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Big Technology
Why People Can’t Stand Tech Journalists: An Interview With Casey Newton
The Verge’s Silicon Valley editor discusses tech media, recent issues with Facebook, and more
OneZero is partnering with Big Technology, a newsletter and podcast by Alex Kantrowitz, to bring readers exclusive access to interviews with notable figures in and around the tech industry. This week, Kantrowitz sits down with Casey Newton, Silicon Valley editor at the Verge, to discuss the state of tech journalism, recent developments at Facebook, and more. This writeup of their discussion has been edited for length and clarity.
To subscribe to the podcast and hear the interview for yourself, you can check it out on iTunes, Spotify, and Overcast.
Part of the tech world is fed up with tech journalists. Reporters, in their view, are out to get them, looking to score points by taking down companies and founders. Journalists talk about these accusations in private, and now you can read (or listen) to one of these conversations in public. As the Big Technology Podcast makes its debut, Casey Newton, Silicon Valley editor at the Verge, joins to discuss the recent backlash to tech reporting, along with his perspective on Facebook, and life as a newsletter writer.
On Tech Journalism
Alex Kantrowitz: Let’s start with the question that’s on everyone’s mind — Is the tech press bad?
Casey Newton: No, the tech press is really good. The tech press, I think, has done probably the best work of its life collectively over the past four years. I feel like I have a much better understanding of the inner workings of the biggest technology platforms today than I’ve ever had, and it’s because of the incredible work that so many people are doing around the country and the world.
Why do so many people hate it then?
I think there’s a separate but related question, which is about the health of our information ecosystem more broadly. And there, I do see some trouble spots. I think there are three algorithms that have reshaped the American press in ways that we are just now starting to confront. You have Google and Facebook, which can serve…
