Nico Pitney
{{short description|American journalist and media executive (born 1981)}}
Nico Pitney (born 1981){{cite web | url=http://www.queerty.com/nico-pitney-knows-politics-20080307/ | title=Nico Pitney Knows Politics | work=Queerty | date=7 March 2008 | access-date=10 July 2013 | author=Belonsky, Andrew}} is an American journalist, editor and media executive who has helped lead several prominent left-leaning media outlets, including HuffPost and NowThis.
Life
Pitney was born in Tokyo and attended the University of California, Santa Barbara.{{cite web | url=http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nico-pitney/1a/b80/b72 | title=Nico Pitney | publisher=LinkedIn | access-date=10 July 2013}} Pitney worked as Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress, where he helped found, and was Managing Editor of, their blog, ThinkProgress.{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nico-pitney/ | title=Nico Pitney | publisher=Huffington Post | access-date=10 July 2013}} Pitney joined The Huffington Post in 2007 and served in a variety of capacities, including Politics Editor and DC Bureau Chief during the 2008 Presidential election, National Editor, Executive Editor, and Managing Editor of the Huffington Post Media Group.
Pitney gained prominence during the 2009 Iranian election protests, where he liveblogged the protest for HuffPost by aggregating social media posts from Iranians, including videos and tweets.{{cite book|author1=Flynt Leverett|author2=Hillary Mann Leverett|title=Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69aHN6j4DgAC&pg=PA265|year=2013|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|isbn=978-0-8050-9419-0|page=265}}{{cite book|author=Yahya R. Kamalipour|title=Media, Power, and Politics in the Digital Age: The 2009 Presidential Election Uprising in Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rwNUbBUtQEC&pg=PA113|year=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-0417-1|page=113}} According to Pitney, over 100,000 comments were left on the popular blog.{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html | title=Iran Updates (VIDEO): Live-Blogging The Uprising | publisher=Huffington Post | date=July 14, 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Pitney, Nico}} As a result, Pitney was asked by the Obama administration to be prepared to pose a question from an Iranian at a June 23, 2009 press conference at the White House. In a departure from typical press conference protocol, Pitney was called on second and asked Obama under what conditions the United States would accept the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. While Pitney did not know if he would be called on to ask a question, and President Obama did not know what question would be asked, a number of critics, including members of the White House press corps charged that the question was an example of improper collusion between the White House and a journalist.{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/23/huffposts-nico-pitney-ask_n_219865.html | title=HuffPost's Nico Pitney Asks Question About Iran At White House Press Conference (VIDEO) | publisher=Huffington Post | date=2009-07-24 | access-date=9 July 2013}}{{cite web | url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0609/Obama_calls_on_HuffPost_for_Iran_question.html | title=Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE | work=Politico | date=June 23, 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Calderone, Michael | authorlink=Michael Calderone}}{{cite web | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/huffpos-question-at-obama-news-conference-sparks-a-media-flap/ | title=HuffPo's Question at Obama News Conference Sparks a Media Flap | work=The New York Times | date=June 24, 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Phillips, Kate}}{{cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/06/the-crucifixion-of-nico-pitney/20013/ | title=The Crucifixion of Nico Pitney | work=The Atlantic | date=Jun 24, 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Cooper, Matthew}}{{cite web | title=Media Playground: Obama Calls on HuffPost, Michael Calderone Pouts, Ben Smith Calls Us Names, Dana Milbank Gets His Facts All Wrong | publisher=Huffington Post | date=23 June 2009 | author=Huffington, Arianna | authorlink=Arianna Huffington}} One of the most prominent critics was Dana Milbank of The Washington Post.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/23/AR2009062303262.html | title=Washington Sketch: Welcome to 'The Obama Show' | newspaper=Washington Post | date=June 24, 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Milbank, Dana}} Pitney and Milbank engaged in a heated and personal debate on the CNN program Reliable Sources about the question,{{cite web | title=Media Unfair to Sanford?; Coverage of Michael Jackson's Death | publisher=CNN | work=Reliable Sources | date=June 28, 2009 }} and according to Pitney, Milbank whispered to Pitney during a commercial break "You're such a dick".{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nico-pitney/debating-the-iran-questio_b_222001.html | title=Debating The Iran Question On CNN's Reliable Sources | publisher=Huffington Post | date=28 June 2009 | access-date=9 July 2013 | author=Pitney, Nico}} This incident spawned the Twitter hashtag #Dickwhisperer.{{cite web | title=#Dickwhisperer: A History | work=Columbia Journalism Review | date=29 June 2009 | author=Garber, Megan}}
