Eleven-year-old John Wortman hosts a newscast from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. John started John News shortly after the pandemic caused his school to stop meeting in person in March, 2020. John was in first grade then; now he is in fifth grade, and John News is still going strong!

John says that he started John News "because I want to make people happy--even during coronavirus time."

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A REFUGEE’S STORY

John News has a new shorter and faster format! More good stuff jammed into a smaller package! In this episode, John hears the story of Giang Nguyen, a refugee from Vietnam. John learns why Giang’s family left Vietnam, what the journey was like, and how they ended up in North Carolina.

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TRAINING A POLICE K-9 OFFICER

John welcomes K-9 Officer Mando back to John News. In this thrilling episode of John News, John learns how police K-9s are trained to search out and identify the location of evidence. John also visits with K-9 Bain, who is training to be a police dog.

john selected as a Hometown hero

Check THIS out! Another accolade for John and John News! WCHL, the local radio station, named John a "Hometown Hero"! It's worth your time to listen to the audio. Click here.

And you get to hear what John's school principal says about him!

listen to john's interview on the radio

John appeared on WCHL, 97.9 The Hill. He had a lot of fun substituting as the guest for the station's Talking Books segment. Click here to listen.

John gets a major award

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

It's a big day for John! At the annual recognition ceremony for his school district, John is one of three students — out of 12,000 in the district — to receive the “Hamlett's Heroes“ award. John News was there to record the superintendent presenting this important award to John.

Help fight hunger. All proceeds go to TABLE, Inc., a nonprofit that feeds hungry kids in John's community. To order your shirt, click here.

John News Featured on CBS 17 News Program

May 2, 2021  Reporter Crystal Price interviews John, gives an in-depth account of how John News is created, and reports on why John started his newscast. To view the story, click here.

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Visit John's YouTube channel here.

See where it all began

Watch the very first episode of John News! You can see how far John has come.