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John Markoff

Senior Computer & Technology Writer for The New York Times

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John Markoff Biography

John Markoff is a senior writer for the New York Times, where he covers computer and technology issues. Markoff is also known for his coverage of the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Markoff was born in Oakland, California and grew up in Palo Alto, California. He graduated from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, with a B.A. in Sociology in 1971. Additionally, he received an M.A. in sociology from the University of Oregon in 1976.

After leaving graduate school, he returned to California where he began writing for Pacific News Service, an alternative news syndicate based in San Francisco. He freelanced for a number of publications including The Nation, Mother Jones, and Saturday Review. In 1981 he became part of the original staff of the computer industry weekly InfoWorld. In 1984 he became an editor at Byte Magazine and in 1985 he left to become a reporter in the business section of the San Francisco Examiner, where he wrote about Silicon Valley.

On July 4, 1994, he wrote an article about Kevin Mitnick, who was then a fugitive from a number of law enforcement agencies. He wrote several more pieces detailing Mitnick's capture. Markoff also co-wrote, with Tsutomu Shimomura, the book Takedown about the chase. The book later became a controversial film that was released directly to video in the United States. Markoff's writing about Mitnick was the subject of criticism by Mitnick supporters and unaffiliated parties who maintained that Markoff's accounts exaggerated or even invented Mitnick's activities and successes. Markoff stood by his reporting in several responses.

Markoff's involvement with Mitnick is thoroughly covered in the documentary Freedom Downtime, in which an interview is conducted with Markoff who is unable to elaborate on the veracity of Mitnick's charges.

After Mitnick, Markoff continued to write about technology, focusing at times on wireless networking, writing early stories about non-line-of-sight broadband wireless, phased-array antennas, and multiple-in, multiple-out (MIMO) antenna systems to enhance Wi-Fi. He covered Jim Gillogly's 1999 break of the first three sections of the CIA's Kryptos cipher and writes regularly about semiconductors and supercomputers as well. He wrote the first two articles describing Admiral John Poindexter's return to government and the creation of the Total Information Awareness project. He shared the 2005 Gerald Loeb Award in the Deadline Writing category for the story "End of an Era". In 2009 he moved from the Business/Tech section of the New York Times to the Science section.

Markoff contributed to the New York Times staff entry that received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. The series of 10 articles explored the business practices of Apple and other technology companies. He retired from his full-time position with the New York Times on December 1, 2016. He continues to work as a freelance journalist for the Times and other organizations and volunteers at the Computer History Museum.

Markoff is also author of The High Cost of High Tech, published by Harper & Row in 1985; Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, written with Katie Hafner and published in 1991 by Simon and Schuster; What the Dormouse Said: How the 60s Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry (2005), A Robot Network Seeks to Enlist Your Computer (2008), and Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots (2015). In 2018, Markoff is interviewed in Do You Trust This Computer?, a documentary on artificial intelligence.

Videos
Books
What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry

What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry

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FAQs
  • How do I book John Markoff to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like John Markoff for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for John Markoff, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for John Markoff or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for John Markoff

    Speaking fees for John Markoff, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book John Markoff are available upon request for live events and available upon request for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire John Markoff, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does John Markoff speak about?

    John Markoff is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Business, Business Leaders, Computer Science, Culture, Innovation, Journalism, Science and Technology, Technology Speakers.
  • Where does John Markoff travel from?

    John Markoff generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is John Markoff’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like John Markoff for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book John Markoff for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host John Markoff or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.
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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.

Senior Computer & Technology Writer for The New York Times

Travels From:
San Francisco, CA, USA
Speaking Fee:

John Markoff Biography

John Markoff is a senior writer for the New York Times, where he covers computer and technology issues. Markoff is also known for his coverage of the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Markoff was born in Oakland, California and grew up in Palo Alto, California. He graduated from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, with a B.A. in Sociology in 1971. Additionally, he received an M.A. in sociology from the University of Oregon in 1976.

