International Biz Times hires Learmonth as global tech editor

International Business Times editor Peter Goodman sent out the following announcement to the staff:

We are beyond excited that Michael Learmonth is joining our team as our Global Technology Editor.

Michael is at once a digital native and an old-school journalist par excellence, having spent the past 15 years covering the intersection of technology, entertainment and marketing for Advertising Age, Business Insider, Variety and Reuters. He has seen up close and personal the booms and busts of technology: He covered the first internet bubble in Silicon Valley at Metro Newspaper in San Jose, then chronicled its bursting at the late great magazine The Industry Standard. In his spare time, Learmonth served as chief content officer for Internet Week New York, keynoted this year by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Those who have worked with him tell us he is a graceful writer, a source of excellent story ideas, an all-around trusted colleague, and a master of the Web.

Michael will draw on all of these virtues as he steps into this challenging new job. His mission is no less than reimagining and expanding our technology coverage. He will focus primarily on the US site, yet work collaboratively with our colleagues in London, Bangalore and further afield to yield a report genuinely reflective of the global nature of technology and its force in reshaping business, society, health, geography, and social mores — basically, the whole schmeer of human existence. He will work closely with the rest of the senior edit team in New York to sharpen our coverage across the site and explore ways to boost our multimedia offerings.

A DC native, Michael boasts a masters’ degree from UC Berkeley and a BA from Earlham College. Every fourth year his productivity plummets with the beginning of the World Cup (making the timing of our announcement seemingly dubious). He lives on the lower east side of Manhattan with his wife, daughter, and a way-too-big-for-New York Labrador puppy.

Michael joins us on June 23. Please give him a big welcome.