G. Timothy Johnson (born July 9, 1936) is an American

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, physician, television journalist, and writer who, as "Dr. Tim Johnson", is known to television viewers as the longtime Chief Medical Correspondent for ''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

'' on the ABC television network.

Education

Johnson received his undergraduate degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where he earned ''

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

'' honors. In 1963, he graduated from

North Park Theological Seminary North Park Theological Seminary is a seminary located in the North Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the sole graduate theological school of the Evangelical Covenant Church. History In 1891, the school was founded by the Evangelical ...

in Chicago, Illinois and became an

ordained minister In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guid ...

with the

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people ...

. After two years in the ministry, he entered medical school and graduated '' summa cum laude'' from

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, whi ...

in Albany, New York, and subsequently received a master's degree in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Massachusetts.

Medical career

For many years he has been a member of the faculty of the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

at Harvard University and on the staff of Massachusetts General Hospital, a

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

of the Harvard Medical School and a biomedical research facility in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts.

Television career

Early television career

Johnson started his television career in the 1970s at WRGB-TV in Schenectady, NY while at Albany Medical Center. He moved to Boston in 1972 and became a charter staffer at newly-signed-on WCVB-Channel 5's ''Sunday Open House'' with a live, weekly segment interviewing other medical professionals about current medical issues. He also hosted "House Call", a half-hour weekly series on answering health-related questions from viewers and interviewing doctors and nurses on various health topics. The show was popular and won WCVB-TV an Emmy. He later became host of HealthBeat, a national health TV magazine program, from 1982 to 1984.

''ABC News''

In 1975, he joined ''ABC News'' as the medical reporter, and later became the "Medical Editor" of '' Good Morning America'' (GMA), ''ABC News'''s morning-news-and-talk program upon its première on November 3, 1975. In over three decades at ''ABC News'', he has reported for their various programs including '' World News Tonight'', a daily evening-news program; '' Nightline'', a late-night hard and soft news program; '' 20/20'', a

prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

television-newsmagazine program. Currently, Dr.

Jennifer Ashton Jennifer Lee Garfein Ashton (born April 23, 1969) is a physician, author, and television correspondent. She is chief health and medical editor and chief medical correspondent for ''ABC News'' and ''Good Morning America'', chief women's health c ...

is the Chief Medical Editor for ''ABC News''; however, Johnson still serves as a correspondent. Typically, though not exclusively, Ashton reports on developments in nutrition and pediatrics, while Johnson focuses on health issues for senior adults.

Retirement

Johnson retired from ABC in 2010. Johnson retired from WCVB at the end of 2012.

Ministry

Johnson continues as a Pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Awards

Johnson was inducted as a Laureate of

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to recognizing contributions made by living Illinoisans. Named for Abraham Lincoln, the Academy administers the ''Order of Lincoln'', the highest award given ...

, and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2013 in the area of Communications.

Bibliography

Johnson published a book ''Finding God in the Questions: A Personal Journey'' (2004) (

InterVarsity Press Founded in 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) is an American publisher of Christian books located in Westmont, Illinois. IVP focuses on publishing Christian books that speak to important cultural moments, provide tools for spiritual growth, and e ...

, ) describing his journey of how he became a Christian, and answering a series of questions, such as "Why Bother With Religion and the Bible?" and "What Did Jesus Teach?"

Notes

External links

* *

Staff writer In journalism, a staff writer byline indicates that the author of the article is an employee of the periodical, as opposed to being an independent freelance writer. In Britain, staff writers may work in the office instead of traveling to cover a b ...

(2005-10-10).
"Dr. G. Timothy Johnson

. Accessed 2009-09-29. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Timothy 1936 births Albany Medical College alumni American Protestant ministers and clergy American medical journalists American non-fiction writers Physicians from Massachusetts American television reporters and correspondents Augustana College (Illinois) alumni Harvard School of Public Health alumni Harvard Medical School faculty Living people North Park Theological Seminary alumni Place of birth missing (living people) ABC News personalities