After leaving graduate school, he returned to California where he began writing for Pacific News Service, an alternative news syndicate based in San Francisco. He freelanced for a number of publications including The Nation, Mother Jones, and Saturday Review. In 1981 he became part of the original staff of the computer industry weekly InfoWorld. In 1984 he became an editor at Byte Magazine and in 1985 he left to become a reporter in the business section of the San Francisco Examiner, where he wrote about Silicon Valley.

On July 4, 1994, he wrote an article about Kevin Mitnick, who was then a fugitive from a number of law enforcement agencies. He wrote several more pieces detailing Mitnick's capture. Markoff also co-wrote, with Tsutomu Shimomura, the book Takedown about the chase. The book later became a controversial film that was released directly to video in the United States. Markoff's writing about Mitnick was the subject of criticism by Mitnick supporters and unaffiliated parties who maintained that Markoff's accounts exaggerated or even invented Mitnick's activities and successes. Markoff stood by his reporting in several responses.

Markoff's involvement with Mitnick is thoroughly covered in the documentary Freedom Downtime, in which an interview is conducted with Markoff who is unable to elaborate on the veracity of Mitnick's charges.

After Mitnick, Markoff continued to write about technology, focusing at times on wireless networking, writing early stories about non-line-of-sight broadband wireless, phased-array antennas, and multiple-in, multiple-out (MIMO) antenna systems to enhance Wi-Fi. He covered Jim Gillogly's 1999 break of the first three sections of the CIA's Kryptos cipher and writes regularly about semiconductors and supercomputers as well. He wrote the first two articles describing Admiral John Poindexter's return to government and the creation of the Total Information Awareness project. He shared the 2005 Gerald Loeb Award in the Deadline Writing category for the story "End of an Era". In 2009 he moved from the Business/Tech section of the New York Times to the Science section.

Markoff contributed to the New York Times staff entry that received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. The series of 10 articles explored the business practices of Apple and other technology companies. He retired from his full-time position with the New York Times on December 1, 2016. He continues to work as a freelance journalist for the Times and other organizations and volunteers at the Computer History Museum.

Markoff is also author of The High Cost of High Tech, published by Harper & Row in 1985; Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, written with Katie Hafner and published in 1991 by Simon and Schuster; What the Dormouse Said: How the 60s Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry (2005), A Robot Network Seeks to Enlist Your Computer (2008), and Machines of Loving Grace: The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots (2015). In 2018, Markoff is interviewed in Do You Trust This Computer?, a documentary on artificial intelligence.

John Markoff Videos

  • John Markoff Machines of Loving Grace - YouTube
  • Digital Transformation: Interview with John Markoff Author and ...
  • Cyber Policy at National & International Levels

John Markoff Books

FAQs on booking John Markoff

  • How do I book John Markoff to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like John Markoff for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for John Markoff, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for John Markoff or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for John Markoff

    Speaking fees for John Markoff, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book John Markoff are available upon request for live events and available upon request for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire John Markoff, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does John Markoff speak about?

    John Markoff is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Business, Business Leaders, Computer Science, Culture, Innovation, Journalism, Science and Technology, Technology Speakers.
  • Where does John Markoff travel from?

    John Markoff generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is John Markoff’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like John Markoff for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book John Markoff for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host John Markoff or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

John Markoff is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book John Markoff for your event is available upon request. John Markoff generally travels from San Francisco, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jeffrey Kluger, Guy Kawasaki, R "Ray" Wang, Ray Kurzweil and Geoff Colvin. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling John Markoff for an upcoming live or virtual event.

John Markoff Speaker Videos

  • John Markoff Machines of Loving Grace - YouTube
    Digital Transformation: Interview with John Markoff Author and ...
  • Cyber Policy at National & International Levels
    Stanford Medicine X 2012 Keynote - Esther Dyson and John Markoff ...
  • John Markoff - Psychedelics and Computers - YouTube

John Markoff News

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During normal business hours, we respond to most inquiries within 4 hours.

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Speakers Similar to John Markoff

This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent and wish to request a profile update or removal from our online directory, please submit a profile request form.

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