Richard W. and Laurie Johnston Lecture

The annual Johnston Lecture brings professionals to the SOJC for thought-provoking lectures, workshops, and discussions about the thorny issues today’s journalists face. Laurie Johnston ’36, an award-winning New York Times writer, established the series in memory of her husband Richard Johnston ’36, founding executive editor of Sports Illustrated. The series is made possible by generous gifts from the Johnston family, George E. Jones of U.S. News and World Report, and the Correspondents Fund.

Past speakers include author and journalist Ted Conover, author and journalist Susan Orlean, and news industry analyst Ken Doctor, MA ’79.


2022 Johnston Lecture: “Storytelling and Culturally Relevant Science Communication” with Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer

Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer—a bilingual scientist-turned-communicator who engages historically underserved and overlooked audiences with science—gave in-depth examples of how applying a cultural lens to science communication and storytelling can make science more equitable, inclusive, and effective. Dr. Feliú-Mójer serves as director of communications and science outreach for Ciencia Puerto Rico, a nonprofit and global community of more than 13,000 scientists, students, educators, and allies creating social impact in Puerto Rico. The event was co-sponsored by the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research (SCR), the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, Just Futures Institute, and the Center for Latino/a & Latin American Studies.


2021 Johnston Lecture: “The Challenges of COVID-19 Communication” with Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Kathleen Hall Jamieson wears a blue jacket and stands in her office  

In her virtual talk, "Overcoming the Challenges of Communicating Emerging Science about COVID-19", acclaimed author and science communication expert Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson spoke about the challenges of communicating about COVID-19 and ways to inform the press and public about the nature of emerging science in polarized times. Dr. Hall Jamieson is the author of 16 books as well as co-founder of FactCheck.org and its subsidiary site, SciCheck, which monitors political speech for the misuse of science. The event was co-sponsored by the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research (SCR), the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics.

Read about the lecture


2019 Johnston Lecture: “Lost Earth” with Randy Olson

Randy Olson speaking at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication  

In his talk, “Lost Earth: How Science Failed to Communicate the Biggest Crisis,” marine biologist-turned-filmmaker Randy Olson zeroed in on the role of poor communication in today’s climate crisis. Olson, the author of three books on the communication of science, detailed the scientific community’s failure to clearly present its research findings to the public over the past four decades and offered communication-based solutions. The event was co-sponsored by the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research (SCR) and the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.

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2018 Johnston Lecture: “Our Anthropocene Conundrum” with Dennis Dimick

Dennis Dimick, former picture and environment editor for National Geographic, delivered a narrated visual journey through the Anthropocene—the past three centuries of human activity culminating in our fossil-fueled modern world. Presented by the SOJC’s Center for Science Communication Research (SCR), Dimick's talk makes a case that, while humans have created great prosperity on Earth, it's at a cost we must now reckon with. As we approach a turning point, communicators can help convince policy makers and the public that we must make an energy transition before it’s too late.


Past Johnston Lecturers

2017 Ted Conover, author and journalist

2016 John Markoff (MA ’76), senior writer for the New York Times

2015 Ken Doctor (MA ’79), news industry analyst, Newsonomics

2013 Charles Jaco, journalist, Fox 2 News; radio host, KMOX

2012 Alex Kotlowitz, author, Bearing Witness: Storytelling and Human Rights

2011 Jonathon Gold, author, Experts in the Age of Citizen Journalism

2010 Andrew Revkin, environmental writer and blogger, The New York Times 2009    Tony Horwitz, author of five books, including A Voyage Long and Strange

2008 Peggy Orenstein, contributing writer, The New York Times; author, Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids and Life in a Half-Changed World, Waiting for Daisy, and Schoolgirls

2007 Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, 2006 MacArthur Fellow; author of Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx

2006 Benoit Denizet-Lewis, contributing writer, The New York Times Magazine

2005 Erik Larson, author, Isaac’s Storm

2004 Melissa Fay Greene, author, Last Man Out, The Temple Bombing

2003 Terry Tempest Williams, author, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert

2002 Edward Humes, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author, No Matter How Loud I Shout, Baby ER

2001 Susan Orlean, contributing writer, The New Yorker; author, The Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People

2000 Alex Kotlowitz, author, There Are No Children Here, The Other Side of the River

1999 Peter Matthiessen, author, The Snow Leopard, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Zen Journals

1998 Randall Rothenberg, former contributing editor, Esquire; author, Where the Suckers Moon

1997 Barbara Ehrenreich, columnist, TIME magazine; author, The Snarling Citizen

1996 James Fallows, The Atlantic Monthly

1995 Victor Navasky, The Nation

1993 Robin Morgan, Ms. magazine

1991 Ambassador “Bill” Lane Jr., Sunset magazine

1990 David Haupert, Magazine Group of Meredith Corporation

1990 Jack Fincher, Reader’s Digest, Smithsonian

1988 Suzanne Braun Levine, former editor and vice president, Ms. magazine

1987 Richard Stolley, former editor, Life magazine

1986 Harold Hayes, former editor, Esquire

1984 Ray Cave, TIME magazine