Program aims to increase quality news coverage of pressing economic, technological issues
Washington, DC — Today, Omidyar Network announced the five latest journalists to join its growing Reporters in Residence program. Journalists Nick Romeo, Anna Louie Sussman, and Osita Nwanevu will spend the next six months reporting on economic issues related to Reimagining Capitalism, which works to shape a new, inclusive economy where markets serve the interests of all people and society. Due to a high level of interest in the program, this year’s cohort has also expanded to include reporters Louise Matsakis and Zoe Bernard, who will join reporter Brian Merchant—in residence at Omidyar Network since April—for coverage on pressing stories at the intersection of technology and the economy.
Omidyar Network’s Reporters in Residence program empowers freelance journalists to pursue rigorous reporting that drives national conversations and informs policy debates, including on issues such as the growing movement for worker power and the economic impact of emerging technology.
“Omidyar Network is thrilled to welcome this new and incredibly talented cohort of reporters,” said Alexis Krieg, a director of strategic communications at Omidyar Network and the lead for the residency program. “Deep, nuanced reporting is an essential part of informing the public about critical economic issues—particularly as we grapple with generative AI and other emerging technologies that could fundamentally alter the shape of our society. We look forward to providing these immensely accomplished journalists with the resources and support they need to tell even more stories, with more impact.”
About the reporters:
- Zoë Bernard will focus on the growing American Dynamism Movement, AI’s impact on the creative industries, and the rise of defense tech and government contracts. Zoë is a feature writer covering tech and culture in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Esquire Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, the LA Times, the Washington Post, GQ, and Fortune, among others. Formerly, she covered venture capital in New York for The Information and Business Insider. In 2020, she was a part of a team of reporters who won a 2020 SABEW for her work covering the pandemic in Silicon Valley.
- Louise Matsakis will focus on artificial intelligence and its impact on consumers, the environment, and vulnerable communities. Louise is a freelance technology journalist covering artificial intelligence, Big Tech, and e-commerce. She is the author of You May Also Like, a newsletter about the impacts that e-commerce marketplaces are having on society. She was previously a staff writer at Wired Magazine, an investigative tech reporter at NBC News, and deputy news editor at the media startup Semafor. Her work has appeared in outlets like The Atlantic, The Information, and Business Insider. An investigation she co-wrote for the non-profit publication Rest of World about fast-fashion giant Shein won the 2022 Society of Publishers in Asia award for excellence in business reporting.
- Osita Nwanevu will focus on worker power. Osita is a contributing editor at The New Republic and a columnist at The Guardian. He is a former staff writer at The New Republic, The New Yorker, and Slate, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, Harper’s Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Gawker. His first book, “The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding,” will be published by Random House next year. Nwanevu is a former editor in chief of the South Side Weekly, a Chicago alternative newspaper.
- Nick Romeo will focus on corporations, capital markets, and the common good. Nick is a journalist and author who has spent years covering economic policy and ideas for The New Yorker magazine. His recent book, “The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy” (January 2024 from PublicAffairs and Basic Books), uses extensive original reporting to provide a road map for a sustainable and fair twenty-first-century economy. The Guardian praised the book as “an enlightening, inspiring read,” and the Washington Post called it “a brisk and sensible book that details bold and ingenious proposals in measured tones.” Nick has also contributed front page breaking news stories, profiles, and essays to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Scientific American, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, and many other venues. He teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
- Anna Louie Sussman will focus on new economic paradigms. Anna is a New York-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Cut, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and many other publications. A former staff reporter at Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, she has been the recipient of fellowships from the New America Foundation, the Logan Nonfiction Program, MacDowell, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Alicia Patterson Foundation. She is currently working on her first book, “Inconceivable: Reproduction in an Age of Uncertainty.”
The summer 2024 cohort will be active from July to December of 2024, with each reporter continuing to follow the leads on the economic and technological issues they deem most important. Reporters will receive a monthly stipend, coverage of some travel expenses, and access to Omidyar Network partners and staff throughout the course of the residency program. Following Omidyar Network’s commitment to transparency and journalistic independence, the reporters will maintain full editorial control and discretion over their work.
Previous reporters in residence include: Bryce Covert, Walter Frick, Megan Greenwell, Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, Kim Kelly, Hamilton Nolan, Helaine Olen, Edward Ongweso Jr., and s.e. smith. Collectively, their work has been featured in the following publications: ABC News, Bloomberg, Columbia Journalism Review, Fast Company, The Guardian, In These Times, Mother Jones, The Nation, The New York Times, Slate, The American Prospect, and Teen Vogue, among others.
About Omidyar Network
Established by philanthropists Pam and Pierre Omidyar, Omidyar Network is a social change venture that has committed more than $1.86 billion to innovative for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations since 2004. Omidyar Network reimagines critical systems, and the ideas that govern them, to build more inclusive and equitable societies—for the benefit of the many, not just the few. Omidyar Network partners with funders, advocates, innovators, businesses, scholars, and others to advance responsible technology, reimagine capitalism, and build cultures of belonging so that all individuals have the social, economic, and democratic power to thrive.
