News

Steven Berlin Johnson named Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence

September 14, 2009

Steven Berlin Johnson, noted digital media expert and author, is the 2009 Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at the Journalism School. Johnson, who joins the school this fall, will participate in classes and programs and deliver the annual Hearst lecture in April. 

In his bestselling books, Johnson predicted the rise of the blogosphere and many Web 2.0 developments. His 2001 Webby Award-winning Plastic.com was one of the first sites featuring content driven by users. He is also the co-creator of Outside.In, one of the first in a new generation of hyperlocal news sites to aggregate and map news from thousands of sources. 

Johnson is a contributing editor to Wired magazine and writes frequently on the intersection of culture and technology. In a recent TIME cover story, he argued that Twitter's real-time search function offers "super-fresh" results superior to Google's. He predicted, "In fact, every major channel of information will be Twitterfied in one way or another in the coming years."

In The Wall Street Journal's "How the E-Book Will Change the Way We Read and Write," Johnson wrote, "Before too long, you'll be able to create a kind of shadow version of your entire library, including every book you've ever read… Every word in that library will be searchable. It is hard to overstate the impact that this kind of shift will have on scholarship. Entirely new forms of discovery will be possible."

Johnson is the author of six books that have influenced political campaigns, urban planning and the battle against 21st century terrorism. Most recently, "The Invention of Air" (2008) highlights the story of Joseph Priestley, an 18th century scientist who had the ears of the Founding Fathers, as an example of how innovation spreads and drives change. "The Ghost Map" (2007) explores how a cholera epidemic in Victorian London became a catalyst for modern public health. In "Everything Bad Is Good For You" (2005), Johnson documents the complexity of  video games and how they actually make kids smarter.

The Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence is appointed each calendar year to participate in the educational activities of the school. The appointment has been made possible by a generous gift from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Recent professionals-in-residence have included: Kenneth Lerer, Huffington Post’s chairman and co-founder; Brian Storm, former lead multimedia producer, MSNBC.com; Adrian Holovaty, former editorial innovations editor, WashingtonPost.com, among others.