Assistant Professor
Journalism and Media Studies
Education
Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of Iowa
M.A., Communication, Marquette University
B.S., Secondary Education and Journalism, Marquette University
Courses Taught
COMM 1200 Media in Society
COMM 2100 Introduction to Visual Communication
COMM 3900 Ethical Problems of Mass Communications
JOUR 1001 Principles of Journalism
JOUR 1100 Digital Journalism 1
JOUR 4510 Magazine Design and Production
JOUR 4997 Capstone in Journalism
ADPR 2200 Media Writing
Research Interests
News Literacy
Journalism Education & Pedagogy
Journalism Studies
Media Ethics
Issues of Sex and Sexuality
Horror Studies
Professional Experience
High school journalism teacher and media advisor, 2013-2020
Mentor program chair, Journalism Education Association, 2016-2020
Summer workshop director, Kettle Moraine Press Association, 2011-2020
Professional Affiliations
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
International Communication Association
Society of Professional Journalists
NLGJA
Publications
Expand all | Collapse all
Refereed Journal Articles
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Burth, S., Riewestahl, E., Ramasubramanian, S., Foster, B., Johnson, P. R., Mihailidis, P., & Tully, M. (2024). Mapping Media Literacy Impact in the U.S.: A Review of Literature and Call for Equity. Annals of the International Communication Association. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2024.2354357.
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Foster, B., Mihailidis, P., Johnson, P. R., Burth, S., Tully, M., Ramasubramanian, S., & Riewestahl, E. (2024). Designing Equitable Media Literacy Interventions for Critical Youth Agency. Global Studies of Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1177/20436106231208445.
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Robinson, S., & Johnson, P. R. (2024). Rectifying harm through care-based practices: How journalists contend with disengaged communities’ distrust. Journalism Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2289889.
Johnson, P. R. (2023). It’s (not) in the syllabus: Contradiction, construction, and taxonomic qualities of ethics in JMC syllabi. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, 13(2), 12-21.
Johnson, P. R. (2023). A case of claims and Facts: Automated fact-checking the future of journalism’s authority, Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2174564.
- Dowling, D. O., Johnson, P. R., & Ekdale, B. (2022). Hijacking journalism: Legitimacy and metajournalistic discourse in right-wing podcasts. Media and Communication, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i3.5260.
- Johnson, P. R. (2022). Defining the ethical student journalist. Journal of Media Education, 13(2), 20-39. https://en.calameo.com/journal-of-media-education/read/000091789f74a761ca371.
- Johnson, P. R. (2022). A snake in the grass: Adapting journalistic truth to the silver screen. Quarterly Review of Film and Video. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509208.2022.2045166.
- Mihailidis, P., Ramasubramanian, S., Tully, M., Foster, B., Riewestahl, E., Johnson, P., & Angrove, S. (2021). Do media literacies approach equity & justice?. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 13(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2021-13-2-1.
Book Chapters
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Wang, Y., & Johnson, P. R. (2024). The Rainbow Is Not Color-Blind: Teaching Journalism and Intersectionality Through the Lens of The Queer Press. In Instructing Intersectionality: Critical and Practical Strategies for the Mass Communication Classroom. Rowan and Littlefield.
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Tully, M., & Johnson, P. R. (2024). News literacy and digital journalism. In Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (2nd edition). Routledge.
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Johnson, P. R. (2024). News literacy is essential to democracy. In T. J. Johnson & A. Veenstra (Eds.), The Press and Democratic Backsliding: How Journalism has Failed the Public and How it Can Revive Democracy (pp. 249-270). Lexington Books.
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Johnson, P. R. (2023). Teaching advanced undergraduate media ethics. Teaching Media Ethics. AEJMC. Rowan and Littlefield.
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Johnson, P. R. (2023). Inclusive teaching as ethical practice. In Teaching Media Ethics. AEJMC. Rowan and Littlefield.
