Rate My Professor Brett Johnson

Brett Johnson, Ph.D., J.D., is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Iowa. He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 2022 following a tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism from 2015 to 2022, where he advanced from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Journalism Studies. Johnson's academic background includes a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota (2015), an M.A. from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication (2011), and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law (2024). As a licensed attorney, he brings a unique perspective to his teaching and research.

Johnson's research and teaching focus on media law, media ethics, media sociology, and the disruptive forces of digital technology on these fields. His scholarship examines issues such as hate speech censorship, platform ethics, journalistic boundary work, and audience reactions to controversial speech. Key publications include "Third-person effect and hate speech censorship on Facebook" (Social Media + Society, 2020), "Covering hate: Field theory and journalistic role conception in reporting on White nationalist rallies" (Journalism Practice, 2022), "Placing Facebook: 'Trending,' 'Napalm Girl,' 'fake news' and journalistic boundary work" (Journalism Practice, 2018), "Speech, harm, and the duties of digital intermediaries: Conceptualizing platform ethics" (Journal of Media Ethics, 2017), "The Heckler’s Veto: Using First Amendment Theory and Jurisprudence to Understand Current Audience Reactions Against Controversial Speech" (Communication Law and Policy, 2016), "Young adults’ folk theories of how social media harms its users" (Mass Communication and Society, 2023), and "Tolerating and managing extreme speech on social media" (Internet Research, 2018). With over 540 citations on Google Scholar, Johnson's work has notable impact in media law and digital journalism studies. He has received the Presidential Engagement Fellowship at the University of Missouri (2021-2022) and was named an Emerging Scholar by the International Communication Association (2016-2017). Additionally, Johnson leads student experiential learning, including trips to Washington, D.C., to explore journalism and the First Amendment, and has served in leadership roles such as head of the AEJMC Law and Policy Division.