Harry McCracken is technology editor for ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'' and the founder of Technologizer, a website about personal technology. He was an editor at large for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'', covering technology, from February 2012 to June 2014. McCracken is also a former contributing editor at

CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

. Until June 2, 2008, McCracken was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...

'' for four years; he had previously held other editorial positions for ten.

Biography

He was educated in the public schools of Newton, Massachusetts,

the Cambridge School of Weston The Cambridge School of Weston (also known as CSW or The Cambridge School) is an independent, coeducational high school in Weston, Massachusetts. Currently, the school has 325 students in grades 9 to 12, with approximately 70% day students and ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. McCracken is the son of the late Samuel McCracken, a professor at Boston University and a long-time assistant to BU president John Silber; and Natalie Jacobson McCracken, a retired editor in chief for development and alumni publications at BU.

Controversy

On May 1, 2007, McCracken resigned abruptly under controversial circumstances. McCracken quit abruptly because the new CEO of ''PC World'', Colin Crawford, tried to stop an unfavorable story about

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

and

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...

. Crawford responded, calling media reports of McCracken's resignation "inaccurate." McCracken told colleagues that

IDG International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...

, ''PC World''s publisher, "was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers." On May 9, 2007, Crawford was transferred to another department and McCracken returned to ''PC World''.

Other works

In addition to his computer magazine work, McCracken has also been active in animation fandom, as a central mailer for Apatoons, and editor of ''

Animato! ''Animato!'' was a magazine that was dedicated to animation, generally viewed by animation fans as a successor to Michael Barrier's pioneering ''Funnyworld'' and David Mruz's ''Mindrot''/''Animania''. History and profile ''Animato!'' was firs ...

'' magazine. He was also co-moderator of the

BIX Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical ap ...

Animation Forum, with the late Emru Townsend. He is also the webmaster of the Scrappyland website, devoted to the

Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pict ...

cartoon character

Scrappy Scrappy is a cartoon character created by Dick Huemer for Charles Mintz's Screen Gems Studio (distributed by Columbia Pictures). A little round-headed boy, Scrappy often found himself involved in off-beat neighborhood adventures. Usually paired ...

. He has also contributed to ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

''.

Awards

McCracken has won a number of awards for his editorial work. He received the

American Business Media American Business Media is an association of business information providers that was founded in 1906. Currently, the association has more than 300 member companies and gives business intelligence to industry, Madison Avenue, Wall Street and the Be ...

(ABM) Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity in 2008, recognizing his resignation on principle in 2007. That same year he also won Best Editorial Column recognition from ABM and was listed on ''

Folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

'' magazine's list of 40 media influencers.

Personal life

McCracken married Marie Domingo on December 26, 2010. He is the brother of novelist and teacher

Elizabeth McCracken Elizabeth McCracken (born 1966) is an American author. She is a recipient of the PEN New England Award. Life and career McCracken, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Newton North High S ...

.Legacy.com
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References

External links

Technologizer.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, Harry 1964 births Living people American magazine editors Historians of animation