law restricts abortions, but doesn’t protect pregnant women in the workforce
A young mother got the boot from her waitressing job, and her boss said it had to do with her breastfeeding. In most states that would be grounds for a lawsuit, but not in GA because the restaurant has less than 15 employees. Given the state's near ban on abortions, some say state law must do more to protect new moms in the workforce.
Sheriff: No evidence schools were notified about Colt Gray
An investigation uncovered no evidence local schools were notified about Colt Gray, the suspected Apalachee High School shooter, after an FBI tip.
Ex-Hall County solicitor Stephanie Woodard could lose her law license
Hall County's former elected solicitor-general stands to lose her law license in a disciplinary investigation launched by the State Bar of Georgia. Stephanie Woodard, accused of pilfering public money while in office, took a plea deal in Hall County Superior Court last month, admitting to one misdemeanor. That triggered the Bar rules dealing with attorneys convicted of felonies or misdemeanors involving moral turpitude.
State fires another DFCS worker over Barros child death case
Georgia DFCS has fired a third employee over the death of Sayra Barros, 8, allegedly beaten to death with a rolling pin. An independent investigation found Gwinnett DFCS manager Sasha Carr, who supervised the other fired workers, took steps to close an earlier abuse complaint, which might have saved Sayra's life, too early. Now another ex-worker who was blamed for closing that case wants an apology.
Rifle used in Apalachee High School shooting purchased legally by father
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith confirmed that the weapon was legally purchased by the father of the accused shooter, ninth-grader Colt Gray.
Video: Accused Apalachee High School shooter, father questioned by Jackson County deputies
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released bodycam footage of an interview from last year with accused shooter Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray.
Accused Apalachee High School shooter's troubled home life, potential warning signs
New information has surfaced about Colt Gray, a ninth grader accused of opening fire inside Apalachee High School on Wednesday morning, killing two teachers, two students, and injuring nine others
Former Hall County solicitor pleads guilty to misdemeanor
Two months after a grand jury indicted her on multiple felony counts, the former Solicitor General of Hall County entered a guilty plea Friday to one misdemeanor count of unprofessional conduct.
Atlanta VA worker accused of drug deals with patients quits his job
An Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center social worker caught on video in alleged drug deals with patients has quit his job, more than two years after several vets blew the whistle and one week after the FOX 5 I-Team aired clips of those videos. The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office continues its investigation, currently reviewing the VA's internal files on the case.
Fulton jail records: Father charged with starving daughter stabbed in botched robbery
Another violent incident inside the Fulton County jail: Rodney McWeay, charged with starving his daughter, Treasure McWeay, to death, suffered stab wounds after allegedly trying to rob another inmate. The other man fought back, incident reports say, and McWeay now faces additional felony charges.