Soterios Johnson: 'It's Like He's a Rock Star'

By GABRIELLE BIRKNER, Staff Reporter of the Sun
July 16, 2007

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.

The WNYC station staff regularly fields requests for autographed photos of the baby-face 39-year-old newsman. Beat reporters say that, while out on assignment, they are frequently bombarded with questions about Mr. Johnson.

"It's like he's a rock star," a city government reporter at WNYC, Beth Fertig, said, recalling how guests responded to Mr. Johnson at a recent cocktail party for station donors. "We walked in together, and it was all about Soterios. I joked, ‘What am I — chopped liver?'"

Mr. Johnson said he's flattered, if puzzled, by the fervor of his fan base. He attributes it to the "intimate medium" of radio, and to listeners' fascination with his distinctive moniker, which means "savior" in Greek. (His Cyprus-born paternal grandfather changed his last name to Johnson upon becoming an American citizen.)

The ultimate fan tribute will come later this month, when a Brooklyn-based heavy metal band called Satirius Johnson releases its first album full of what guitarist Alistair Wallace calls "hard, noisy music."

Satirius Johnson's three members, all avid listeners of WNYC, see more than a little irony in the band's name, Mr. Wallace said. "I imagine Soterios Johnson is quiet, unassuming, and maybe a little bit bookish," he said. "I don't know if he would necessarily be into a band that plays eight-minute songs with lots of feedback, but you never know."

The band places Mr. Johnson — alongside Sam Champion of ABC's "Good Morning America" and Gina Kolata of the New York Times — in a tiny cadre of distinctively named New York journalists who have inspired rock band names.

In addition to the jolting sounds of Satirius Johnson, Mr. Johnson, known to friends as SoJo, has also launched a more lyrical brand of music. A popular Brooklyn folk-rock singer and songwriter, Jonathan Coulton, several years ago, penned "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance." The song imagines the radio host as a nocturnal party animal, making the rounds at New York City nightclubs. Lyrics include: "Go, Soterios Johnson, go/All the club kids are watching your glowstick glow/With the light of a truth you can't hide/That the news is the news, but the dance goes on forever."

Mr. Coulton surmises that the WNYC host, whom he has never met, bears little resemblance to his musical alter ego. "He seems like he'd be a very gentle, very serious guy; he seems like someone who goes to bed early, and eats a healthy breakfast," he said. "I can't imagine anyone who would be anti-Soterios Johnson — it's such a crazy idea."

Recalling the first time he heard "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance," Mr. Johnson said: "I nearly fell out of my chair."

In fact, the genial newsman is usually in bed by 9 p.m. — not out wielding glowsticks at nightclubs — rises weekday mornings before dawn, and drinks green tea to make it through his early morning shift.

During his five-year tenure as the WNYC morning host, Soterios Johnson has heard of more than one listener who has named a pet after him. In an interview with The New York Sun, he recalled hearing his name called during an East Village house party; turning around, he realized the hostess was beckoning her cat.

Several years ago, a listener named Pascale Alexis sent an e-mail message to the station to say she was expecting her second child, and was considering the name Soterios, for a boy. "It has such a nice sound, and I associate it with Soterios Johnson — he's always so pleasant on the radio," Ms. Alexis, who ended up giving birth to a girl, said in an interview.

"In a weird kind of way, I'm putting the name on the map," Mr. Johnson, who has a brother named Chris and a sister named Marianna, said.

A New Jersey native, Mr. Johnson began his broadcast career as a deejay and manager at his high school radio station. He went on to host a classical music radio show at Columbia University, where he received a bachelor's degree in American history in 1990.

After college, he spent several years working for a science-themed nonprofit organization. Intent on returning to the airwaves, Mr. Johnson applied in the mid-1990s for an overnight gig at WNYC. While he didn't get that job, the station put him on the relief list — and soon he was filling in for absent on-air staffers.

Eventually, he was hired on as a weekend host, a job he retained while pursuing a graduate degree in journalism at Columbia. His big break came about five years ago, when he became the host of WNYC's "Morning Edition," the station's highest-rated show, according to its publicity manager, Jennifer Houlihan.

For the time being, Mr. Johnson said he's happy with his morning gig. Still, he said, he's not naturally an early riser, and has given some thought to what his next career move will be. "I always want to be challenging myself," he said.

Given his level of name recognition and his popularity with New Yorkers, would Mr. Johnson consider running for political office? "Probably not," he said with a sigh. "But, you never know."