Ryan Blitstein
Encyclopedia
Ryan Blitstein is Executive Director of the Chicago philanthropic organization SCE
and a former American
journalist. He leads the overall strategy and grantmaking operations of SCE, which bills itself as "a social investment organization that connects talent and innovation with market forces to drive social change."
A graduate of Stanford University
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
, he has been a staff writer at Red Herring
and SF Weekly
and a contributing editor at the public policy magazine Miller-McCune
. He has lectured at San Jose State University
and Stanford University
.
His most well-known article was a controversial story about craigslist.org, Craig Newmark, and citizen journalism that was both praised and ridiculed by bloggers, journalists, and media critics. He was also the first print journalist to write about Josh Wolf
, the videoblogger jailed by a U.S. district court in 2006 for refusing to turn over a collection of videos he recorded during a protest.
Blitstein's work has appeared in the New York Daily News
, New York Observer
, Denver Post and Seattle Times.
During 2006 and 2007, he was a business reporter at the San Jose Mercury News
, which published his three-part investigative series on cybercrime
, "Ghosts in the Browser," in November 2007. The project earned him a place as a Livingston Award
finalist.
SCE
SCE is an abbreviation with multiple meanings:* Short-channel effect, a secondary effect describing the reduction in threshold voltage Vth in MOSFETs with non-uniformly doped channel regions as the gate length increases...
and a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist. He leads the overall strategy and grantmaking operations of SCE, which bills itself as "a social investment organization that connects talent and innovation with market forces to drive social change."
A graduate of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
, he has been a staff writer at Red Herring
Red Herring (magazine)
Red Herring was a technology business magazine, which flourished during the dot com boom, with global distribution and bureaus in Bangalore, Beijing, and Paris. It also sponsored conferences designed to bring venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and technologists together. But the magazine went into...
and SF Weekly
SF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
and a contributing editor at the public policy magazine Miller-McCune
Miller-McCune
-Background:Since its 2008 launch, Miller-McCune has won the Utne Reader Independent Press Award 2009 for science/technology coverage and the 2008-2009 Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Outstanding Explanatory Journalism, and been named one of Library Journals in 2009 and MIN's...
. He has lectured at San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
His most well-known article was a controversial story about craigslist.org, Craig Newmark, and citizen journalism that was both praised and ridiculed by bloggers, journalists, and media critics. He was also the first print journalist to write about Josh Wolf
Josh Wolf (journalist)
Joshua Wolf is an indie video-blogger who was jailed by a Federal district court on August 1, 2006 for refusing to turn over a collection of videotapes he recorded during a July 2005 demonstration in San Francisco, California. Wolf served 226 days in prison at the Federal Correctional...
, the videoblogger jailed by a U.S. district court in 2006 for refusing to turn over a collection of videos he recorded during a protest.
Blitstein's work has appeared in the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, New York Observer
New York Observer
The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987, by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. The Observer focuses on the city's culture, real estate, the media, politics and the entertainment and...
, Denver Post and Seattle Times.
During 2006 and 2007, he was a business reporter at the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, which published his three-part investigative series on cybercrime
CyberCrime
CyberCrime was an innovative, weekly America television program on TechTV that focused on the dangers facing computer users. Filmed in San Francisco, California, the show was hosted by Alex Wellen and Jennifer London...
, "Ghosts in the Browser," in November 2007. The project earned him a place as a Livingston Award
Livingston Award
The Livingston Awards are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting...
finalist.
Trivia
- While an undergraduate, he taught a literature course on Bob Dylan.
- The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time, by The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
columnist William SafireWilliam SafireWilliam Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, includes excerpts from a letter Blitstein wrote to Safire as a college student. - Older sibling of Jonathan BlitsteinJonathan BlitsteinJonathan Blitstein is an American playwright, and indie filmmaker. He is known for his indie film Let Them Chirp Awhile and his acclaimed play Keep Your Baggage With You for which he won the New York Innovative Theater Award...