John Augustine Waters is an Irish columnist and author. He started his career with music and politics magazine, Hot Press, and also wrote for the Sunday Tribune newspaper. He later edited the social magazine In Dublin, and the investigative and current affairs magazine Magill. He became a regular columnist at the Irish Times and then the Irish Independent, while authoring some works on non-fiction, and developed The Whoseday Book, which raised 3 million euros for charity. He has also been a member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan. It was relaunched in 2004 after an earlier closure before closing again in 2009.