Journalists of The Gazette: Meet Jeff Johnson

Where are you from?

I’m a lifelong Cedar Rapidian for 58—almost 59—years now. I graduated from Washington High School in town where I was on the newspaper staff back in the day.

Where did you go to school?

I graduated from the University of Iowa after a little bit of a stint at Kirkwood Community College.

Describe your beat.

Over the years, it’s been 35 of them now, believe it or not, I’ve covered the University of Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, a lot of high school boys basketball, football, baseball, you name it. And a lot of hockey. We have a professional team, The Heartlanders, down in Coralville, and then the Rough Riders, a junior team in Cedar Rapids. I’ve been fortunate enough to cover the Rough Riders since they’ve been in town since 1999.

What do you like about being a sports writer?

I love interacting with athletes and coaches in our city and in our area. I was basically kind of a shy guy when I first got this job many years ago and it’s kind of brought me, personally, out of my shell. And it’s been great to meet so many wonderful people over the years and so many that I’m still in contact with.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love sports. I watch a lot of sports on TV and then the rest is spending time with my wife, who’s so very patient with me working nights, being out for games and being away from home. So I spend a lot of time with her, family and friends. But sports is never far away from the picture, even when I’m not on the clock.

Share a memorable story you’ve covered in your career.

I remember being on the road a lot, covering the men’s basketball team back in the day, driving eight hours to east Lansing, Michigan, which is never any fun. I remember covering the Independence Bowl back when Dan McCarty was the head coach at Iowa State. It was in Shreveport, Louisiana and that was the very first time I got to eat alligator. And I haven’t had any since—not saying it was bad. It actually was pretty good.

Tell us about your podcasts.

I love doing podcasts. Jeff Linder, K.J. Pilcher and I do podcasts. We do one in the football season called “Four Downs” where we go through what happened that week in the football season, what’s coming up, and give our thoughts and views.

In the winter, Jeff Linder and I do “Call It Both Ways”. He covers girls basketball and I cover boys basketball, so we talk through those seasons. We hear that “Call It Both Ways” from irate fans behind us at games, so we came up with that name for our podcast.

Where can we read your latest work?

You can find my latest work at www.thegazette.com/jeff-johnson.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com