- Johnson, P. R., & Tully, M. (2023). Can We Rebuild Broken Relationships? Examining Journalism, Social Media, and Trust in a Fractured Media Environment. In K. Fowler-Watt & J. McDougall (Eds.), Palgrave Handbook on Media Misinformation (pp. 279-295). Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11976-7_19.
- Johnson, P. R., Foster, B., Riewestahl, E., Tully, M., Ramasubramanian, S., & Mihailidis, P. (2022) Critical Media Literacy Practices for Equitable Futures: A Field Guide for ELA. In M. T. Christel & W. Kist (Eds.), Bringing Critical Media Literacy into ELA Classrooms (pp. 27-32). National Council of Teachers of English.
- Ramasubramanian, S., & Johnson, P. R. (2022). Media and Learning of the Social World. In D. Lemish (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents, and Media (2nd edition) (pp. 277-284). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003118824-35.
Public Scholarship Projects
Reviewed Essays and Commentary
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Johnson, P. R. (2024). Journalism and its Response to Crisis: Understanding the Role of Place and Community in Journalism Studies. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(3), 335-337. https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599241252285
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Johnson, P. R. (2024). Exploring Gendered Futures. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(2), 183-184. https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599231206978
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Johnson, P. R. (2024). Finding Political Balance in Times of Political Inconsistency. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(1), 3-5. https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599231206978
- Johnson, P. R. (2022). Magazines that Made Me: Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, Fangoria. Journal of Magazine Media. https://doi.org/10.1353/jmm.2021.0010.
- Johnson, P. R. (2021). Media Literacy for Freedom: Activism for the Oppressed. Media Ethics Magazine, 33(1). https://www.mediaethicsmagazine.com/index.php/browse-back-issues/217-spring-2021-vol-32-no-3/3999361-media-literacy-for-freedom-activism-for-the-oppressed.
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ADD Special Issue Journal Editor
Johnson, P.R. (ed.). (2024). Sex and the Press, Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(4).
Trade and Professional Publications
- Johnson, P. (24 January 2023). In pursuit of a more news literate journalism. Trusting News. Medium. https://medium.com/trusting-news/in-pursuit-of-a-more-news-literate-journalism-2cc545da241.
- Darr, J., Johnson, P., & Muchna, M. (2 September 2022). Research insights: What we learned testing an anti-polarization checklist with news consumers. Medium. https://medium.com/trusting-news/research-insights-what-we-learned-testing-an-anti-polarization-checklist-with-news-consumers-a3c448f836be.
- Johnson, P., Robinson, S., & Muchna, M. (22 August 2022). Research insights: Reaching and building trust with diverse audiences. Medium. https://medium.com/trusting-news/research-insights-reaching-and-building-trust-with-diverse-audiences-3d53fc337884.
- Johnson, P. (8 July 2021). Reframing the future. Quill and Scroll | The Daily Scroll. <https://quillandscroll.org/13819/the-digital-quill/weekly-scroll/the-weekly-scroll-for-november-8-2021/>.
- Johnson, P. (14 July 2021). Research for/with gratitude and grace. Humanities for the Public Good. <https://uihumanitiesforthepublicgood.com/2021/07/14/research-for-with-gratitude-and-grace/>.
- Johnson, P. (25 June 2021). Brokaw’s press passes grant access to unique history. The University of Iowa Libraries: News and Announcements. <https://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/speccoll/2021/06/25/brokaws-press-passes-grant-access-to-unique-history/>.
- Johnson, P. (14 June 2021). A forgotten object in journalism history.” Humanities for the Public Good. < https://uihumanitiesforthepublicgood.com/2021/06/14/a-forgotten-object-in-journalism-history/>.
- Johnson, P. (30 July 2020). For student journalists, there’s no trouble like John Lewis’ “good trouble.” Quill and Scroll | The Daily Scroll. <https://quillandscroll.org/11612/the-digital-quill/qs-news/for-student-journalists-theres-no-trouble-like-john-lewis-good-trouble/>.
- Johnson, P. (16 January 2019). Five college Instagram accounts to be inspired by right now and why. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2019/01/16/five-college-instagram-accounts-to-be-inspired-by-right-now-and-why/>.
