Soterios Johnson is an American radio journalist and the former local host of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

on New York City public-radio station

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

. A

Highland Park, New Jersey Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States Cens ...

native, Johnson graduated from Highland Park High School, where he participated in the school's radio station. He worked at a small FM station in his hometown while earning his undergraduate degree in American history from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City, granted in 1990. While there he was active at the institution's radio station

WKCR-FM WKCR-FM (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to New York City, New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the s ...

(89.9 FM). Subsequently, he received a master's degree from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

. His first name comes from his

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heritage. ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New Yor ...

'' newspaper has claimed: "A steady, soulful tenor of a voice — combined with a first name that is as mellifluous as it is unusual — has won public radio host Soterios Johnson a legion of devoted fans, some of whom have gone so far as to write songs in his honor and name pets after him." He has reminisced: "As a kid, I always wanted to be in the know... and to spread the word." In the summer of 2016, Johnson left WNYC to join the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

as Director of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Programs. He moved to join his husband, who had been based in California since December 2014.

Influence on music

His name is the inspiration for the name of New York City three-piece band Satirius Johnson.

Jonathan Coulton Jonathan William Coulton (born December 1, 1970), often called "JoCo" by fans, is an American folk/comedy singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are " Co ...

, a folk-rock artist also based in New York, wrote a song called "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance", which presents a fictionalized secret life of Johnson as a club-goer.

Awards

*2006

New York Press Club The New York Press Club, sometimes ''NYPC'', is a private nonprofit membership organization which promotes journalism in the New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from politics. While the c ...

award

References

External links

WNYC BiographyInterview with Johnson in Columbia College Today"Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" by Jonathan Coulton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Soterios American people of Greek Cypriot descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni LGBT people from California LGBT people from New Jersey LGBT people from New York (state) Living people NPR personalities Highland Park High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Highland Park, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) University of California, Davis faculty Year of birth missing (living people)