Eric M. Johnson

@MarkSimonHK @instapundit I ran the digital team for the "other" daily newspaper in DC from 1999-2004. The senior editors regarded us as an afterthought, even when daily online readership rose above 20X print circulation. They only cared about "important people" reading the print edition.

Great column by @instapundit Glenn Reynolds. What major media companies never considered was the hierarchy of management of their newsrooms & business side meant there was little incentive to innovate. - My boss and I visited the Washington Post years ago, hosted by the wonderful Chris Ma. We went into a conference room and across the table were spread iPads. The editorial leaders of the paper had just finished a meeting with their tech team and some of the younger editors had been explaining how News was migrating to Digital. - Chris explained to us that this iPad effort had generally been met with disregard by the Sr. editors and that most of them just left the iPads there, considering them a toy. - My boss, Jimmy Lai, told me at dinner that night. We’d have to have a new Digital team at Apple Daily because we would have the same problem. The old guys would never abandon print. It’s what they knew. - Hence, when I rolled out our new Digital effort, the boss designated journalist and editors completely separate from the print. And in fact, we had two separate teams for nearly 10 years. - Which brings me to the second part of the excellent analysis by Glen. Legacy media, whether it’s CNN or major newspapers is still dominated by men and women in their 50s who just want one more year of high salaries. Innovation is not rewarded, it’s a way out the door in their eyes. - So while I know there is a liberal bias in every newsroom that I’ve ever dealt with, I’ve never really considered that bias to be the main problem, but rather the incentives not to change the structure of the business. - It’s why Fox news is so successful. Roger Ailes never had to deal with an inherited legacy. He started from scratch, saw the market opening, and there was no hindrance from existing staff to shoot that gap.

My latest New York Post column. nypost.com/2025/06/17/opi…

I’m pleased to note that I have been appointed to the advisory board of Cambridge Shakespeare Editions, joining a list of much worthier advisors. I look forward to supporting an editorial tradition that has done so much for myself and so many others. Link: cambridge.org/core/browse-su…

Hi, friends: After almost a decade of service, I will be departing the Folger Shakespeare Library at the end of the month. Possibilities are emerging, but DM me with opportunities and ideas. My LinkedIn profile is below. Thanks! linkedin.com/in/ericmarcusj…

"The Routledge Handbook of Shakespeare and Interface" is out, with a chapter by Stacey Redick and yours truly. Thanks to @PaulBudra and Cliff Werier for putting this volume together. cc: @LostPlayhouse @EpistolaryBrown @heidicraig @KurtDaw @JonathanPLamb @mandellc @ullyot

For all of the #Shax2022 folks who are curious about the ship moored outside the conference hotel: orleck.org

There are some subtle differences between the #shax2022 sessions and the Ultimate Fighting Championship events, but you have to pay close attention to notice them.

Try our new Prattle game, inspired by Wordle, and discover which words Shakespeare used (and didn't use) in his works.

You can defeat most #Wordle rounds with these 5 guesses, which should reveal 5 letters almost every time. They use 21 letters (the remaining 5 each appear in less than 1% of English words). P.S. The first word is not a Pavlovian test -- it uses 4 of the 8 most-used consonants.

@FolgerLibrary is hiring a Head of Exhibitions to lead our completely renewed and expanded exhibitions program. Know anybody who might be interested? Details at the link below. amherst.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FSL_Empl…

@LostPlayhouse @jennystevens26 @Tate I'm usually mistaken for Samuel Johnson, so being mistaken for Hogarth is a (small) step up....

@jennystevens26 @Tate Wow, but then again I'll see your Ross Kemp and raise you an Eric Johnson @OSShakespeare :)

Enjoying the ‘Hogarth and Europe’ exhibition @Tate. Struck by the artist’s uncanny resemblance to Ross Kemp.

@ProfKFH @mediaShakes @gwayvt @Thisbysmantle True. It's also hard to differentiate between characters who wear the same uniform, whether or not the actors are well-known. That's why movies often show modern warriors with unfastened chinstraps or without helmets, even though that's an incredibly foolish battlefield risk.

Microsoft Outlook generally hates me, but at least it agrees with the correct spelling of "e-mail."

Microsoft Windows now has a weather widget on the task bar, often with a mini-forecast. This prediction is my favorite so far. Does the widget ever think it *won't* stop? If not, what will it say? "Build an ark"?

Looking forward to presenting at the Blackfriars Conference at the end of October. But I'm even happier that that conference itself will happen, and that the American Shakespeare Center (@shakespearectr) remains open.

Maybe you already know about this tool, but if you have to plan meetings across time zones, this is much better than trying to visualize the time differences in your head. timeanddate.com/worldclock/mee…

A critical discussion about digital humanities will kick off "Renaissance: Nouvelles Voies | Renaissance: New Ways," FISIER's 2021-22 Virtual Interdisciplinary Seminar, on June 28 @ 13:00 UTC. Participants include Anthony Grafton and Marie-Luce Demonet. fisieronline.wordpress.com/renov-renew/

@Laura_Estill @mj_kidnie @JanelleJenstad @EffectDefective I'm fondly remembering that as well (particularly since our youngest baby will have her driver's license in less than a year -- I miss having babies around!).

And by "Collation," I meant Shakespeare & Beyond. Apologies for the error, but do read the blog post anyway!

The Folger Shakespeare Editions are being translated by Iranian scholar Professor Ali Salami, marking the first time many of the works have been translated into Persian. Read about it at the @FolgerLibrary's Collation blog. shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2021/03/05/tra…

The seminar "Wiring the Circuits of Global Shakespeare" will be part of the all-remote World Shakespeare Congress: Shakespeare Circuits (18-24 July 2021). The description is below -- please DM me if you have any questions. wsc2021.org/Seminars.html