Amanda Hess

Amanda Hess
Hess in 2024
Born	United States
Occupation(s)	Journalist, critic, writer
Employer	The New York Times
Spouse	Marc Tracy
Children	1

Amanda Stromwall Hess is an American journalist known for her coverage of internet culture. She is a critic-at-large for The New York Times who has also written for magazines including Wired , ESPN , and Elle .

Early life

Amanda Hess is the daughter of Layne Stromwall and Gerald Hess of North Scottsdale, Arizona. Hess graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. ^[1]

Career

Hess was an internet columnist for Slate magazine, an editor for GOOD magazine, and a nightlife and arts columnist for the Washington City Paper . ^{[2] [3]}

Hess first published May 10, 2013, for T magazine about a Hollywood party for the year's Playboy Playmate of the Year. ^[4]

Pacific Standard

Hess wrote an essay for Pacific Standard , "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet," ^{[5] [6]} in 2014, which detailed her experience and that of other women as victims of misogynistic online harassment. ^[7] The essay won The Sidney Hillman Foundation's 2014 Sidney Award ^[8] as well as the 2015 American Society of Magazine Editors Public Interest Award. ^{[9] [10]} Conor Friedersdorf wrote in The Atlantic that Hess's article was "persuasive in arguing that the online threats of violence are pervasive and have broad implications in a digital society." ^[11]

The New York Times

In March 2016, Hess was named one of three inaugural David Carr Fellowship recipients at The New York Times . ^{[12] [2]}

Hess began, in 2017, a self-branded video series for The New York Times about internet culture called "Internetting With Amanda Hess", ^[13] beginning October 31, 2017, lasting 5 episodes for the 2017 season, ^[14] and 5 episodes for 2018 season ^[15] with 3 Internetting After Dark episodes ^[16] ending October 24, 2018.

As of December 2023, Hess is a critic-at-large for The New York Times and a contributor to the New York Times Magazine . ^{[17] [18] [19]}

Personal life

Hess and Marc Aaron Tracy ^[20] were married on November 2, 2019, at Brooklyn Historical Society in Brooklyn, New York, by Rabbi Matt Green. ^[1] They have one son. ^[19]

Works

• Hess, Amanda (2025-05-06). Second Life. New York: Doubleday Books. ISBN   978-0-385-54973-8. ^{[21] [22]}

References

1. "Hess-Tracy". Leader-Telegram.
2. "Amanda Hess". The New York Times.
3. "Amanda Hess, Author at Washington City Paper". Washington City Paper. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
4. Hess, Amanda (2013-05-10). "About Last Night | Neville Wakefield's Arty Bash for Playboy". T . The New York Times.
5. Hess, Amanda (6 January 2014). "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
6. Young, Cathy (4 September 2014). "Men Are Harassed More Than Women Online". Daily Beast. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
7. Raja, Tasneem (10 January 2014). "Amanda Hess: "Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet"". Mother Jones. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
8. "Amanda Hess Wins February Sidney Award for "The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet"". The Sidney Hillman Foundation. February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
9. Holt, Sid, ed. (2015). The Best American Magazine Writing 2015. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 50. ISBN   978-0-231-54071-1.
10. "National Magazine Awards 2015 Winners Announced | ASME". American Society of Magazine Editors. Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
11. Friedersdorf, Conor (7 January 2014). "When Misogynist Trolls Make Journalism Miserable for Women". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
12. Somaiya, Ravi (2016-02-23). "New York Times Awards David Carr Fellowships to 3 Journalists". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-03-08.
13. "The Dark Art of Political Memes | Internetting with Amanda Hess" – via www.youtube.com.
14. "Internetting with Amanda Hess: Season 1 | The New York Times". YouTube.
15. "Internetting with Amanda Hess: Season 2 | The New York Times". YouTube.
16. "Internetting After Dark: Season 2 is Over. Our Theme Song Lives Forever. | Internetting Season 2" – via www.youtube.com.
17. Hess, Amanda (10 June 2016). "For the Alt-Right, the Message Is in the Punctuation". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2017– via NYTimes.com.
18. "Amanda Hess website" . Retrieved 21 February 2016.
19. Hess, Amanda (December 18, 2023). "The Fantasy of the Fun TV Dad" . The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
20. "Marc Tracy". The New York Times.
21. Loh, Sandra Tsing (2025-05-07). "Raising a Kid in 2025? There's an App for That". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-06-11.
22. Mosley, Tonya (2025-05-08). "From apps to gadgets, 'Second Life' considers how tech is changing having a baby". NPR. Retrieved 2025-06-11.