{{short description|American author}} {{Infobox writer | name = Nicholas Jackson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1987|5|09}} | birth_place = Waukegan, Illinois | occupation = Editor, writer | education = Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Northwestern University }} '''Nicholas Jackson''' (born 1987) is an American author, writer, and magazine editor known for his work at ''The Atlantic'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/nicholas-jackson/|title=Nicholas Jackson|website=The Atlantic|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> ''Outside'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1746431/nicholas-jackson|title=Nicholas Jackson|date=April 30, 2012|website=Outside Online|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> ''Atlas Obscura'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nicholas Jackson's User Profile |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/users/nicholas-jackson |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> and ''Pacific Standard'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://psmag.com/page/about|title=About Pacific Standard|website=Pacific Standard|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> where he served as the magazine's third editor-in-chief from 2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/pacific-standard-names-editor/|title=Pacific Standard Names Editor|last=O'Shea|first=Chris|date=August 18, 2015|website=Adweek|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> until its closure in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-08-07/pacific-standard-magazine-shutting-down|title=Pacific Standard magazine is shutting down after losing main financial backer|date=2019-08-07|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> He has since worked as an independent consultant, media strategist,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasbjackson/|title=Nicholas Jackson|last=|first=|date=|website=LinkedIn|access-date=September 30, 2019}}</ref> and director of editorial for a variety of publishers, organizations, and tech start-ups.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nicholas Jackson - Managing Director, Editorial at Built In |url=https://theorg.com/org/built-in/org-chart/nicholas-jackson |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=THE ORG |language=en}}</ref>
==Education== Jackson is a graduate of The Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, a three-year residential high school in Aurora, Illinois, founded by Leon Lederman, where he was the 2005 commencement speaker<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=commence_ceremony|title=Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy: Commencement of the Class of 2005}}</ref> and an editor on ''The Acronym'', the independent, student-run newspaper. In 2009, he graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Eight years later, he was profiled in Medill's alumni magazine as an editor focused on accountability journalism in the public interest and "ambitious narrative and investigative reporting."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/news/2017/inside-pacific-standard.html|title=Inside Pacific Standard – Medill – Northwestern University|work=medill.northwestern.edu|access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>
==Career== After graduating from Northwestern University, Jackson began his career as a reporter at ''Slate'' before joining ''The Atlantic'' in 2010 as an editor to oversee tech coverage with Alexis Madrigal and veteran correspondent James Fallows. Their approach was described as going "beyond writing about the big companies and the coolest gadgets to show how new tools and ideas are influencing the world."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pompeo |first=Joe |title=Atlantic.com's New Tech Channel Will "Take A Broader And More Cultural View Of Technology" |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-atlantics-new-tech-channel-launches-tonight-2010-9 |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> The following year, he launched ''The Atlantic''<nowiki/>'s health coverage,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Rachel |title=The Atlantic Adds Health Channel, Nicholas Jackson To Edit |url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/the-atlantic-adds-health-channel-nicholas-jackson-to-edit/ |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US}}</ref> working closely with J.J. Gould and Bob Cohn. While at ''The Atlantic'', his work was cited by ''Wired'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dobbs |first=David |title=Mapping the Twittersphere on New Year's Eve |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/01/neuronculture-twitterspher/ |access-date=2023-04-19 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> CNN,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Critics: Google hides Gay Pride feature |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/06/23/google.gay.pride/index.html |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.cnn.com |language=en}}</ref> NBC News,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple's invisible data center finally appears on Google Earth |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/apples-invisible-data-center-finally-appears-google-earth-flna123066 |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=NBC News |date=2 June 2011 |language=en}}</ref> and others.
