Owen Thomas

About

I think this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you something about how I'm an “editorial leader and creative thinker with a history of building teams, brands, and audiences.” That’s true, but it doesn't quite tell the rollicking story of my decades-long career devoted to crafting narratives and telling stories in ways that are uniquely suited to the online world. Or how I was doing bite-sized Web content before anyone had heard of Twitter or Tumblr. Or how I've helped big companies like Time Inc., NBC, and Hearst bring traditional newsrooms into the fast-paced, ever-changing ways of the Web. Or how I cut a swath through the technology world as the terrifyingly entertaining and insightful Valleywag. Oh yes, the Valleywag gig. I’ve been called everything from Silicon Valley’s “Al Qaeda” to its “Perez Hilton.” If you know Silicon Valley and its snobbish aversion to anything resembling pop culture, you'll know those are pretty close to the same thing around these parts. What all that chatter really means: I'm very good at digging up the stories people care about and relating them in accessible ways, both on the Web and in front of the camera, and more recently I’ve spent my time teaching others how to do that. Many people think of me primarily as a writer. But over the years, I’ve become an experienced editor, recruiter, and manager, and I'm extremely proud of the talent I’ve helped nurture. I’m also very good at the detail work required to fix broken newsroom processes and design entirely new ones, while keeping people focused on what really matters: telling great stories.