Hubbry Logo
search
logo

Slate (magazine)

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Slate (magazine)

Slate is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2004, it was purchased by The Washington Post Company (later renamed the Graham Holdings Company), and since 2008 has been managed by The Slate Group, an online publishing entity created by Graham Holdings. Slate is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C.

Slate, which is updated throughout the day, covers politics, arts and culture, sports, and news. According to its former editor-in-chief Julia Turner, the magazine is "not fundamentally a breaking news source", but rather aimed at helping readers to "analyze and understand and interpret the world" with witty and entertaining writing. As of mid-2015, it publishes about 1,500 stories per month.

A French version, slate.fr, was launched in February 2009 by a group of four journalists, including Jean-Marie Colombani, Eric Leser, and economist Jacques Attali. Among them, the founders hold 50 percent in the publishing company, while The Slate Group holds 15 percent. In 2011, slate.fr started a separate site covering African news, Slate Afrique, with a Paris-based editorial staff.

As of 2021, the magazine is both ad-supported and has a membership model with a metered paywall. It is known, and sometimes criticized, for having adopted contrarian views, giving rise to the term "Slate Pitches". It has a generally liberal editorial stance.

Slate features regular and semi-regular columns such as Explainer, Moneybox, Spectator, Transport, and Dear Prudence. Many of the articles are short (less than 2,000 words) and argument-driven. Around 2010, the magazine also began running long-form journalism. Many of the longer stories are an outgrowth of the "Fresca Fellowships", so-called because former editor Plotz liked the soft drink Fresca. "The idea is that every writer and editor on staff has to spend a month or six weeks a year not doing their regular job, but instead working on a long, ambitious project of some sort", Plotz said in an interview.

Slate introduced a paywall-based business model in 1998 that attracted up to 20,000 subscribers but was later abandoned. A similar subscription model was implemented in April 2001 by Slate's independently owned competitor, Salon.com.

Slate started a daily feature, "Today's Pictures", on November 30, 2005, which featured 15–20 photographs from the archive at Magnum Photos that share a common theme. The column also features two animated "Interactive Essays" a month.

On its 10th anniversary, Slate unveiled a redesigned website. It introduced Slate V in 2007, an online video magazine with content that relates to or expands upon their written articles. In 2013, the magazine was redesigned under the guidance of design director Vivian Selbo.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.