Since August of 2011, Kristine Johnson has been an adjunct professor for Communications Studies in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Her experience in this field has made her a reliable and helpful source for her students.
Prior to teaching at NSU as a communications professor, Johnson completed her doctorate at Florida State University where she taught a variety of communication courses. Her research interests include audience analysis, new media, and health communication. Johnson has a master’s degree in advertising and public relations from Texas Christian University and a bachelor’s degree in speech from The University of Texas. She also has a background in radio broadcasting and experience as a marketing professional.
Johnson expressed a major interest in radio and music. Her favorite radio show is “This American Life” based out of Chicago, but airs nationwide. She also frequents Radioparadise.com and slicingupeyeballs.com, which are both sites dedicated to music.
Johnson began her time at NSU as a visiting professor but decided to stay on as an adjunct while also working as a part time professor at Florida International University. The classes she is teaching this semester include Research Methods in Communication, Mass Communication, and a Seminar in Hispanic Marketing at FIU. She said she enjoys teaching Research Methods in Communication the most. She credits Steven McClung, Head of the Graduate Program Business School at Mercer University as her mentor and continued inspiration.
Johnson always wanted to be involved in the communications field, specifically radio. She started off by working for NPR as a traffic reporter in Dallas. She later worked as a scriptwriter for the “Ultimate 80’s” television show, and also as a volunteer reporter in Portland, Oregon. She enjoyed working in the late 90’s the most.
“I enjoyed the dot com boom, jobs were really fun and different,” said Johnson.
Her music interests aren’t just limited to radio though. Her favorite concert experience was seeing the Super Suckers live.
“The energy was incredible and the lead singer puts on a great show,” said Johnson.
She is also a fan of musicians Leonard Cohen and Todd Snider saying that both are really fun to see live.
“They’re great storytellers and the songs have really interesting stories behind them,” said Johnson.
Outside of teaching, Johnson actively conducts specific research projects by employing the use of surveys to collect her data. Her published works include a study on audience use of new media technologies found on NPR.org and a study that examines the patterns and uses of podcast users. Johnson received feedback from 514 members from NPR program fan groups found on Facebook and 354 fans of shows that are podcast via surveys for the respective projects.
She is currently involved in multiple research projects. One is a health study on audience perception of obese individuals based on watching television’s “The Biggest Loser.” Johnson started working on the project in summer of 2012. She is also a part of a research project that examines offensive language spoken on Spanish morning radio programs on the two highest-rated radio stations offering streaming media over the Internet in the top-five Spanish markets. The purpose of this study is to identify the amount and kinds of offensive language spoken on air.
Johnson has credited her combined interest in new media, radio, and academia for fueling her various research projects and teaching endeavors.
“I really enjoy the research projects I’ve worked on, but am looking forward to getting back to teaching full time; it’s always been a passion of mine,” said Johnson.
In her free time, Johnson said she enjoys bike riding, jogging, and although has not participated in it too recently, swing dancing.
She is also a fan of Jamie Oliver recipes, saying, “They’re health conscious meals that are easy and fun to make.”
She has also stated that Vancouver, Canada is her favorite vacation spot because of the beautiful region it’s in.
