Matt Richtel

Matt Richtel (born October 2, 1966 in Los Angeles)[1][2] is an American writer and journalist for The New York Times. He was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series on distracted driving.[3]

Richtel obtained a bachelors degree from the University of California at Berkeley and an MS from the Columbia School of Journalism.[4]

He writes the syndicated comic Rudy Park under the penname Theron Heir. The strip is illustrated by Darrin Bell.[5]

Richtel has also authored a novel called "Hooked," about a reporter whose life is turned upside down when he escapes a cafe explosion after a stranger hands him a note in his dead fiancee's handwriting warning him to leave.[6]

In 2010, Richtel wrote,[7] and was interviewed,[8] about the impact on the human brain of living with "a deluge of data" from digital devices.[7] In the interview, he previewed his current investigation into the idea that "[t]here is some thought that the way kids' brains ... and frontal lobes ... are developing" differently than those of their parents and others of older generations. He said he expected to publish his work on this subject in early December.[8]

Personal

Richtel lives in San Francisco with his wife, son and daughter.[8]

References

  1. ^ Matthew D. Richtel...Born in Los Angeles, Calif.
  2. ^ California Births, 1905 - 1995, Matthew D. Richtel
  3. ^ Pulitzer citation. "Awarded to Matt Richtel and members of The New York Times Staff for incisive work, in print and online, on the hazardous use of cell phones, computers and other devices while operating cars and trucks, stimulating widespread efforts to curb distracted driving." "Driven to Distraction", Times series, July 18, 2009-March 10, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  4. ^ Author's website.
  5. ^ Article in the Editor and Publisher identifies Theron Heir as Matt Richtel.
  6. ^ mostlyfiction.com interview with Matt Richtel, author of Hooked
  7. ^ a b Richtel, Matt, "Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime", The New York Times, August 24, 2010. Part of a series called "Your Brain on Computers" which also included "Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain" (August 16, 2010) and "Attached to Technology and Paying a Price" (June 7, 2010), also by Richtel. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  8. ^ a b c "Digital Overload: Your Brain On Gadgets" Transcript of subject interview with Terry Gross, Fresh Air, 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-24.