While I was looking for the spelling of the name of Soterios Johnson, one of the morning newscasters on WNCY, for a post I was writing, I came across a Brooklyn-based band by the name of Satirius Johnson, that was named for the WNYC newscaster. I also found an article about Johnson from the Columbia University web site. I listened to the band on their MySpace page and thought they sounded interesting. I’m dying to hear the song about Soterios Johnson.
I am hearing his voice right now. It’s hard to describe. It’s expressive, smart, easy to listen to; flawless without being smooth. I like it very much. He got his start in radio at Columbia University’s WKCR, a legendary station.
In addition to news from WNYC reporters, Campbell and Johnson watch the newswire and television monitors for breaking news, and nearby are copies of local and national newspapers. In the early morning, they have a general idea of what stories they plan to broadcast, but events dictate changes and Johnson and Campbell quickly write and rewrite stories during the course of the show.
Johnson edits everything he will say; he adds ellipses and breath marks to the page to indicate where to pause to add clarity to his delivery. “You try to write news and deliver it in such a way that listeners can understand it the first time around,” he says. “Keep the subject and verbs close together without a lot of clauses muddying things up.”
Though he is known as “So-Jo” at WNYC, the name Soterios intrigues many listeners. A variation of soter, Greek for “savior,” it refers to Jesus in the New Testament and comes from his maternal grandfather, who died in Athens before the two met.
The last name was born out of an American experience. Johnson’s paternal grandfather arrived in New York from Cyprus with the name Ioannou, a patronymic that in English means “son of John.” According to family legend, on the day he became an American citizen, Johnson’s grand-father went out in the morning an Ioannou and returned home a Johnson.
The singular name and standout personality seem to inspire New York artists. A Brooklyn-based rock band took the name “Satirius Johnson.” Singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton, who says he wakes to Johnson’s “soothing” voice every morning, wrote an entire song about him, “Dance Soterios Johnson Dance.” In Coulton’s song, the newsman possesses a secret identity as a club dancer. “I’m quite honored,” Johnson says. “It’s a clever and catchy song written by a very creative guy.”