TheWrap, the leading independent digital news organization covering the business of entertainment and media, is pleased to announce that Michael Calderone will be joining as Media Editor, starting this month. In this role, Calderone will oversee TheWrap’s coverage of the rapidly evolving media industry and lead “The Media Front” column analyzing the forces shaping journalism, politics and technology.
Calderone joins TheWrap with more than two decades of experience covering the media landscape at some of the country’s most respected outlets. He previously served as the editor of The Hive at Vanity Fair, where he chronicled the intersection of media, politics, and culture. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Politico, where he launched and led the influential “Morning Media” newsletter, breaking stories and providing in-depth reporting on the inner workings of the press.
Earlier in his career, Calderone was a media reporter at The Huffington Post, where he was among the first journalists to cover the digital transformation of the news industry, and has contributed to Yahoo News, Columbia Journalism Review, and other major publications. He also wrote the “Off the Record” media column for the New York Observer and in 2014 he won the National Press Club’s press criticism award.
“Our media industry is challenged in unprecedented ways that have serious implications for free expression and our democracy, adding to the pressures that shifting business models have created in the past two decades,” said TheWrap founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman. “TheWrap is dedicated to covering those challenges in depth with deep original reporting and incisive analysis. Michael is one of the most respected and insightful journalists covering media today and he brings tremendous value to our readers as we expand our coverage of the media industry at a pivotal moment.”
Calderone added: “It’s a momentous time to cover the media as the establishment is being rocked by insurgents and influencers, as the First Amendment is under fire, and as AI looms over newsrooms. I’m excited to write on an industry in flux for TheWrap, both the challenges and opportunities, along with where media collides with politics and culture.”
Calderone joins TheWrap as the site continues to bring on board high level talent to build out its premium coverage, including media reporter Corbin Bolies, fashion journalist Booth Moore and earlier this year SVP for editorial strategy Tom Lowry.
Calderone will be based in New York and begins his role next week.
