Technology culture columnist Taylor Lorenz is leaving the Washington Post to start her own Substack publication, the paper announced Tuesday.
Lorenz announced the launch of a user magazine that aims to highlight those “at the helm of technology and internet culture” and expose those “in power on the internet.” According to to her announcement. Her publications arrive in subscribers' emails one to three times a week and aim to prove that “the real story of technology lies with the users.”
~Personal News~ I am going independent and starting my own media outlet called User Mag on Substack.
Consider purchasing an annual subscription to keep working https://t.co/p0IrwAjNVS
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) October 1, 2024
Now a former Washington Post columnist, she said in a personal video that she doesn't want to work for a “corporate overlord” to report the news.
“You don't have to work in a 200-year-old facility to reach people, tell news and make an impact on the world,” Lorenz said. “The journalists who inspire me most today are those who have taken their voices back into their own hands. Independent content creators who are challenging powerful institutions and carving out their own space in a crowded media landscape. .”
Lorenz said he wanted to “inspire” the world to have a “better internet,” expose “radicalization,” and hold those in power accountable. She said she plans to run the new publication solo for now, but may bring in some contributors. According to to the Hollywood Reporter. (Report: WaPo moves Taylor Lorenz to technology team)
“I want to do all of this without worrying about some big corporate overlords and without being constrained by institutions that sometimes value optics over challenging power.” Mr. Lorenz continued. “I want to write freely, talk directly to people on YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts, and run a silly meme page.”
Lorenz said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the Internet doesn't cover the Internet in any meaningful sense and doesn't give writers the freedom to fully cover it.
“I also think traditional educational institutions in general have a really hard time covering the internet in a meaningful way. I think they often shy away from the internet,” she added. “I write about the attention economy, I write about the content creator industry, and I just want to have complete autonomy to write and do and say what I want and engage with readers and the public. I want to be a little more involved. Come to my job.”
Lorenz's decision to leave the Post comes weeks after senior editors began investigating her private Instagram story in which she labeled President Joe Biden a “war criminal,” NPR said. reported In August.
Lorenz joined The Washington Post in 2022, where he notably published an article that revealed the identity and address of popular TikTok account creator Libs by linking to his real estate page. The article brands her as anti-LGBT and also states that she is an Orthodox Jew.
The technology columnist further highlighted this article in a 2022 interview with CNN, saying that no personal information was revealed about the owner, identified as Chaya Lajczyk.
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