Staff Writer at The Atlantic

Conor Friedersdorf | Biography

Friedersdorf worked as an intern on The Daily Dish blog page launched by Andrew Sullivan, a British-American author, editor, and blogger

• By Ojasbi
• Update : September 24, 2021

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Conor Renier Friedersdorf is a Staff Writer at The Atlantic, a magazine and publisher.

Who is Conor Renier Friedersdorf?

Friedersdorf is an American journalist with conservative leanings. He has also authored a book, 'Meeting Triumph and Disaster: How Milton Shedd helped to win World War II, found Sea World, conserve his beloved ocean, and pass on the values that fueled his success,' released in 2016.

Friedersdorf's journalism experience comprises his stints at numerous journalistic outlets, namely, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Claremont Institute, The Atlantic, Culture 11, The Daily Dish, and many more. He launched a newsletter dubbed Best of Journalism in 2010.

Early Life and Education

Conor Renier Friedersdorf was born on 7 January 1980 to a Catholic household. He grew up in Costa Mesa, a city in Orange County, California. Although he was raised a Catholic, he did not conform to it. He conveyed to Hugh Hewitt in 2012 that he has no intention of practicing Catholicism. However, nothing more about his personal life was available. 

Friedersdorf completed his high school at Santa Margarita High School, a Catholic academic institution in Southern Orange. Next, he attended Pomona College to earn a bachelor's degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics and graduated in 2002. He also holds a master's degree in journalism from New York University, earned in 2007.

Career

Shortly after graduating from Pomona College, Friedersdorf landed his first job in an Ontario-based newspaper firm, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. The newspaper had a readership of approximately 80,000 copies. He concentrated on the local city beat and did substantial reporting on any and every event at Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Alongside his reporting duties, he worked as a writer and editor for the Claremont Institute before switching from newspapers to magazines. His enthusiasm for magazine journalism and the lengthy format of the write-ups prompted him to make the switch. Moreover, this decision brought him an opportunity to study Journalism at New York University for free. Though dubious about the scope of the opportunity, the scholarship induced his enrollment. And, under the tutelage of great writers at NYU, he got capacitated enough to acquire an internship at The Atlantic after graduation.

The Atlantic had offered him a contractual position following his internship, but he chose to work as an editor for the then-startup company, Culture 11. However, that was only for a brief time. After that, he took up a freelancing job and eventually decided to return to The Atlantic. He has been working as a Staff Writer at The Atlantic since January 2011, which he has held till today. At the magazine, he concentrates specifically on political and national issues, including campus politics. Regarding his freelance duties, he has worked as a writer, editor, new media consultant, writing coach and has been self-employed in the arena since 2002.

Furthermore, he is the founder and editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter dedicated to disseminating the best reads in the field.

Best of Journalism 

When Friedersdorf was at Culture 11, he and his group of friends regularly met at Kramerbooks near Dupont Circle in DC to read and exchange opinions on a unique range of editorials. The structure of the meet resembled that of a magazine club. However, the meet was later discontinued due to personal and professional urges. But, the consistency in reading and searching insightful writings continued for Friedersdorf. 

It inspired Friedersdorf to draft the Best of Journalism list, an endeavor in sharing good readings. The list of articles began as a collection of links of good reads in 2008. Eventually, the list secured a distribution outlet in reputed magazines, namely, The American Scene, True/Slant, and The Atlantic.

In 2010, Friedersdorf began releasing the list as a newsletter, dubbed Best of Journalism. His main goal was to provide readers with high-quality journalisms and readings.

Sullivan Blog

Andrew Sullivan, a British-American author, editor, and blogger, launched The Daily Dish blog in 2000. In 2006, he broadened his site material by bringing the page to The Atlantic and Times.

Friedersdorf formerly worked as an intern on the blog page while at The Atlantic before being promoted to senior editor in 2010. As a senior editor, Friedersdorf was in charge of under-blogging both the good and bad sides of conservative ideologies and activities. He focused on the moral decay of the conservative movement and signs of economic recovery due to the resurgence of conservative policy.

Besides The Daily Dish, Friedersdorf has also written on reputed magazines like American Scene, Forbes, Daily Beast, and the late True/Slant.

Twitter War

The two journalists, Conor Friedersdorf and Issac Bailey are well-known for their Twitter arguments. However, they both spar amicably, as opposed to the violent squabbles. Friedersdorf is a conservative, whereas Bailey is progressive, and their arguments are based on this contrast.

Nonetheless, there were domains where the two agreed upon each other's perspectives. For instance, Bailey had put up a tweet chastising a prosecutor in Georgia for pursuing the death sentence for the culprit in the Atlanta spa shootings. Friedersdorf agreed and retweeted it with his personal opinions and experiences.

Book

Friedersdorf penned the book 'Meeting Triumph and Disaster: How Milton Shedd helped to win World War II, found Sea World, conserve his beloved ocean, and pass on the values that fueled his success,' and published it on 15 December 2016. In the book, Friedersdorf gives the most detailed explanation of how SeaWorld came. The book also explains how Shedd's passion for water motivated him to create a groundbreaking nonprofit committed to marine research and protection.