Mark Johnson is out as Seven Days’ “Fair Game” columnist.
The Burlington-based alt-weekly announced his departure from the influential political columnist position Thursday afternoon. Johnson, a seasoned Vermont journalist, had held the position for fewer than four months. He started the job in June after predecessor Dave Gram retired in May due to health issues — also after only a few months on the job.
Johnson told Seven Days that producing a quality column each week “requires more bandwidth than I can sustain.”
In an email to VTDigger, Johnson repeated those sentiments.
“It was an honor to work alongside the hard-hitting journalists at Seven Days, even if our time together was brief,” he said. “I have no current plans but hope to find another way to serve Vermonters in the future.”
Johnson said he was grateful to Seven Days Publisher Paula Routly for the opportunity, as well as editors Candy Page and Matthew Roy for their “weekly guidance.”
“And to readers,” he added, “who provided such positive feedback.”
Roy, Seven Days’ news editor, told VTDigger that the job “proved pretty demanding” for Johnson. He declined to provide more details, deferring to Johnson.
“It disappointed me,” Roy said. “I wish he would have stayed on longer.”
Roy said he thought the former columnist did a “solid job” in the role. He said Johnson was able to draw on his deep knowledge of Vermont to produce some compelling columns. Prior to joining Seven Days, Johnson served as an editor and reporter for VTDigger. Earlier in his career, he worked for WDEV Radio and the Burlington Free Press and was a co-owner of WKDR Radio.
Johnson’s last column was published Wednesday. In it, he questioned Gov. Phil Scott’s dismissal of an independent investigation into allegations that former Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration knew about — and failed to address — the EB-5 scandal centered around Jay Peak Resort.
Johnson has also written about plummeting morale in the Vermont National Guard, Lake Champlain’s water quality crisis and the decline of the St. Albans Messenger. In total, he penned 14 columns.
Johnson was the latest in a long string of white men who have held the columnist role. The column was launched in 2008 by Shay Totten and was subsequently helmed by five other white men. It was preceded by the late Peter Freyne’s “Inside Track.”
Roy said Johnson notified the paper Wednesday that he would be stepping down, so leadership is still discussing the future of the column. Diversity is central to every hiring decision at Seven Days, Roy said. He added that it can be challenging to find someone who is a good fit for the job.
“One of the primary challenges has been that it takes a person who is interested and eager but also that has broad knowledge of Vermont,” Roy said.
He clarified that he is “absolutely not” saying that it can be difficult to find a woman with these qualifications. “I’m saying that … if we go ahead and fill this position, that diversity will be top of mind,” Roy said.