Pitney left The Huffington Post in 2012 to travel the world and blog about his experience with his wife Karina Newton, former new media director for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.{{cite web |last1=Vamburkar |first1=Meenal |title=Nancy Pelosi Taps ThinkProgress Editor As Director Of New Media |url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/nancy-pelosi-taps-thinkprogress-editor-as-director-of-new-media/ |website=Mediaite |access-date=2020-04-01 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130710025351/http://www.mediaite.com/online/nancy-pelosi-taps-thinkprogress-editor-as-director-of-new-media/ |archive-date=2013-07-10 |date=8 May 2012 |url-status=unfit}}{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}} In 2013, Pitney returned to The Huffington Post as head of product.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/01/31/nico-pitney-returning-to-huffington-post/ | title=Nico Pitney returning to Huffington Post | newspaper=Washington Post | date=31 January 2013 | access-date=10 July 2013 | author=Wemple, Eric}}
In 2017, he joined NowThis where he served as Senior Vice President and News and Politics Director.{{cite web | url=https://digiday.com/media/nowthis-is-investing-in-investigative-journalism-and-long-form-video/ | title=NowThis to expand into investigative journalism and long-form video | work=DigiDay | date=6 March 2017 | author=Patel, Sahil}}{{Cite web|date=January 2022|title="Nico Pitney" Linkedin.|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicopitney/}} During his tenure, NowThis became the #1 most engaged news brand worldwide, amassing roughly 2.6 billion views monthly across social media platforms, according to Tubular Labs.{{Cite web|title=NowThis Ranked No. 1 News Brand Across Mobile Globally, Cross-Platform By Tubular Labs - Groupnine|url=https://www.groupninemedia.com/press/nowthis-ranked-no-1-news-brand-across-mobile-globally-cross-platform-by-tubular-labs|access-date=2022-01-23|website=www.groupninemedia.com|language=en}} According to The New Yorker, Pitney led the newsroom and also hosted videos and conducted interviews with a number of leading politicians, including former president Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, and more.{{Cite magazine|date=2019-10-10|title="We're in the Business of Stopping Thumbs": NowThis News and the Politics of Social Video|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/were-in-the-business-of-stopping-thumbs-nowthis-news-and-the-politics-of-social-video|access-date=2022-01-23|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}{{Citation|title=Exclusive With President Obama On Why Midterms Matter {{!}} Op-Ed {{!}} NowThis| date=8 September 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6mnj5xDPKM|language=en|access-date=2022-01-23}}{{Citation|title=Why Bernie Sanders Isn't Worried About Overpromising {{!}} NowThis| date=11 July 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVwtUmn0zJY|language=en|access-date=2022-01-23}}{{Citation|title=Hillary Clinton Interview 2017 – EXTENDED INTERVIEW {{!}} NowThis| date=21 November 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiMhWlJrWcU|language=en|access-date=2022-01-23}}
In February 2021, Pitney together with Faiz Shakir launched More Perfect Union, a nonprofit media and advocacy outlet modeled on ThinkProgress.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html
|title=Why the Media Loves Labor Now
|last=Smith |first=Ben |work=New York Times
|quote=More Perfect Union, a nonprofit news outlet .. quietly started in February. It is led, in part, by Faiz Shakir, the former manager of Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, and Nico Pitney, a former top editor at The Huffington Post and NowThisNews.
|date=November 7, 2021 |access-date=November 13, 2021}} Shakir describes More Perfect Union, which creates video and graphics to support labor issues, as "ThinkProgress for a digital age."{{Cite web |url=https://www.axios.com/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup-117c463f-20d9-4554-8916-40095c851de2.html
|title=Sanders' campaign chief aiming to push Biden leftward
|last= Markay |first=Lachlan |work=Axios
|quote='This is ThinkProgress for a digital age,' he said, with an emphasis on video and graphics that would be central 'if we were relaunching ThinkProgress in this modern environment.'
|date=March 11, 2021 |access-date=November 13, 2021}}
References
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External links
- [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/press-conference-president-6-23-09%20%20 Official White House transcript of the June 23, 2009 press conference]
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Category:American male journalists
Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni