Soterios Johnson

"Soterios" redirects here. For the indigenous people of Brazil, see Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau.

Soterios Johnson is an American radio journalist and the former local host of National Public Radio's Morning Edition on New York City public-radio station WNYC.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Johnson was named after his Greek maternal grandfather.^[3] His surname comes from his paternal grandfather, Ioannou, who moved to New York from Cyprus.^[3] A native of Highland Park, New Jersey,^[4] Johnson was introduced to radio by his father, who was a recording engineer at WNEW.^[3]

Johnson graduated from Highland Park High School, where he participated in the school's radio station.^[4] While attending Columbia University in New York City, he worked at a small FM station in his hometown^[3] and at the college's WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) radio station.^[2] In 1990, he graduated with a degree in American history from Columbia University's Columbia College.^[3] He then earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Career

Johnson began working for NPR in an overnight position, and also covered weekends and holidays.^[3] He became the permanent host of Morning Edition in summer 2003.^[3]

In the summer of 2016, Johnson left WNYC to join the University of California, Davis as Director of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Programs.^[4]

Personal life

As of November 2016, Johnson lives in California with his husband.^[4]

Influence on music

His name inspired the name of New York City three-piece band Satirius Johnson.^[1]

Jonathan Coulton, a folk-rock artist based in New York, wrote a song called "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance", which presents a fictionalized secret life of Johnson as a club-goer.^[1][5]

Awards

• 2006 New York Press Club award^{[citation needed]}