Casey Newton

For the fictional character, see Tomorrowland (film).

Casey Newton
Born (1980-06-19) June 19, 1980 (age 44)
La Habra, California[1]
EducationB.S.J., Northwestern University
OccupationJournalist
Websitecnewton.org

Casey Newton (born June 19, 1980) is an American technology journalist,[2] a former senior editor at The Verge,[3] and the founder of, and writer for, the Platformer newsletter.[2]

Career

Newton had been covering the Arizona State Legislature for The Arizona Republic, with an interest in technology as a hobby. Kristen Go, a former coworker at The Arizona Republic, invited him to work at the San Francisco Chronicle to cover tech companies and new technology.[4][3] Later, he was a blogger and senior writer for CNET[5][3] until 2013. Afterward, between 2013 and 2020, he covered Silicon Valley at The Verge[6][2] and became a senior editor.[3] During his time at The Verge, he wrote a daily newsletter called The Interface.[7][8] His reporting on the effects of content moderation on workers (resulting in PTSD[9]) has led to a contracting company cutting ties with Facebook.[10]

Platformer

In 2020, he left to create his own freemium newsletter on Substack called Platformer,[6][2][11] with the paid subscription costing US$10 per month.[4] Substack incentivized authors with advances, which Newton turned down, but accepted healthcare stipends.[2] As of January 2024, Platformer had 170,000 subscribers to the free edition.[12] In January 2024, Newton decided to move Platformer off Substack to Ghost, in response to Substack's policies and handling of pro-Nazi publications on its platform.[13]

Hard Fork

In late 2022, he began a weekly technology news podcast for the New York Times, called Hard Fork, co-hosting with Kevin Roose.[14] Roose, in 2021, praised Newton with having "opinions [that] hold sway among social media executives".[15]

Personal life

Casey Newton was born on June 19, 1980.[16][6] Newton is gay[17] and lives in San Francisco.[16] He graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Journalism.[18]

References

  1. ^ Roose, Kevin; Newton, Casey (September 8, 2023). "Escape From Burning Man + Musk vs. the A.D.L. + Listener Questions". The New York Times (Podcast). Retrieved September 9, 2023. I don't know what prep school you went to, but on the mean streets of La Habra, California, they offered Spanish and French.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wiener, Anna (December 28, 2020). "Is Substack the Media Future We Want?". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Ingram, Mathew (August 14, 2019). "Casey Newton on dismantling the platforms and taking Facebook's cash". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Goodykoontz, Bill (March 20, 2022). "How a former Arizona Reporter Launched Silicon Valley's Most Coveted Newsletter". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Diamond, Stephanie (2013). The Visual Marketing Revolution. Pearson Education. p. 288. ISBN 9780133259674.
  6. ^ a b c Tracy, Marc (September 23, 2020). "Journalists Are Leaving the Noisy Internet for Your Email Inbox". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Isaac, Mike (March 19, 2019). "The New Social Network That Isn't New at All". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "'Something really important is happening': Casey Newton on going solo with a paid newsletter". What’s New in Publishing | Digital Publishing News. October 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  9. ^ McClennan, Mark W. (November 16, 2022). "Competition". Ethical Voices. Business Expert Press. ISBN 9781637424193.
  10. ^ Hertz, Noreena (2021). The Lonely Century. Crown. p. 308. ISBN 9780593135839.
  11. ^ Smith, Ben (April 11, 2021). "Why We're Freaking Out About Substack". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  12. ^ Lorenz, Taylor; Oremus, Will (January 12, 2024). "Substack's woes deepen as tech blog leaves over Nazi content". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ^ Peters, Jay (January 11, 2024). "Substack keeps the Nazis, loses Platformer". The Verge. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ^ Linder, Emmett; Diamond, Sarah (October 28, 2022). "A Podcast for an Ever-Changing Tech Industry". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Roose, Kevin (January 7, 2021). "The President Is Losing His Platforms". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton)". Twitter. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  17. ^ Casey Newton [@CaseyNewton] (November 17, 2022). "Ugh now I have to go back to telling people I'm gay the old fashioned way (changing my profile pic to the NOH8 one from 2009)" (Tweet). Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Cramer, Jude (October 26, 2020). "Q&A with Casey Newton (BSJ02), Founder of Platformer". Northwestern Alumni Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2022.