- Johnson, P. (11 January 2019). Here’s what one staff did to brand their Instagram account. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2019/01/11/heres-what-one-staff-did-to-brand-their-instagram-accounts/>.
- Johnson, P. (12 December 2018). I’m adviser Patrick Johnson, and this is our newsroom. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2018/12/12/im-adviser-patrick-johnson-and-this-is-our-newsroom/>.
- Johnson, P. (12 October 2018). Why Adobe Spark is your next tech tool. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2018/10/12/why-adobe-spark-is-your-next-tech-tool/>.
- Johnson, P. (10 October 2018). Spark Posts is the way to tell stories right now. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2018/10/10/spark-posts-is-the-way-to-tell-stories-right-now/>.
- Johnson, P.R. (3 July 2018). We hold these truths to be self evident. Marquette Educator. <https://marquetteeducator.wordpress.com/2018/07/03/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident/>.
- Johnson, P. (Fall 2017). Going onward and upward. Communication: Journalism Education Today.
- Johnson, P. (20 October 2017). Why we write: Scholastic journalism educators on the importance of modeling. Education Week. <http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/work_in_progress/2017/10/why_we_write_scholastic_journa.html>.
- Johnson, P. (Summer 2017). Things we like: The Tom Tom. Communication: Journalism Education Today.
- Johnson, P. (30 June 2017). Build up your staff’s spotify playlist with these quick ideas. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2017/06/30/build-up-your-staffs-spotify-playlist-with-these-quick-ideas/>.
- Johnson, P. (28 June 2017). Why Spotify is your next social media experience. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2017/06/28/why-spotify-is-your-next-social-media-experience/>.
- Johnson, P. (18 January 2017). Using Google Sheets to develop and track media campaigns. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2017/01/18/using-google-sheets-to-develop-and-track-media-campaigns/>.
- Johnson, P. (11 January 2017). 4 social media content tips to improve your sports storytelling and audience engagement. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2017/01/11/4-social-media-content-tips-to-improve-your-sports-storytelling-and-audience-engagement/>.
- Johnson, P. (9 January 2017). 7 Ways to develop a social media presence for school athletic programs. JEA Digital Media. <http://www.jeadigitalmedia.org/2017/01/09/7-ways-to-develop-a-social-media-presence-for-school-athletic-programs/>.
- Johnson, P. (Spring 2013). The social journalist: Adaptation and instruction for social media in the journalism classroom. Communication: Journalism Education Today.
- Johnson, P. (Fall 2012). Functioning in a digital world with a print history. Communication: Journalism Education Today.
- Johnson, P. (12 July 2012). The man with the ’35 Ford. Old Cars Weekly.
Honors and Awards
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Davis Ethics Outstanding Dissertation Award • 2024
Pennsylvania State University
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Media Ethics Division
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Carl J. Nelson Memorial Research Award • 2024
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Iowa
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AEJMC Promising Professor Award • 2023
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Mass Communication and Society Division
- John F. Murray Outstanding Doctoral Student – Research • 2023
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The University of Iowa
- NOND Student Research Award and Grant • 2023
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Newspaper and Online News Division
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award • 2023
University of Iowa
- Michael Hoefges Graduate Student Research Award and Grant • 2023
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Law and Policy Division
- Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship • 2023
The Graduate College, The University of Iowa
- Top Student Paper • Moeller Student Paper Competition • 2022
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Mass Communication and Society Division
- John F. Murray Outstanding Doctoral Student – Research • 2022
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The University of Iowa
- Top Student Paper • 2021
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), LGBTQ Interest Group
- Hugh Vollrath Ross Scholarship • 2021
The Graduate College, The University of Iowa
- Distinguished National Journalism Teacher of the Year • 2016
Dow Jones News Fund
- Outstanding Graduate Student • 2013
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
Presentations
- Robinson, S. & Johnson, P. R. (29 May 2023). Rectifying harm through care-based practices: How journalists might tend to disengaged communities. Paper submitted to the 73rd annual meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Johnson, P. R., Darr, J. P., & Robinson, S. (25 May 2023). White flight from journalism: News avoidance of diversity and the editorial response in local news. Paper submitted to the Reuters News Avoidance Pre-Conference at the 73rd annual meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Burth, S., Riewestahl, E., Ramasubramanian, S., Foster, B., Johnson, P. R., Mihailidis, P. & Tully, M. (October 2022). The 6E’s of Media Literacy Impact: A Framework to Understand Differential Outcomes of Media Literacy Practices. Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Oakland, California.
