Nicholas John Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/ghil-ESP-ee; born August 7, 1963)[1] is an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017. Gillespie originally joined Reason's staff in 1993 as an assistant editor and ascended to the top slot in 2000. He is currently an editor-at-large at Reason.[2] Gillespie has edited one anthology, Choice: The Best of Reason.[3][4]
Before joining Reason, Gillespie worked at a number of small trade magazines and other journalistic outlets.
In an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, Gillespie and Tapper said they contributed articles for the alternative website Suck.com in the 1990s.[8] On Suck.com, Gillespie wrote under the pseudonym Mr. Mxyzptlk.[9]
In 2010, The Daily Beast named Gillespie number 18 on their list of "The Right's Top 25 Journalists".[10] Gillespie himself is a contributor to The Daily Beast.[11]
Gillespie shared the award for "Best Advocacy Journalism" at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards with Drew Carey and Paul Feine for their work "Reason Saves Cleveland." He also received an honorable mention for "Best News Organization Website."[12]
Gillespie is known for wearing black, which he describes as appealing to his political beliefs.[2] He calls himself an "apatheist," referring to his apathy over the question of God's existence. Although he was raised Catholic, he no longer identifies as one.[2]
^Gillespie, Nick. "Really Strange Bedfellows IIA final word (for now) on libertarians vs. conservatives", Reason (magazine), December 20, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2020. "It's been a long, long while since I've been accused of impairing the morals of a minor (really). In fact, the last time I can remember such a claim being leveled against me was back in high school when I coaxed some classmates at good old Mater Dei High School into seeing Monty Python's Life of Brian rather than a less theologically charged movie."
