Nicholas Thompson - CEO of The Atlantic
CEO, journalist, writer, thinker..
It was an absolute honor to host Nicholas Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic at Icons in New York! 🔥 Huge thanks to Nicholas for coming to meet with us. He is such an incredible leader and a thinker, and his ability to distill complex ideas into clear, impactful insights are truly remarkable!
Nicholas joined The Atlantic as the CEO in 2021 and, under his leadership, the magazine crossed one million subscribers and became profitable after losing millions of dollars a year! 🌟 🚀
Nicholas posts short videos on LinkedIn every day about “The Most Important Thing in Tech”. It is an amazing way to keep up with the developments in the world of tech. If you do not follow him on Linkedin, you are missing out!
Below are a few (among many fascinating) takeaways from this evening:
🌟 Excellence is ingrained in The Atlantic’s DNA, rooted in its founding mission to stop the American Civil War, creating a constant sense of responsibility to uphold this legacy.
👥 The Atlantic has hired expert writers, editors, fact checkers, copy editors, etc. - everyone is focused on the absolute best journalism. Quality control and strong structure are essential.
🖼 The future of journalism hinges on AI’s role in photojournalism and content creation. Determining authenticity will be vital, with platforms playing a significant role.
🗣 Interviewing is a skill - you need to know how to ask the right questions and push in the right direction.
🤔 The biggest existential question for journalism: What happens when search shifts to chat?
🔈 In media, survival depends on correctly anticipating industry shifts, like consumer subscriptions, mobile products, and video. Small misses are acceptable; big ones are not.
💡 AI will enhance journalism, not by writing better essays but by brainstorming better ideas.
✏ Avoid complacency in the profession; always strive to get smarter.
👂 Good journalists listen attentively, even when it’s uncomfortable.
📰 Always publish the absolute best content!
I’ve met famous people before, but it’s different when you meet someone whose ideas truly shape your thinking ✨ The energy in the room was unforgettable and will stay with me forever!
As always, shout-out to Ben Gusberg (aka Bestie) and Brandon Nydick for being the best co-hosts! 💚 And huge thanks to Mark Minehart at EffectiveSoft for their sponsorship and Jonathan Nirenberg at Grand Central Tech for making these events possible! ❣
And last but not least, many thanks to our fantastic Icons community, including: Anna Neverova Mehak Dinesh Aristotle Marangu Mark Garo Ansell Suruchi Kothari, MD Megan W. Lu Jenna Shapiro Diana Nassar Diya Sabharwal Katharine Wolf Veni Dhir Jennifer Oyedele Daniel Jun Michael Chow Ashwin Aravind Ruchir Shah Kexin Cha Devin Gupta Juliana J. Prather, CMO Deborah Storz Julie Makelberge Allen Y. Xu Jacob Pressman Kiera Pelt