- Johnson, P. R., Tully, M., Foster, B., Mihailidis, P., Riewestahl, E., & Ramasubramanian, S. (6 August 2022). Developing a Framework for Equitable Media Literacy Practice: Voices from the Field. Paper submitted to the 105th annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Detroit, Michigan.
- Johnson, P. R. (5 August 2022). It’s (Not) in the Syllabus: Contradiction and Taxonomic Qualities of Ethics in JMC Syllabi, a Mixed Methods Study. Paper submitted to the 105th annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Detroit, Michigan.
- Johnson, P. R. (4 August 2022). Building a Sexstainable Future: Pornhub, CSR, and the Anti-Sustainability Heterosexual Male. Paper submitted to the 105th annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Detroit, Michigan. Top Student Paper, Second Place Moeller Student Paper Competition.
- Johnson, P. R., & Foster, B. (28 July 2022). They grow up and start dying: The construction of cultural authority and journalism boundaries through detachment/attachment in Fangoria. Mapping the Magazine 7: Magazines and the Moment. Des Moines, Iowa.
- Johnson, P. R. (30 June 2022). Imagining more equitable futures through sustainability-centered thinking. World Journalism Education Congress. Virtual.
- Mihailidis, P., Ramasubramanian, S., Tully, M., Johnson, P., Riewestahl, E., & Foster, B. (2022) Media Literacy as a Safeguard to Democracy. International Media Literacy Research Symposium. Madison, WI.
- Johnson, P.R. (5 August 2021). A snake in the grass: Adapting sex and sexuality from journalistic truth to the silver screen. Paper submitted to the 104th annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Virtual. Top Student Paper.
- Johnson, P.R. (8 July 2021). A case of claims and facts: Automated fact-checking and the future of journalism’s authority. Paper submitted to the 22nd annual meeting of the Media Ecology Association (MEA), Virtual.
- Johnson, P.R. (6 March 2021). A reckoning of objectivity with moral clarity. Paper presented at the annual midwinter conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Virtual.
- Ekachai, D. & Johnson, P. (14 September 2012). A content analysis of social media syllabi. Paper presented at the annual MMA fall educators conference. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Why Marquette
Let’s start with this: I’m home.
Marquette is where my journey began. It is where I cultivated my love and passion for student media and journalism education. It is where I learned to care for the whole person, cura personalis, which became the bedrock to my teaching philosophy, pedagogy, and practice. Coming back to join the journalism faculty—the department that gave me so many life gifts and opportunities—and as Director of Student Media means I get a full circle journey. It means I get to mentor and coach students who were just like me when I first came campus and heard the bells chime “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as I walked to Johnston Hall and knew this place was something special.
Marquette believes in fostering a life-long love for community, service, and education. It inspires fellowship and amplifies scholarship. The attention to social justice and the desire to build men and women for others in incredibly important to my personhood and the work I do. I’m excited to be able to help students produce journalism that embodies Marquette’s mission and promotes a healthy and diverse democracy, engage students in conversations about inclusivity and equity, and maintaining a strong tradition of social responsibility. I’m back in the place I always knew I was destined to be, and I couldn’t be happier.
Research Affiliations & Appointments
Managing Editor, Journal of Communication Inquiry
Trusting News
Center for Technology, Information, and Public Life (CITAP, UNC-Chapel Hill)
National Association for Media Literacy Education