Michael A. Rogers

Michael Rogers is a technology pioneer, author, and futurist who recently completed two years as futurist-in-residence for The New York Times Company . He is a columnist for MSNBC.com, and also helps businesses and organizations worldwide think about the future. In recent years he has worked with companies ranging from FedEx, Boeing and NBC Universal to Prudential, Dow Corning, American Express and Genentech.

Media and Technology Career

For ten years Rogers was vice president of The Washington Post Company's new media division, guiding both the newspaper and its sister publication Newsweek into the 21st century, as well as serving as editor and general manager of Newsweek.com. He is also a regular guest on radio and television including Good Morning America, The Today Show, PBS, CNN and The History Channel.

He began his career as a writer for Rolling Stone and went on to co-found Outside Magazine. He then launched Newsweek’s technology column, winning numerous journalism awards, including a National Headliner Award for coverage of Chernobyl and a Distinguished Online Service award from the National Press Club for coverage of 9/11.

He began working with interactive media in 1986, when he developed the storyline for the first Lucasfilm computer game. In 1993 he produced the world's first CD-ROM newsmagazine for Newsweek, going on to develop areas on [[1]], America Online and then a series of Internet sites. In 1999 he received a patent for the bimodal spine, a multimedia storytelling technique, and is listed in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. In 2007 he was named to the Magazine Industry Digital Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he received the World Technology Network Award for Lifetime Achievement in Media and Journalism.

He regularly addresses audiences worldwide, ranging from venture capitalists and corporate executives to educators, students and the general public. In 1989 he was founding chairperson of the European Technology Roundtable, an annual CEO gathering, which he continues to moderate along with the newer Asian Technology Roundtable.

Rogers studied physics and creative writing at Stanford University with additional training in finance and management at Stanford Business School’s Executive Program. He is also a best-selling novelist whose fiction explores the human impact of technology. He lives in New York City and is at work on his next book.

Publications

Books
Mindfogger (Novel; Knopf, 1973)
Do Not Worry About the Bear (Short stories; Knopf, 1977)
Biohazard (Nonfiction; Knopf, 1979)
Silicon Valley (Novel; Simon & Schuster, 1983)
Forbidden Sequence (Novel; Bantam, 1989)

Periodicals
Fiction, nonfiction and criticism and photography in dozens of magazines, ranging from Look and Esquire to Playboy and the New York Times, and in numerous anthologies.

Interactive Media
Console
1986: BALLBLAZER; Lucasfilm Games; Atari 2600 (writer) Laserdisc/Macintosh 1989: UPHEAVAL IN CHINA; Newsweek; limited release (producer/managing editor)

Diskette
1990: NOT EXACTLY UNIQUE; Tor Productions; limited release (co-producer/writer)

CD-ROM
1993: UNFINISHED BUSINESS: MENDING THE EARTH; Sony MMCD (producer/managing editor)
1994: Newsweek InterActive Documentary Series; Sony MMCD/Software Toolworks, DOS (Producer/Managing Editor)

     VOLUME I: UNFINISHED BUSINESS/THE BUSINESS OF BASEBALL

     VOLUME II: BEHIND THE SCREENS/ WHAT AILS US?

     VOLUME III: GLOBOCOP/THE SECRET LIFE OF ANIMALS 

1995: DRIVING THE DATA HIGHWAY; Newsweek; Macintosh/Windows (writer-producer), NEW MEDIA AT THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY; Digital Ink; Macintosh/Windows (producer)
1996: NEWSWEEK PARENT’S GUIDE TO CHILDREN’S SOFTWARE; Digital Ink; Macintosh/Windows (executive producer/writer/host)

Honors and Awards

1974: American Association for the Advancement of Science Distinguished Science Writing
1988: National Headliners Award
1989: Computer Press Association Outstanding Feature Writing
2007: Magazine Industry Digital Hall of Fame Inductee
2009: World Technology Network Award for Lifetime Achievement in Media and Journalism

Employment

2006 - 2008: Futurist in Residence, The New York Times
1996 - 2006: Vice President, Editorial Research and Development, Washington Post-Newsweek New Media
1995 - 1996: Executive Producer, Broadband Division, The Washington Post Company
1992 - 1995: Managing Editor, Newsweek InterActive
1991 - 1994: Senior Writer, Newsweek Magazine
1983 - 1991: General Editor, Newsweek Magazine
1978 - 1982: Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone Correspondent, Outside
1977 - 1978: Co-Founder and Editor-at-Large, Outside Magazine
1972 - 1976: Associate Editor, Rolling Stone

Education

Stanford University, BA in Creative Writing, 1972 (minor in Physics)

External links

• ideaconnection.com A conversation with Rogers on technology and innovation.
• financialtimes.com An article about the future of journalism and the New York Times.