Bruce Johnson, a Washington broadcast journalist and television personality for more than four decades known for his street-savvy coverage of local politics and urban affairs and for moderating community forums and debates, died April 3 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The cause was a heart attack, said his wife, Lori Smith-Johnson. In April 2018, Mr. Johnson ended his newscast announcing that he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and was taking a hiatus to undergo chemotherapy. He returned to the air later that year and retired in December 2020.