In 2012, Jackson became digital editorial director at ''Outside''. There, he was named to ''Folio:''<nowiki/>'s 30 under 30 list for overseeing "100 percent growth in page views" over six months.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2012 |title=Folio:'s 15 Under 30 |url=https://www.foliomag.com/folio-s-15-under-30/ |access-date=15 April 2019 |website=Folio}}</ref> He would be named to ''Folio:''<nowiki/>'s 30 under 30 list again in 2017, with editors writing that, "with limited resources, Jackson has made ''Pacific Standard'' a must-read for those interested in working toward forward-looking solutions to social and environmental problems."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-20 |title=The 2017 Folio: 30 Under 30 |url=https://www.foliomag.com/2017-folio-30-30/ |access-date=2019-09-30 |website=Folio |language=en-US}}</ref>
He had joined ''Pacific Standard'' in 2013. After two years as the digital director and associate publisher overseeing business development and online audience growth, Jackson was appointed the magazine's third editor-in-chief.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Shea |first=Chris |title=Pacific Standard Names Editor |url=https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/pacific-standard-names-editor/ |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US}}</ref> During his tenure as editor, the magazine earned numerous awards and industry accolades, including journalism's highest honor, the National Magazine Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2017/02/california-sunday-magazine-wins-national-magazine-award-photography.html|title=California Sunday Magazine Wins National Magazine Award for Photography|date=February 8, 2017|website=PDNPulse|access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> It also earned a Silver Medal for Feature Design from the Society of Publication Designers;<ref>{{Cite web| title=The society of publication designers announces the 52nd annual awards winners | url=http://spdarchives.org/SPD%2052%20Winners%20Press%20Release%205-10-17.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021065943/http://spdarchives.org/SPD%2052%20Winners%20Press%20Release%205-10-17.pdf | archive-date=2018-10-21}}</ref> a Mirror Award for Best Profile from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University for "Editor in Exile,"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newhouse.syr.edu/news-events/news/2018-mirror-award-winners-announced-today-new-york-city-awards-ceremony|title=2018 Mirror Award winners announced today at New York City awards ceremony|website=Newhouse School {{!}} Syracuse University|access-date=5 June 2019|archive-date=5 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605224644/https://newhouse.syr.edu/news-events/news/2018-mirror-award-winners-announced-today-new-york-city-awards-ceremony|url-status=dead}}</ref> a look at authoritarian rule in the Maldives; and several arts and entertainment awards from the Los Angeles Press Club.<ref>{{Cite web| title=2017 Tenth annual national arts & entertainment journalism awards | url=http://lapressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2017-NAEJ.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831205037/http://lapressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2017-NAEJ.pdf | archive-date=2018-08-31}}</ref> In addition, the magazine was recognized by the National Association of Science Writers for best long-form writing and reporting,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasw.org/article/2016-science-society-journalism-award-winners|title=2016 Science in Society Journalism Award winners|website=www.nasw.org|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> and the Society of Environmental Journalists for its investigative environmental journalism. Works that first appeared in ''Pacific Standard'' have been featured in multiple anthologies, including ''Best American Essays'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/throwin_shadows/status/1177650167643684865|title=More Best American news: @rowanjacobsen's essay "Deleting a Species," which was selected for Science and Nature, is also a notable in Best American Essays. Check it out.|last=Sahn|first=Jennifer|date=2019-09-27|website=@throwin_shadows|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> ''Best American Science & Nature Writing'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ben_a_goldfarb/status/1177613585016487936|title=A cool thing arrived in the mail this week! Grateful to @SyTheAuthor and @jaimealyse for seeing fit to include me (first time cracking this nut), and honored to see my work alongside that of @brookejarvis, @evaholland, @JB_MacKinnon, and so many other writers I admire.pic.twitter.com/sKkwGpil1D|last=Goldfarb|first=Ben|date=2019-09-27|website=@ben_a_goldfarb|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> ''Best Food Writing'',<ref>{{Cite book|title=Best Food Writing|date=2017-10-17|isbn = 978-0738220185|last1 = Hughes|first1 = Holly|publisher=Hachette Books }}</ref> ''Best American Sports Writing'', and ''What Future: The Year’s Best Ideas to Reclaim, Reanimate & Reinvent Our Future''.
