Microsoft founder Bill Gates will be the first guest editor of The Verge, according to a release from the technology site.
In February, Gates will work with Verge staffers to “develop weekly content features” that correspond to major issues outlined in the 2015 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation annual letter, including health, education, food and banking. He will also narrate four episodes of “The Big Future,” The Verge’s animated explainer series, according to the release.
The Verge promises to run “serious independent journalism” related to the themes laid out in Gates’ annual letter, according to an announcement by Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel:
Gates is our guest editor, but we have promised his team that we’ll do serious independent journalism against these themes; we will present a complete picture of this future to you. It’s going to be exciting.
Patel quipped that Gates’ temporary editorship was the cause for some relaxation:
I needed a month off, so I'm letting @BillGates edit The Verge in February. http://t.co/r9XIwJVyTd
— nilay patel (@reckless) January 22, 2015
Here’s the release:
New York, NY (January 22, 2015) The Verge, Vox Media’s industry-leading technology lifestyle site, today announced that Bill Gates will serve as the first guest editor of the site for the month of February.
Gates spoke with The Verge’s editor in chief Nilay Patel, discussing his vision for how technology and science will dramatically change the lives of the world’s poor over the next 15 years, the subject of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual letter for 2015.
Watch The Verge’s interview with Gates here: http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/22/7870497/bill-gates-interview-future-verge-guest-editor
As guest editor of The Verge, Gates will work with the site’s editorial staff to develop weekly content features, each addressing a main theme of the 2015 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation annual letter — health, education, food, and banking — which was released today. Gates will also narrate four episodes of The Verge’s animated explainer series “The Big Future,” exploring how technology and science will change the lives of the world’s poor.
“The Verge is dedicated to exploring the future, and Bill Gates has spent his career and his life actually building his vision of the future,” said Patel. “It’s thrilling to work with him on a series of stories that explore how that future will improve the lives of everyone around the world.”
The Verge covers the intersection of technology, science, art, and culture, was founded in 2011 in partnership with Vox Media. Its mission is to offer in-depth reporting and long-form feature stories, breaking news coverage, product information, and community content.
