Teaching
My relentless enthusiasm for learning and for modern journalism provides students a strong foundation in journalistic storytelling across platforms. I believe that our students desire and deserve to experience real-world scenarios and to develop meaningful connections with faculty, the community and each other in person and via technology.
A colleague wrote, “Inspiring enthusiasm is your superpower.” I am proud to be a member of the faculty as we educate, empower and equip students to succeed in the media industry and related professions.
My fresh course plans draw on my experiences as a magazine and website editor, freelance journalist, entrepreneur, educator, and member of the first cohort of UGA’s MFA in narrative media writing. I introduce innovative, interesting assignments that require out-of-class reporting and assign diverse reading and visual materials.
Innovative and Relevant
I create and develop new ideas in all of my classes, particularly Reporting I (JOUR 3090), a required core course with about 160-180 students per semester. I am the lead instructor for the course, which has eight to nine sections of about 20 students per semester. For consistency, each section uses the textbook, workbook and syllabus that I created, and the same exercises, assignments and rubrics.
Meet and Greet
Our Reporting I “beat meet and greet,” launched in spring 2024 semester is a daylong networking event in Studio 100 that brought together more than 35 public relations professionals, business owners, professors, government officials, nonprofit leaders, student leaders and clergy.
The students visited with beat representatives, took photos, wrote captions, conducted interviews and shared takeaways. We introduced them to beats before they submitted their top choices, helped them learn about campus and Athens, and removed barriers and fears in a comfortable setting. Multiple guests, who volunteered, sent “thank you”s for appreciation to connect with students and intern opportunities.
Pitch Competition
The beat story pitch competition in our Reporting I class showcases interviewing, research, writing and multimedia skills. Students experience the challenge and thrill of pitching a story for possible publication.
I created the competition to generate excitement about storytelling with a hallmark event joining students, faculty and industry professionals, while at the same time assessing learning outcomes. Judges listen to in-person pitches and select a winner from each section that advances to the finals.
The all-day event in fall 2023 culminated with a finale that attracted more than 50 students on the Friday before Thanksgiving week, and we had the same type of response for the spring 2024 finale.
View photos from the 2024 event.
Beat BINGO
Gamification can help students explore and achieve course learning outcomes, but active classroom innovations require a technological twist. Beat BINGO transforms an old school game with a creative and novel use of technology for students today.
Students put skills into practice in an activity that leverages fun and competition as the motivation. Gamification allows me to show students I care that they learn the material and complex topics while removing some of the stress factor that they may associate with tests and quizzes as a form of assessment.
I have adapted beat BINGO into other classes for application of skills, including AP style and hunting for information disorder, and it will adapted to other subjects and schools, thanks to a 2024-2025 fiscal year grant.
Beat Mentors
I launched a beat mentor program in the 2023-2024 academic year with 10 students who previously took the course returning into the classrooms to facilitate active learning and create instructional materials that serve as a permanent record of beat advice.
This pilot increases engagement as the beat mentors support in-class and field instruction, encourage their peers and improve content understanding across sections. Impact is measured by skills assessments in which students rate their knowledge of beat reporting; grades on beat-focused assignments; written reflections; and evidence of connectivity across the curriculum.
Event Coverage
Students report on more than a dozen meetings, festivals, concerts and speeches via social media and event stories each semester, all of which I orchestrate and oversee.
We covered 13 events with more than 1,580 social media posts plus Grady Newsource stories in spring 2024. Students’ work has been published by The Athens Banner-Herald/OnlineAthens.com, GradyNewsource.com, and shared by the event organizers on social media and websites. Events include Historic Athens Porchfest, a daylong concert series throughout neighborhoods in October. The Porchfest organizer texted the next day, “Your students were incredible. Love this initiative!”
News Conference
Our Reporting I news conference is a rite of passage for our 160-180 students per semester.
The class discussions on news conferences, students' individual prep work, their social media coverage, their photography, the secondary source interviews and the inverted pyramid story they produce helps us achieve multiple learning objectives at once.
Our news conferences in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have been with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz on a variety of topics, including his election platform, homelessness, The Classic Center Arena and the future growth plan. The best stories are published on Grady Newsource.
What Students Say
I make connections with students in and out of the classroom, including having them over to my house for a home-cooked meal during the semester, providing learning opportunities like our beat mentor program and celebrating with them at graduation, as you can see in the photo carousel to the left.
“Along with your constant encouragement and critiques, I do really feel like I can take on the world post-graduation … All students who will continue to have you at UGA are blessed to have someone so invested in their success. Thank you for all the impact you made in my life, and all of the impact you will continue to make to other Grady students.”