In 2017, Jackson won the National Magazine Award from the American Society of Magazine Editors in the Feature Photography category<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://asme.magazine.org/asme/ellie-awards/event-highlights/2017-national-magazine-awards|title=2017 National Magazine Awards {{!}} ASME|website=asme.magazine.org|access-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043050/https://asme.magazine.org/asme/ellie-awards/event-highlights/2017-national-magazine-awards|archive-date=6 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foliomag.com/mother-jones-takes-top-prize-2017-ellies/|title=Mother Jones Wins Magazine of the Year at the 2017 Ellies|date=February 7, 2017|website=Folio|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> for "Adrift," a series on Eritrean refugees photographed from on board a Doctors Without Borders ship in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wwd.com/business-news/media/mother-jones-wins-magazine-of-the-year-asmes-10778870/|title=Mother Jones Wins Magazine of the Year at National Magazine Awards|first1=Alexandra|last1=Steigrad|first2=Kara|last2=Bloomgarden-Smoke|date=February 7, 2017|website=Women's Wear Daily|access-date=15 April 2019|last3=Bloomgarden-Smoke|first3=Kara}}</ref> In the award citation, the ASME judges wrote that, "sensitively paced and complemented by elegant typography, Francesco Zizola's photographs of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean combine a strong visual perspective with a powerful narrative voice."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://asme.magazine.org/asme/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/ellie-awards-2017-winners-announced|title=Ellie Awards 2017 Winners Announced|website=asme.magazine.org|access-date=2019-09-30|archive-date=2019-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507145637/https://asme.magazine.org/asme/industry-news/press-releases/asme-press-releases/asme/ellie-awards-2017-winners-announced|url-status=dead}}</ref> Jackson was a finalist two years later, in 2019, for the National Magazine Award in Essays and Criticism<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://asme.magazine.org/ASME/ellies-2019-finalists-announced|title=Ellies 2019 Finalists Announced|website=asme.magazine.org|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728150342/https://asme.magazine.org/ASME/ellies-2019-finalists-announced|archive-date=28 July 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> for Terese Marie Mailhot's story about surviving racism as a Native writer, "Silence Breaking Woman."
At ''Pacific Standard'', he argued for radical transparency around editorial decisions in newsrooms<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/12/more-transparency-around-newsroom-decisions/|title=More transparency around newsroom decisions|website=Nieman Lab|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> and promoted the importance of strong relationships with freelance writers, leading the magazine to be named one of the best places to pitch story ideas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/freelance-journalists-best-gigs.php|title=Two dozen freelance journalists told CJR the best outlets to pitch|website=Columbia Journalism Review|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> As editor-in-chief, he was also publicly celebrated for "cultivating stories that inform and change people's lives."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mrmagazine.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/pacific-standard-magazine-a-magazine-worth-printing-with-stories-that-matter-the-mr-magazine-interview-with-nick-jackson-editor-in-chief-pacific-standard-magazine/|title=Pacific Standard Magazine – A Magazine Worth Printing With Stories That Matter – The Mr. Magazine™ Interview With Nick Jackson, Editor in Chief, Pacific Standard Magazine.|date=July 25, 2016|work=Mr. Magazine|access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>
When the magazine closed, it was written that Jackson "led a superb editorial team over his six years there"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/pacific-standard-is-shutting-down-cut-off-from-its-major-foundation-funder/|title=Pacific Standard is shutting down, cut off from its major foundation funder|website=Nieman Lab|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> and that ''Pacific Standard'' "stood out from the pack of click-hungry websites."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/business/media/pacific-standard-topic-magazines.html|title=Closing of Pacific Standard and Topic Shows Perils of Depending on a Rich Patron|last=Tracy|first=Marc|date=2019-08-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-09-30|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Lloyd Grove, of ''The Daily Beast'', reported that the shutdown "hit the journalism community especially hard,"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-sudden-brutal-death-of-pacific-standard-this-is-heartbreaking-what-a-loss|title='This is Heartbreaking. What a Loss': Inside the Sudden, Brutal Death of Pacific Standard|last=Grove|first=Lloyd|date=2019-08-08|access-date=2019-09-30|language=en}}</ref> with other journalists noting that "I've looked to ''Pacific Standard'' so many times for examples of great, clear-eyed reporting and elegant (but never over-the-top) writing"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ACShilton/status/1159189682145681410|title=This is heartbreaking. I've looked to Pacific Standard so many times for examples of great, clear-eyed reporting and elegant (but never over-the-top) writing. What a loss.|last=Shilton|first=A. C.|date=2019-08-07|website=@ACShilton|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref> and that "''Pacific Standard'' was the best dedicated source for social science coverage anywhere, and routinely put out stories that made me burn with jealousy that I didn't think of them first or do them as well. The world will be worse without it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/dylanmatt/status/1159189370810851329|title=Pacific Standard was the best dedicated source for social science coverage anywhere, and routinely put out stories that made me burn with jealousy that I didn't think of them first or do them as well. The world will be worse without it.|last=Matthews|first=Dylan|date=2019-08-07|website=@dylanmatt|language=en|access-date=2019-09-30}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Nicholas}} Category:Living people Category:American editors Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:1987 births