1. Scott C. Johnson
Journalist/Author
Tel: 510-648-5503
Email: caameron@gmail.com
WORK EXPERIENCE
Current: The Hollywood Reporter, Senior Writer
- I write long form features for the magazine.
July 2013 – May 2015 Freelance
- (Hollywood Reporter; Foreign Policy; Politico; National Geographic)
Violence Reporting Fellow, Oakland Tribune/California Endowment, September 2010 – July 2013
- Responsible for developing narrative stories that address the impact of trauma and violence on the mental
health of communities in the East Bay. Responsible for a daily blog reaching 2.3 million readers a week.
Africa Bureau Chief, Newsweek, April 2007 – January 2010
- Responsible for Newsweek’s Africa coverage; Reported extensively from over 15 countries; authored
numerous cover stories from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Congo and Ghana; published “Slaughter in the Jungle,” a
globally recognized story about the killing of Congo’s endangered mountain gorillas; expanded Newsweek’s electronic
and multi-media presence; managed a network of stringers and freelancers across the continent.
Baghdad Bureau Chief, Newsweek, April 2005 – January 2007
-Responsible for Newsweek’s Iraq coverage; managed a staff of 16, including reporters, security guards and
translators, and a $500,000 budget to ensure Newsweek’s continued authority over this critical story; reported and
wrote dozens of features, cover stories, exclusive interviews and breaking news items in the magazine and on the web
that advanced understanding of Iraq; developed a comprehensive strategy to deal with mental trauma of war zone
coverage; directed and oversaw all of Newsweek’s day-to-day operations in Iraq during the onset of the most violent
period in the post-2003 era, including combat operations, COIN operations with the U.S military and immersion in
Iraqi society.
Mexico Bureau Chief, Newsweek, June 2002 – April 2005
-Responsible for Newsweek’s Central America coverage; reported and wrote stories from Mexico,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela and Peru; assisted in developing Newsweek’s Spanish language
presence; reported on immigration issues from the southern U.S border; received an Overseas Press Club Honorable
Mention for coverage of economic issues in Latin America; developed fluency in Spanish. (Approximately one year of
this period was also spent in Iraq, including a 7-month period covering the American invasion, subsequent U.S combat
operations and obtaining the first published interview in an American publication with Iraqi insurgents, titled “Inside
Iraq’s Resistance,” July 2003.)
Afghanistan Correspondent, Newsweek, October 2001 – May 2002
-Reported and wrote dozens of stories documenting the American invasion of Afghanistan and the following
months of war and civil strife that followed; traveled extensively around the country following U.S military operations
and developments to build Afghan civil society; reported on combat situations; maintained the Newsweek office in
Kabul and liaised with editors and writers in New York to broaden coverage.
Paris Special Correspondent, Newsweek, September 1998 – October 2001
-Reported on a wide range of European stories from over ten countries. Subjects included Mad Cow disease,
pedophilia rings, French politics, education and literature, the U.S invasion of Kosovo, Italian economics, racism in
French suburbs. In 2000, I obtained the first interview with the family of Ahmed Ressam, in Algeria, who was later
convicted of trying to smuggle explosives into the United States from Canada.
EDUCATION
B.A., University of Washington, 1997; Comparative Literature; Comparative History of Ideas
Post-Graduate Studies, Arabic Language Institute, Fez, Morocco; Arabic Language, Culture Studies
AWARDS AND CITATIONS

2. National Book Award Nominee, September 2013, Long List.
Washington Post Notable Book, 2013
Kirkus Reviews, Best Non-Fiction 2013
Overseas Press Club, Honorable Mention, “Best Reporting in any medium on Latin America” 2004
Co-Recipient, National Magazine Award citation, 2003 for Newsweek’s team coverage of Iraq
Southern California Journalism Awards 2014, 1st
Place, Crime Writing
Southern California Journalism Awards 2014, 1st
Place, Investigative Reporting
Society of Professional Journalists, Nor-Cal, 2012 “Best Writing”
CNPA, several awards in 2012 including “Best Feature” and “Best Writing”
Best of the Net, “Death in a Box” (Guernica) 2012
LANGUAGES
French Written: Fair Oral: Excellent Reading: Excellent
Spanish Written: Fair Oral: Good Reading: Good
ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS AND APPEARANCES: New York Times, National Geographic, Foreign Policy,
BuzzFeed, Smithsonian, Granta, Guernica, The Hollywood Reporter, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, FOX NEWS, Young
Turks, Letras Libres, BBC, Bay Area News Group
Representation: Georges Borchardt Literary Agency, New York, NY (www.gbagency.com)
Book: “The Wolf and the Watchman” (W.W Norton, May 2013)
Websites: www.thewolfandthewatchman.com
www.scottcameronjohnson.com
www.oaklandeffect.com
oaklandhotspot.tumblr.com