Nicholas Johnson

Who is Nicholas Johnson?

Nicholas Johnson is best known for his controversial term as a dissenting Federal Communications Commission commissioner, 1966-1973, and his book, How to Talk Back to Your Television Set. He currently teaches at the University of Iowa College of Law, with an emphasis on communications and Internet law, and since 2006 has posted over 1000 blog essays.

In addition to How to Talk Back to Your Television Set and Test Pattern for Living, he is the author of Your Second Priority: A Former FCC Commissioner Speaks Out, Are We There Yet: Reflections on Politics in America, What Do You Mean and How Do You Know? An Antidote for the Language That Does Our Thinking for Us, Virtualosity: Eight Students in Search of Cyberlaw, "Predicting Our Future Cyberlife", "From D.C. to Iowa: 2012, and new editions of "How to Talk Back to Your Television Set" and "Test Pattern for Living".

Johnson was born in Iowa City in 1934 and raised in Iowa, to which he returned in 1980. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, served as law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Judge John R. Brown and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black. He began his law teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley, practiced with Covington & Burling, Washington, and held three presidential appointments, including Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration, and F.C.C. commissioner. Following the F.C.C. service he chaired the National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting in Washington, and ran for Congress from Iowa’s Third Congressional District.