Nicholas John Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/ ghil-ESP-ee; born August 7, 1963)[1] is an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017. Gillespie originally joined Reason's staff in 1993 as an assistant editor and ascended to the top slot in 2000. He is currently an editor-at-large at Reason.[2] Gillespie has edited one anthology, Choice: The Best of Reason.[3][4]
Nick Gillespie | |
|---|---|
 Gillespie in 2013 | |
| Born | Nicholas John Gillespie August 7, 1963[1] New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) Temple University (MA) State University of New York at Buffalo (PhD) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, political commentator |
| Children | 2 |
Life and career
editGillespie was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey,[5] where he graduated from Mater Dei High School.[6] His educational history includes a B.A. in English and psychology from Rutgers University, an M.A. in English from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in English literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo.[7] He has two sons, Jack and Neal Gillespie. He married entrepreneur Sarah Rose Siskind in 2024.[8]
Before joining Reason, Gillespie worked at a number of small trade magazines and other journalistic outlets.
In an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, Gillespie and Tapper said they contributed articles for the alternative website Suck.com in the 1990s.[9] On Suck.com, Gillespie wrote under the pseudonym Mr. Mxyzptlk.[10]
In 2010, The Daily Beast named Gillespie number 18 on their list of "The Right's Top 25 Journalists".[11] Gillespie himself is a contributor to The Daily Beast.[12]
Gillespie shared the award for "Best Advocacy Journalism" at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards with Drew Carey and Paul Feine for their work "Reason Saves Cleveland." He also received an honorable mention for "Best News Organization Website."[13]
In 2011, Gillespie published The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America with Reason editor-in-chief Matt Welch.[4]
Gillespie is on the board of Ideas Beyond Borders, a nonprofit founded by Faisal Saeed Al Mutar and Melissa Chen.[2][14]
Gillespie is known for wearing black, which he describes as appealing to his political beliefs.[2] He calls himself an "apatheist," referring to his apathy over the question of God's existence. Although he was raised Catholic, he no longer identifies as one.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Gillespie, Nick (August 7, 2012). "My Birthday Wish: Please Reverse Engineer Obama's Awful "Events Registry" By Sending Him Gifts, Not Cash". Reason. Reason Foundation. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Interview with Nick Gillespie". Interviews with Max Raskin. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ "Who's Getting Your Vote?". Reason. November 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ a b Veronique de Rugy (June 21, 2011). "The Declaration of Independents". National Review Online. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ Smith, Russ. "Interview: Nick Gillespie; The Editor-in-Chief of Reason.com and Reason.tv talks about the print media crisis, his editorial philosophy, and why his libertarian publication won’t be going easy on Obama.", Splice Today, January 30, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2020. "I grew up in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which contains both Springsteen’s hometown (Freehold) and his early haunt (Asbury Park), so I can’t stand him in the same way that only a New Yorker can really, really hate the Yankees."
- ^ Gillespie, Nick. "Really Strange Bedfellows IIA final word (for now) on libertarians vs. conservatives", Reason (magazine), December 20, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2020. "It's been a long, long while since I've been accused of impairing the morals of a minor (really). In fact, the last time I can remember such a claim being leveled against me was back in high school when I coaxed some classmates at good old Mater Dei High School into seeing Monty Python's Life of Brian rather than a less theologically charged movie."
- ^ "Staff: Nick Gillespie". reason.com. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ^ Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael (October 14, 2024). "Playbook: Inside Harris' Black men blitz". Politico. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ "CNN's Jake Tapper on The Hellfire Club, Donald Trump's Big Lies, and D.C.'s 'Bullshit Waterfall'". May 11, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Suck Contributor: Nick Gillespie". Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ^ Varadarajan, Tunku (February 10, 2010). "The Right's Top 25 Journalists: 18. Nick Gillespie". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ^ "Nick Gillespie". The Daily Beast.
- ^ Welch, Matt (June 28, 2011). "Radley Balko Named "Journalist of the Year," Reason Wins Three Other First Place Prizes at the Southern California Journalism Awards".
- ^ "Board Of Directors - Ideas Beyond Borders". August 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2022.