Summary
Martin Lamonica has worked as a reporter and editor for more than 30 years at digital and print publications. Before joining The Conversation, he wrote regularly on energy, science and technology, and business for MIT Technology Review, the Boston Globe and the Guardian.
He previously worked as a reporter at CNET News/CBS Interactive and was executive editor at a Silicon Valley-based business technology newspaper. He started his journalism career in Paris where he worked for five years.
OnAir Post: Martin LaMonica
About
Biography
I’m a veteran journalist with experience as a reporter, editor, and newsroom manager with a track record of growing audience by delivering high-quality content in multiple formats. Since December 2014 I have worked at The Conversation, a media nonprofit that publishes news analysis, explanatory articles and research news written by academics and edited by journalists. I started as the company’s Deputy Managing Editor and Environment & Energy Editor shortly after its launch in the U.S. and helped lead the company through a period of rapid growth from a handful of editors to more than 30 people now. Here is an early profile of The Conversation from the Boston Globe.
In early 2021, I took on the position of Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters where I am responsible for our email newsletter operation, overseeing delivery of 10 newsletters a week to nearly 200,000 subscribers while working on strategies to improve engagement with our readers. I also manage special projects, including the development of a line of books which I detail below.
Before joining The Conversation, I was a Contributing Editor at MIT Technology Review and correspondent at tech and business news site Xconomy. I wrote on energy, environment and science for the Boston Globe, the Guardian, Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Greentech Media, GreenBiz and New Scientist. I’ve had bylines in other national media, including Smithsonian, CBS News, CNN and Salon.
Previously, I worked for 10 years at CNET/CBS Interactive, where I was the lead reporter and manager of the successful Green Tech site, an EPPY award finalist for best news blog. During the dotcom boom and bust, I was the Executive Editor of a Silicon Valley-based enterprise technology weekly magazine and news site. Here’s a link to a longer bio.
Skills: Editing, newsletter production and strategy, reporting, writing, managing journalists, project management, audience growth and retention, series development and delivery, video and multimedia.
Source: Personal Website
Newsletters
I direct The Conversation’s active newsletter operation, including publication of our daily and weekly emails, many of which I edit. I use data and tests to better understand our audience, improve engagement and iterate our offerings.
I launched and for many years wrote our weekly science newsletter (click on image to see an example). Most recently, I developed a global weekly newsletter on artificial intelligence. You can sign up for any of our newsletters here.
Source: Personal Website
Science and technology
I worked as a reporter and editor covering the burgeoning IT industry from the early 1990s through the dotcom bust in the early 2000s, starting as a wire reporter in Paris and eventually working as the Executive Editor of Silicon Valley-based InfoWorld until 2002. I later branched out to cover more general science, with an emphasis on energy, environment and climate change. Articles below reflect that work.
At The Conversation, I managed a team of up to 8 science editors, who covered science, technology, environment & energy, and health & medicine. In that role, I edited stories written by academics and helped set overall direction of coverage.
Source: From personal website
Web Links
Some Stories
By Publication
Source: Personal Website
The Guardian
Tech entrepreneurs set their sites on urban farming
Fracking: a proving ground for water technologies
MIT Technology Review
Why the Promise of Cheap Fuel from Super Bugs Fell Short
The Boston Globe
Woods Hole deep sea sub gets a makeover
Scientific American
Bright Lights, Big City–Big Battery
Electric Grid, You Have Software Updates Available
Smithsonian
A Big Bet on How to Store Grid Energy Cheaply
Florida Ballot Measure Could Halt Solar in Florida, but Do Voters Know That?
Xconomy
A Town Where the Robots Roam Free
The Next Must-Have Gadget: A Telepresence Robot
Workhorse Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Robots
Robots That are Ready to Work, in Pictures
Rosie the Maid 2.0: a Hotel Robot Gets to Work
Drone Startups Seek Profit in Software and the Cloud–Not Hardware
Books
Critical Conversations
Source: Personal website
“Critical Conversations” is a series of books published by Johns Hopkins University Press that allows the general reader the learn about important and timely issues from experts in an accessible, easy-to-read format. Each volume collects several articles and essays from The Conversation and has a guest editor guide the reader through the topics covered.
I developed this product line, acting as editor of the series and managing the project. The first three volumes, which cover gender diversity, biotechnology and water, were released in spring of 2023. The Conversation on Guns was released November 7, with more in development.