“I’ve been thinking about you and your classes a bunch since starting my capstone. Thank you thank you thank you for preparing me so well for this level of work and reporting. I’m still putting in a lot of work on my end, but I know what I’m doing thanks to you!"
Fall 2024 Semester
I teach and create courses that give students an opportunity to deepen and expand their reporting experiences and prepare them for the industry. I am teaching these courses in fall 2024 at the University of Georgia.
JOUR 3090 Reporting I: Critical Skills for Reporting and Storytelling
Students will report, write and edit various journalistic story types for digital, print and broadcast that adhere to professional and ethical standards of journalism.
“Lori Johnston is an asset to all journalism and PR students. In her reporting class last semester, her enthusiasm and commitment to my individual growth made the biggest difference in my work. She is someone I can place my trust in, and I’m so thankful for her support and fearless coaching.”
A key event is the Hackathon each semester. Here's a story about the spring 2024 Hackathon.
JRCL 3600 Media Savvy: Becoming Digitally Literate
Clickbait. Deepfakes. Disinformation. Bias. Hoaxes. Fake news. The media shapes what an individual knows about their community and the world, and being savvy about the news is essential to making decisions. This course enhances the ability to discern between news and misinformation through critical examination of how we access, analyze, verify and create media messages. We will look closely at the critical role news organizations play in informing us and its significance for our democracy.
“It’s incredibly important that the public is informed about these types of information disorders so they can make informed decisions during the election cycles and in life in general.”
Our Home and Garden Writing class produced the 16-page publication in The Oglethorpe Echo in December 2022. It won a Georgia Press Association award in 2023.
JOUR 5900/7900: Special Topics in Home and Garden Writing
Reporting on decorating, design and DIY projects for homes and gardens fill social media feeds, Pinterest boards, digital and print publications. This specialized storytelling appears regularly in: major national broadcasts, digital and print outlets, such as HGTV, Magnolia Network and the New York Times; niche magazines and websites, such as Southern Living and Elle Décor; and local media and city publications. Stories profile interior designers and tastemakers, cover local home and garden tours, and identify trends — what’s in and what’s out — in decorating. This special topics course introduces students to writing about interior design, architecture and gardens, and the fun in doing so.
“Professor Johnston is a wonderful professor. I had never had a class with her before, but I had often heard how great and helpful she is, so I was excited to finally get to know her. In addition to being skillful and talented, Professor Johnston goes out of her way to support her students.”
More Courses
These courses also are in my teaching repertoire.
JOUR 5510/7510: Religion Reporting
The intersection of faith, culture and politics through news and feature articles and audio and visual storytelling. Students will examine media coverage of faith and spirituality. With quick-turn and longer deadlines, students will write and produce fair and accurate stories with original local reporting about the world’s major religions and various belief systems.
"I can truly say that this is the most impactful and useful class I've taken in all of my years of schooling. I felt that I truly left every single class with new knowledge and a feeling that I had learned something valuable. Religion is a topic that many are afraid to speak on, but this class encouraged each student's curiosities, doubts and questions. The point of this class is to realize that religion is EVERYWHERE in the media, and this was clear in so many ways."
JOUR 5190/7190: Feature Writing
Teaches students to write engaging feature articles suitable for a range of platforms. Students will write several publishable-quality stories of various lengths and formats, and they will learn to critically read and analyze writing.
"She takes the time to get to know each of her students individually. She knows which actors we have crushes on, (thank you, professor, for my coveted copy of Entertainment Weekly starring Robert Pattinson) what our favorite Athens restaurants are, what our authentic journalistic voice sounds like. My portfolio, writing style and confidence in my profession have grown because of her belief in me. I am a better writer, student of the craft, and young professional because of Lori Johnston. Most importantly, I’m a better person for getting to look up to her."
JOUR 5590/7590: Critical Writing
Students will engage critically and creatively with art and entertainment in various genres, including music, film, theater and books, and with American culture generally. Students will write clear, cogent articles and reviews of publishable quality, suitable for multiple platforms.
"Her knowledge and expertise in the area is inspiring and a honorable opportunity to learn under someone with such prestige. She treats every student like they are one of hers and that’s a trait you don’t get in most professors. She wants what’s deserving of her students and does her very best to help and guide them to be the best at what they want to be."
JOUR 5390/7390: Investigative Reporting
Students master investigative reporting techniques involving documents, data, and human sources. Special emphasis on investigating and holding accountable government and other major institutions. Students will produce a major investigative project.
"Professor Johnston was a tough cookie for sure, but you can tell that she really does love her students and wants us to do well. Johnston was a professor that really was my biggest supporter as a student in her classroom. She is clear about what she wants for her students, and if you fulfill the requirements, you will do well in her course. She equips her students with all the resources and skills we need to be fluent in writing news."