Jessica Johnson, former editor-in-chief of The Walrus, has moved from the newsroom to the classroom: she'll be teaching two courses at the University of Toronto this year.
This is her second stint as an instructor with U of T, having co-designed and co-taught the course #MeToo in the Media for the Book & Media Studies program at St. Michael’s College in 2019 with the late Anne Kingston.
“#MeToo and the Media was a really successful class,” says Johnson. “We got into the changing business of journalism, how traditional media and social media inform each other, and increasing questions about journalistic ethics. I felt like we were designing a curriculum for how to be a modern journalist.
“A few years have passed, and it's not like #MeToo has gone away. But the nature of journalism and where it’s headed is more relevant than ever.”
Offered through the Department of English this fall, Literary Journalism examines writing genres such as investigative journalism, profiles, and the personal essay, identifying and discussing the elements of structure, style and voice. Through readings, class discussions and guest speakers, Johnson’s course traces the evolution of long-form writing over the last century, from The New Yorker to today’s viral web essays.
There's definitely a feeling for me being in a room that Northrop Frye once sat in. I feel like I'm part of a specific Canadian tradition of learning. For me that’s quite powerful.
“I put everything I know about editing into it,” she says. “What are the elements of good journalistic writing now and how did they evolve that way? Everything on the reading list is good. There are classic stories that shaped the way we read and write from Esquire, as well as standout pieces from publications like The New Yorker and The Walrus.”
For Johnson, who served as editor-in-chief of The Walrus from 2017 to early 2023, the transition from the newsroom to classroom has been fairly smooth.
“I'm getting to teach what I do right now,” she says. “The Literary Journalism class is not a big shift for me because what editors really do is mentor journalists. You learn together and it's very collaborative. Figuring out with people how to write their stories is the job, so I’m using what I’ve learned in a different way.”
So what is different in standing in front of a class of students, instead of professional writers?
“If anything, I'm not used to the authority that I have,” she says. “I’m not used to being able to talk as much as I want, but the students are bringing just as much to the table. In fact, the level of engagement and knowledge in the student body is phenomenal.”
Still, there’s been a bit of an adjustment.
“Suddenly, there you are in front of more than 100 students,” she says. “When I was newly hired as an editor at The Walrus, I didn't have as much experience with public speaking.” But she quickly overcame any reservations.
“I learned that if you can talk to young people aged 18 to 20 from all over the world and keep their attention for an hour or two, it's not going to get harder than that,” she says.
Teaching and being on campus also remind Johnson of her time as a creative writing student, and the important lessons she learned that had a profound impact on her writing and editing career.
“When I was an undergrad, one of my teachers, who happened to be a fiction instructor, taught us about the different types of structures that stories can take,” she says.
“She mapped out a page with different story structures and shapes. That stayed with me throughout my career. One of the reasons I became the kind of journalist that I am — a person who does long-form and who's comfortable with complicated big stories — is because I had that early foundation in a fine arts program that taught me to look at the shape of a story.”
And she’s excited about sharing similar lessons with her students.
“A lot of people think that good writing or good journalism comes from inspiration or observation,” she says.
“That's maybe a third of it. Say you see a car crash, or a protest on campus, we’ve talked about the ways you might cover that. That's just the evidence. What are you going to do with it? How are you going to present it in a compelling way? That's where the art comes in.”
Johnson also derives great satisfaction (and a sense of irony and amusement) from being addressed as ‘professor.’
“My stepfather, Tom Johnson, taught for many years at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School,” she says. Her grandfather, Norman Ward, was a political economist who also taught for many years at the University of Saskatchewan.
“There are many forms of teachers and professors in my family. So it’s a welcome surprise to be doing it now, especially because I’m a woman. So hearing ‘Professor Johnson’ is quite special to me.”
Just as special is being a part of U of T’s long tradition of writing excellence.
“There's definitely a feeling for me being in a room that Northrop Frye once sat in,” says Johnson. “I feel like I'm part of a specific Canadian tradition of learning. For me that’s quite powerful.”
That tradition continues next term, with Johnson returning to St. Michael’s College and its Book & Media Studies program to teach a course called, The Future of Journalism.
“The new class is about the intersection of the media, society and democracy,” she says. “It explores key issues in contemporary media, from the influence of social media to heightened expectations from audiences for transparency and accountability, to the evolving face of media and what it could become.”
In the meantime, she hopes her current course will give students some of the tools and techniques to confidently pursue careers as professional writers and journalists.
“Having spent 25 years at this, I feel helping others to become writers might be the biggest impact I can make.”