A Conversation With Kara Swisher: Silicon Valley’s Most Feared Journalist

Kara Swisher, a journalist and author writing about information technology, will discuss her observations regarding the internet, the digital revolution it created and the possible future it may bring. Topics will include: the influence of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms on our politics, especially on the January 6 attack of the U.S. Capitol; the effect of computer robotics on our economy; the development of artificial intelligence; facial recognition and other means of surveillance; the lack of gender diversity in the dot.com world, among other areas of public concern. 

Swisher is an opinion writer for the New York Times where she also produces a twice-weekly podcast “Sway” on tech issues; she is an editor-at-large at New York Media, co-hosts the popular “Pivot” podcast and has authored two books. Her examination of the tech industry led Newsweek to call her “Silicon Valley’s most feared journalist.” She has established a reputation in the tech world for unrivaled access, having interviewed Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Rupert Murdoch, Stacey Abrams, and Kim Kardashian, to name just a few. 

New York Magazine noted one of the reasons for Swisher’s unusual success is her longevity. She began covering tech in the early ’90s when the people in power today were just starting out. Amazon was looking for its first headquarters in Seattle, Google was in its garage and Netflix was a small startup. While working in the San Francisco bureau of The Wall Street Journal as one of the first reporters on the internet beat she wrote the column “BoomTown,” which appeared on the front page of the Marketplace section. Swisher co-produced and co-hosted the Wall Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital” conference series (now called the Code conference) with Walt Mossberg starting in 2003. It was, and still is, the country’s premier conference on tech and media.

Following her remarks, Ms. Swisher will answer questions from the audience.

The moderator will be Adrianne Jeffries, investigative tech journalist for The Markup, founding editor at The Outline, former editor of Motherboard and reporter for The Verge, The New York Observer, The Virginian Pilot, The New York Times, Businessweek, and the Netflix documentary series Broken.

Sponsoring Committee: 
Senior Lawyers, Diane Fener and Gertrude Pfaffenbach, Co-Chairs

Co-Sponsoring Committees:
Communications & Media Law, Matthew L. Schafer, Chair
Council on Intellectual Property, James R. Klaiber, Chair
Mental Health Law, Karen P. Simmons, Chair
Technology, Cyber and Privacy Law, Sylvia Khatcherian, Chair