Kara Swisher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kara Swisher
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Swisher at South by Southwest 2019
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| Born | December 11, 1962 |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) Columbia University (MS) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1994–present |
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Notable work
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Co-founder of Recode |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4 |
Kara Anne Swisher (born December 11, 1962) is a well-known American journalist. She has been writing about the internet business since 1994. In 2023, Swisher worked as a contributing editor for New York Magazine. She also hosts the podcast On with Kara Swisher and co-hosts another podcast called Pivot.
In 2014, she helped start Recode, which is part of Vox Media. From 2018 to 2022, she wrote opinion pieces for The New York Times. After that, she went back to Vox Media. She has also written for other big publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
Contents
About Kara Swisher's Life and Education
Her Early Life and Schooling
Kara Swisher lived in Roslyn Harbor, New York, when she was very young. Her family moved to Princeton, New Jersey, after her father passed away when she was five. She grew up there.
She attended Georgetown University for her college education. While there, she wrote for the school newspaper, The Hoya. Later, she joined The Georgetown Voice, which was the university's news magazine.
After college, Swisher continued her studies. She earned her Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1985.
Kara Swisher's Career in Journalism
Working at The Wall Street Journal
Kara Swisher started working for The Wall Street Journal in 1997. She was based in their San Francisco office. She created a special column called Boom Town. This column focused on the companies, people, and culture of Silicon Valley. It appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal's Marketplace section and online. During this time, a magazine called Industry Standard said she was the most important reporter covering the internet.
In 2003, Swisher and her colleague Walt Mossberg started the All Things Digital conference. They later made it into a daily blog called AllThingsD.com. At the conference, Swisher and Mossberg interviewed many top technology leaders. These included famous people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison.
Writing Books
Kara Swisher has written several books. Her first book was aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web. It was published in 1998. She wrote a follow-up book in 2003 called There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere.
In 2021, it was announced that she signed a deal to write two more books about her life and experiences. The first of these, called Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, came out in February 2024.
Starting Recode
On January 1, 2014, Swisher and Walt Mossberg started their own website called Recode. It was based in San Francisco. In the spring of 2014, they held their first Code Conference near Los Angeles. Vox Media bought the website in May 2015.
A month later, in June 2015, they launched a weekly podcast called Recode Decode. In this podcast, Swisher interviews important people in the technology world. Stewart Butterfield was the first guest on the show.
In September 2018, Recode and Vox Media started another podcast called Pivot. This podcast, which comes out twice a week, features news commentary. Swisher co-hosts it with Scott Galloway. In April 2020, New York Magazine announced that Pivot would become part of their magazine's shows. Swisher also joined the magazine as an editor-at-large.
Writing for The New York Times
Swisher became a writer for the Opinion section of The New York Times in August 2018. She focused on technology topics. She wrote about people like Elon Musk and companies like Google. She also wrote about the idea of an internet Bill of Rights.
In September 2020, the Times launched Sway, a podcast hosted by Swisher. This podcast, released twice a week, talks about power and the people who have it. Nancy Pelosi, who was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was her first guest. Other guests included important figures like Stacey Abrams, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
In June 2022, Swisher shared that she would leave The New York Times. She wanted to work on a new project at New York magazine.
Returning to Vox Media
In September 2022, Kara Swisher became an editor-at-large at New York Magazine. She also started hosting a new podcast called On with Kara Swisher. The first episode of 'On' was released on September 26.
Other Activities
Swisher was a judge for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's NYC BigApps competition in New York. She also appeared as herself in an episode of the HBO show Silicon Valley in 2015. In 2016, she mentioned that she planned to run for mayor of San Francisco as a Democrat in 2023.
In 2021 and 2023, Swisher hosted the official podcast that went along with the third and fourth seasons of HBO's TV series Succession.
Kara Swisher's Personal Life
Kara Swisher has four children. She married Amanda Katz on October 3, 2020, and they have adopted two children together.
In 2011, Swisher had a "mini-stroke" while flying to Hong Kong. She was hospitalized and received medication. She later wrote about this experience.
Swisher is often seen wearing dark aviator sunglasses, even indoors. She says this is because she is sensitive to bright lights. She grew up Catholic but now identifies as agnostic.
Awards and Recognition
- 2011 Gerald Loeb Award for Blogging for her work on "Liveblogging Yahoo Earnings Calls in 2010 (They're Funny!)"
- 2020 Fast Company Queer 50
- 2021 Fast Company Queer 50
- 2021 Elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Images for kids
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A robot drawing, often used to represent technology.
See also
In Spanish: Kara Swisher para niños
