John Hewitt

1943 - 2025

John Hewitt
12/31/1943 - 12/08/2025
John Nelson Hewitt, long-time Bay Area journalist, professor, documentary producer and author, died on Monday, December 8, 2025, at his home in Mill Valley, surrounded by family. He was 81.
Born in Los Angeles on the last day of 1943 to Gerald, a computer engineer, and Ellen, a grade school teacher, Hewitt grew up in post-war Sherman Oaks. His youth was marked by adventures with his two brothers, Gerald Jr. (Jerry) and William (Bill), crossing paths with mid-century movie stars who lived in his suburban neighborhood and surfing at local beaches on a board he built himself. Hewitt graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1961, where he earned high marks, played football and was a member of several clubs and Secretary-Treasurer of the Student Council.
Following high school, Hewitt moved north to attend Santa Clara University and laid down what would become permanent roots in the Bay Area. At Santa Clara, his appreciation and skill for writing blossomed. He contributed pieces to the college newspaper and was also Associate Editor of The Owl, a collegiate literary magazine. After graduating in 1965 with Bachelor's degrees in history and political science, Hewitt cut his teeth as a print journalist for the Woodland Daily Democrat in Woodland, California. He next moved to New York City to attend Columbia Journalism School, receiving a Master's degree in 1969. One winter away from California was enough, and Hewitt promptly returned to the Bay Area. During the 70's, Hewitt worked in several news producer roles at prominent San Francisco and Oakland TV stations, including KGO, KQED, KPIX, KTVU and KRON.
In the 80's, Hewitt traded the newsroom for the classroom in order to spend more time with family. He taught journalism on summer weekends at the Stanford University Mass Media Institute, and taught full time in the Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) Department at San Francisco State University. At SFSU, he would go on to become a tenured professor and teach for a total of 34 years. Along the way, he received a PhD in Education from the University of San Francisco in 1985. He took Emeritus status in 2008.
As a teacher, Hewitt is remembered fondly as engaged and engaging - a patient, sharp, and warm educator with an unwavering commitment to his students' growth. Every year, he would invite his students to his home in Mill Valley for a party where they could eat his famous chili and receive personalized "awards" (army men nailed to wood and painted gold). Over the years, Hewitt mentored thousands of students, who today can be found thriving at all levels and forms of media across the country and the world. Taking his instruction on the road, Hewitt also served as a visiting professor of media studies at universities in Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Outside of the classroom, Hewitt produced twenty full length documentaries on current events topics. Notable credits include: Tremors in Guzman (1988) (Producer, writer); A Passion for Horses (1996) (Producer, director, photographer, writer); Landmines of the Heart: Cambodia's Struggle for Reconciliation (1999) (Co-director, Co-producer, Writer and Editor); and Deadline Every Second (2010) (Co-producer and Editor). His work reflected his passionate determination to explore topics with clarity, compassion and honesty.
Hewitt was also a prolific writer. As an academic he published two textbooks on writing for broadcast news, as well as Documentary Filmmaking: a Contemporary Field Guide (Oxford University Press, 2009) with fellow professor and friend, Gustavo Vazquez. His academic works are still in regular use at dozens of colleges across North America. Upon retirement, Hewitt found joy in a new area of writing: surrealist fiction. He wrote and published more than seven novels - all of them raucous explorations of the wonderful and wild characters who inhabit California and the Baja Peninsula.
Away from the written word, Hewitt had a lifelong fascination with flight. As a boy in Los Angeles, he built model planes and would peer through the wire fence of a local airport for hours. As an adult, he became a licensed glider and single-engine pilot, spending many happy hours soaring through the air over the greater Bay Area.
Hewitt met and married the love of his life, Annette Blanchard, in 1981. For forty-four years they built a home, raised two children, travelled the world, welcomed countless friends for their exuberant annual holiday parties, and loved as well as any two people.
As a friend, Hewitt is remembered as joyful, kind, loyal, funny, thoughtful and inspiring. He could often be found with pals at the Depot or Joe's Taco Lounge in Mill Valley, drinking coffee, telling stories and laughing loudly.
In the final years of his life, despite several medical headwinds, Hewitt never wavered in maintaining his gentle demeanor, curiosity, warmth and sense of humor. He is survived by wife Annette, brother Bill (Marilyn), son Dan (Jessica), step-daughter Nicole Sofios (Dean), and grandchildren Riley and Caroline, as well as countless other heartbroken friends, former colleagues, students and neighbors.
A celebration of John's life is being planned for the new year.