Andy Stevens
Two decades in media: from student journalist to editorial technologist.
The early years
In 2004 I graduated in Journalism from KH Mechelen (now Thomas More), specialising in online journalism. It took a while to get there, but the timing was perfect: Facebook didn't exist yet, YouTube hadn't been invented, and nobody quite knew what online journalism meant. Myself included. I did my internship at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
From print to pixels
My first real job was copy editor at Clickx Magazine, a print computer magazine full of practical tips and how-to's. Gradually my focus shifted to the website, where I co-organised the Site of the Year awards. Within the same publishing house I became editor-in-chief of ZDNet, a shift from practical to news-driven tech. After a few years of deadlines and the dominance of pageviews, I wanted to see if the grass was greener elsewhere: I became New Media Manager at hospital network ZNA in Antwerp. That didn't last: too much hierarchy, not enough freedom.
Special projects editor
De Standaard needed someone for their tech blog DS Mobilia. In 2011, the world of smartphones and tablets was still in full flux, and my background at ZDNet was a natural fit. When Mobilia was pulled, I moved to the special projects team under Lies Lecomte. There, we pasted HTML snippets into news articles and called it innovation. Which it was: the beginning of enriched, visual journalism at the paper. This is where I learned to work with data, and where I met my future work wife Tina Boeykens.
The big stories
The projects team merged with the infographics team. I started with daily data visualisations, but soon formed a tandem with Tina. Together we developed our own visual language: digitally enriched longreads and interactive stories that pushed beyond what the paper was used to. The bulk of my portfolio projects date from this period, starting with the investigation into mega farms.
Editorial Technology
In 2024, I hit a wall. Burnout. When I came back, there was no place for me at De Standaard anymore. But there was one at Mediahuis Belgium, where I became an editorial technology specialist for the newsrooms of Het Nieuwsblad, De Standaard, Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg. I advise newsrooms on editorial tools, build bespoke visual stories with a team of developers and a UX designer, and create tools that make journalists' work easier, more efficient, or simply more enjoyable.
Curious about the next chapter?
Shall we catch up? →