The Atlantic Hires Caity Weaver as Staff Writer; Jonathan Lemire and Alex Reisner to Join as Contributing Writers
Today The Atlantic is announcing the hire of Caity Weaver as a staff writer, who joins from The New York Times Magazine, and two new contributing writers: Jonathan Lemire, a co-host of the fourth hour of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and Alex Reisner, who has published with The Atlantic multiple scoops about which books and movies the world’s most powerful tech companies have used to train their AI models.
Below is the full announcement from The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg:
Dear everyone,
I’m writing to share the news that several extraordinary writers are joining The Atlantic. Caity Weaver is joining us as a staff writer, and Jonathan Lemire and Alex Reisner will come aboard as contributing writers.
First, Caity. As many of you undoubtedly know, because you read magazines (I hope), Caity is one of the most formidable nonfiction writers of her generation. She is creative, adventurous and riotously funny, qualities that she’s demonstrated in stories over and over again—whether she is getting to know Flo, the Progressive insurance lady; on a mission to find Tom Cruise; or eating endless appetizers at TGI Friday’s, Caity is indefatigable in her devotion to her stories, and she invariably follows them through to their logical (and often illogical) conclusions. (Her interests also include glitter and pennies, both pieces I strongly recommend.) Caity is joining us from The New York Times Magazine.
Next, I’m happy to share the news that Jonathan Lemire is joining us as a contributing writer, focusing on the White House and national politics. Jonathan is an energetic, relentless reporter, driven by scoops but also an expert at explaining their meaning. As we continue to focus more and more on reporting-driven coverage of the incoming administration, Jonathan’s contributions will be invaluable. In addition to writing for us, Jonathan is a co-host of Morning Joe and was until recently Politico’s White House bureau chief. Before that he did stints at the Associated Press and the New York Daily News. He is also the author of The Big Lie: Election Chaos, Political Opportunism, and the State of American Politics after 2020.
Finally, I’m pleased to let you know that Alex Reisner is also becoming a contributing writer. Alex has done excellent work for us over the past two years, focusing his programming and reporting skills on the large (and largely ill-understood) world of AI training databases. Through his relentlessness, Alex revealed which pirated books were used to train some of the highest profile AI models. He also worked with us to build a searchable database so that writers could find out how their work had been used without their consent. (Alex’s reporting prompted Atlantic pieces from Margaret Atwood and Stephen King.) More recently, he disclosed the inner workings of the Hollywood writing database.
The Atlantic recently announced the hires of staff writers Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, who begin this week. Other writers who joined The Atlantic in the past few months include Kristen V. Brown, Jonathan Chait, Nicholas Florko, Shane Harris, and Shayla Love; and contributing writers Danielle Allen and Robert Kagan.
Press Contact: Anna Bross, The Atlantic | press@theatlantic.com