Robert M. Johnson (publisher)

Robert M. Johnson (born July 14, 1945), former publisher of Newsday, is now better-known as one of the most prominent men so far accused of child pornography offenses. On August 4, 2006, he pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of destroying computer records, and was sentenced to fifteen months in federal prison on December 15, 2006. In 2004, citing personal reasons, he resigned as CEO of the financial information and document management firm Bowne & Co, as well as from his position as a member of the New York State Board of Regents.

The present article is concerned with Johnson's Newsday years, when he played a leading role in Long Island's governmental and environmental affairs, not only overtly as a dynamic public figure and an activist publisher, but also behind the scenes, particularly in his role as an influential board member of the Long Island Association.

Newsday publisher 1986–1994
Johnson served as publisher of Newsday during a difficult and eventful period in the Long Island daily newspaper's history, from 1986 to November 1994. During his tenure, Newsday made the transition to full-color printing, and tried to maintain a New York City edition. Johnson was responsible for Newsday's wholesale hiring of top journalists away from the city's other dailies; at one point its roster of columnists and critics was arguably the most prestigious in the United States.

While at Newsday, Johnson was also the driving force behind a series of ill-fated campaigns to try to promote economic growth on Long Island, and to reduce the political influence of environmentalists and local civic associations, which he regarded as obstructionist. (See, e.g., Urban Development Corporation section on "The Long Island Partnership".) His close relationship with the noted developer Wilbur Breslin raised some eyebrows, particularly when the two men travelled together to Washington to lobby for relaxation of real estate lending regulations, which had become much stricter following the Saving and Loan debacle.

Also controversial was Johnson's collaboration with Howard J. Rubenstein's public relations firm, which was then engaged in composing attacks on environmentalists on behalf of a coalition of Long Island real estate developers and construction labor union leaders, several of whom were indicted for homicide. (See Note 1 below.)

Prior to Johnson's arrival on the scene, Newsday had a hard-earned national reputation for its relentless investigations of criminal corruption. Then the legendary reporters Bob Greene and Tom Renner were sidelined, one by a family tragedy and the other by cancer. Soon after Greene went into semi-retirement and Renner died, Newsday's investigative teams were quietly decommissioned. (See Note 2) The announcement of Johnson's appointment as Publisher had specified that he "will be responsible for its daily operations, including the news department and editorial policy."

Biography
The following is a reduced version of a biography formerly displayed on the New York State Board of Regents website.

Robert M. Johnson, of Huntington, Long Island, New York was elected to a five-year term as the Regent for the Tenth District (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) effective April 1, 1995, and re-elected to serve through March 31, 2005.

Born in Joliet, Illinois, Johnson attended Lockport Central High School. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in 1968, majoring in Business Finance and Management. He received a Juris Doctor degree in 1971 from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. John's University, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Hofstra University, and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Dowling College.

Johnson was admitted to the Bar in Illinois and Washington, D.C. and joined the firm Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson, specializing in representation of the media. He became a partner in 1976 and left the firm to become vice-president and general manager of the Dispatch Printing Company of Columbus, Ohio in 1978. He was recruited to join Newsday as President and chief operating officer in 1982 and was promoted to Publisher and chief executive officer in 1986, a position he held until he resigned in November 1994. (See Note 3, below.) During his nine years as Newsday's Publisher, the paper expanded into New York City, grew from the ninth to the fifth largest newspaper in the U.S., became the largest selling paper in the New York metropolitan area, and won seven Pulitzer Prizes. Regent Johnson later served as the chairman and CEO of Bowne & Co., Inc., an international leader in supporting the information and document management needs of the financial services industry, headquartered in Manhattan.

After moving to Long Island in 1982, Johnson served as a director of the New York State Business Council, the Long Island Association, and currently serves as a director of the New York City Partnership. He also has served as a director of the Long Island Philharmonic, the New York Blood Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the South Street Seaport Museum, the Advertising Council, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and Hofstra University. The Johnsons have a daughter, now a teacher, and a son, both graduates of the public school system in New York State.

In 2000, Mr. Johnson received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."