David Streitfeld is aPulitzer Prize–winning American journalist, best known for his reporting on books and technology. During his tenure as book reporter atThe Washington Post, he definitively identifiedJoe Klein as the "Anonymous" author of the 1996 novelPrimary Colors,[1] upon which Klein admitted authorship, despite earlier denials.[2]
AtThe Washington Post, Streitfeld covered books and publishing between 1987 and 1998; for three more years, he covered Silicon Valley and technology for thePost from San Francisco.[3] In 1997, Streitfeld identifiedJoe Klein as Anonymous, the author of the bestselling book about theClinton presidential campaign,Primary Colors. Streitfeld, a book collector, spotted agalley proof, a pre-publication version of the novel, listed for sale in an antiquarian booksellers catalog. The proof reproduced handwritten changes, which Streitfeld sent to a handwriting expert, who compared the notes to Joe Klein's handwriting, confirming that he was the author.[4]
Streitfeld has reported extensively onAmazon's business practices, dating back to the 1990s, when the company was primarily an online bookstore. In 1998, Streitfeld gaveJeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, his first tour of the Washington Post, which Bezos purchased in 2013.[5] "The editors there thought Amazon was cute, interesting, a frill — not something transformative. The notion that the Post would one day be owned by the guy with the goofy laugh sitting in front of them was literally inconceivable.”[6]
In 2001, Streitfeld joined theLos Angeles Times as a technology reporter, later switching to coveringEnron, housing, and general economics. In July 2006, theAtlantic magazine named him "The Bard of the Bubble" for hisLA Times real estate coverage.[7]
In 2007, Streitfeld joinedThe New York Times as Chicago business reporter and later covered technology subjects.
Streitfeld was one of a team ofNew York Times reporters who won the 2013Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series of 10 articles on the business practices ofApple and other technology companies.[8][9] Streitfeld's contribution focused on freelance programmers and how hard it could be to make a living making apps for theiPhone.
In May 2014, Streitfeld broke the story ofAmazon.com's negotiating tactics with publishing houseHachette,[10] which he continued to cover for multiple months.[11] The reporting on the topic byThe New York Times and Streitfeld was the subject of a piece byThe New York TimesPublic Editor Margaret Sullivan in October 2014.[12]
In January 2015,Melville House publishedGabriel Garcia Marquez: The Last Interview, a collection edited by Streitfeld. The introduction details his friendship with Marquez and the circumstances of their talks on two continents.[13]
In August 2015, Streitfeld andNew York Times colleagueJodi Kantor co-authoredInside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.[14] The 6000-word story generated more than 6600 comments, the largest number of comments on a story inThe New York Times history and theTimes story reporting this fact drew over 200 comments.[15]
2012 "Best in Business" award from theSociety of American Business Editors and Writers for hisThe New York Times stories on fake online reviews. Judges cited "a really nice job detailing this new review economy and how these reviews are replacing traditional advertising."[20]
2017 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Professional Award for Excellence presented bySan Jose State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.[22]
Streitfeld is married and has a daughter. He lives near San Francisco, California, with a book collection exceeding 10,000 volumes.[6] As a tech reporter, Streitfeld is reported to not use much technology outside of his job.[23]
Philip K. Dick: The Last Interview and Other Conversations (as editor).Melville House (2015)ISBN978-1-61219-526-1. A collection of interviews with the science fiction author, including the first one ever published and one conducted the day before his fatal stroke.
