To commemorate the 50 year history of the HFAC, we have selected a few individuals we consider as prophets, founders, friends and alumni of the arts and communications who have either gone from the HFAC into a global arena or have been impacted by our students and faculty.
The fourth floor of the HFAC features posters that include quotes from these individuals. We are putting up one poster a week until the gala celebration.
[fancy_heading style=”style2″ size=”medium”]Jane Clayson Johnson[/fancy_heading] CFAC Alumna (1990, BA Journalism)
Journalist and author, former CBS co-host of The Early Show
[blockquote align=”center” style=”style3″]The College of Fine Arts and Communications at BYU holds a very special place in my heart. My career in journalism started there. Not only was I trained to the highest professional standards, but more importantly, I was prepared to be a good example and make difficult choices in a tough industry. The lessons I learned at BYU not only guided my career but shaped my life. I am forever grateful.[/blockquote]
Jane Clayson Johnson is a mother, author, and former CBS national journalist who graduated from Brigham Young University in 1990. Although she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Johnson had a different intentions when she first arrived at BYU.
Johnson received a scholarship to study violin. A chance encounter with another student led her to KBYU-FM where she started working as a student employee. She loved the position so much that she decided to study print journalism in the Department of Communications. By her senior year, she was working part-time for KSL TV in Salt Lake City. During her six years there, she won an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for her work.
The six years she spent at KSL launched her into a journalism career that took her to ABC and eventually CBS. Working for national news organizations allowed her to cover stories ranging from the O.J. Simpson trial to the 1996 presidential elections. Her questioning of Martha Stewart became famous during the ImClone scandal.
At the end of 2003, her career took another dramatic turn when she chose to leave CBS to be a full-time mother. Johnson loves BYU and even returned during the homecoming celebration in October 2000 as the Honored Alumni Speaker for the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Since then she has served on the Deseret News Editorial Board and was Master of Ceremonies with Steve Young for the 85th birthday celebration of President Thomas S. Monson.
