''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 Michael E. Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist and commentator. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on ''Crossfire''. Early life and e ...

, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 2004, it was purchased by

The Washington Post Company Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Post ...

(later renamed the Graham Holdings Company), and since 2008 has been managed by

The Slate Group The Slate Group, legally The Slate Group, LLC, is an American online publishing entity established in June 2008 by Graham Holdings Company. Among the publications overseen by The Slate Group are ''Slate'' and '' ForeignPolicy.com''. The creation o ...

, 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 Jacques José Mardoché Attali (; born 1 November 1943) is a French economic and social theorist, writer, political adviser and senior civil servant, who served as a counselor to President François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1991, and was the firs ...

. 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. the magazine is both ad-supported and has a membership model with a

metered paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...

. It is known, and sometimes criticized, for having adopted contrarian views, giving rise to the term "Slate Pitches". It has a generally

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

editorial stance.

Background

''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 20,000 subscribers but was later abandoned. A similar subscription model was implemented in April 2001 by ''Slate''s independently owned competitor,

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

. ''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 Flash 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. ''Slate'' was nominated for four digital National Magazine Awards in 2011 and won the NMA for General Excellence. In the same year, the magazine laid off several high-profile journalists, including co-founder Jack Shafer and Timothy Noah (author of the ''Chatterbox'' column). At the time, it had around 40 full-time editorial staff. The following year, a dedicated ad sales team was created. ''Slate'' launched the "Slate Book Review" in 2012, a monthly books section edited by Dan Kois. The next year, ''Slate'' became profitable after preceding years had seen layoffs and falling ad revenues. In 2014, ''Slate'' introduced a

paywall system A paywall is a method of restricting access to content (media), content, with a purchase or a subscription business model, paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their website ...

called "Slate Plus", offering ad-free podcasts and bonus materials. A year later, it had attracted 9,000 subscribers generating about $500,000 in annual revenue. ''Slate'' moved all content behind a

for international readers in June 2015, explaining "our U.S.-based sales team sells primarily to domestic advertisers, many of whom only want to reach a domestic audience. ...The end result is that, outside the United States, we are not covering our costs." At the same time, it was stated that there were no plans for a domestic paywall.

Reputation for counterintuitive arguments ("Slate pitches")

Since 2006, ''Slate'' has been known for publishing contrarian pieces arguing against commonly held views about a subject, giving rise to the #slatepitches Twitter hashtag in 2009. The '' Columbia Journalism Review'' has defined ''Slate'' pitches as "an idea that sounds wrong or counterintuitive proposed as though it were the tightest logic ever," and in explaining its success wrote "Readers want to click on Slate Pitches because they want to know what a writer could possibly say that would support their logic". In 2014, ''Slate''s then editor-in-chief Julia Turner acknowledged a reputation for counterintuitive arguments forms part of ''Slate'''s "distinctive" brand, but argued that the hashtag misrepresents the site's journalism. "We are not looking to argue that up is down and black is white for the sake of being contrarian against all logic or intellectual rigor. But journalism is more interesting when it surprises you either with the conclusions that it reaches or the ways that it reaches them." In a 2019 article for the site, ''Slate'' contributor Daniel Engber reflected on the changes that had occurred on the site since he started writing for it 15 years previously. He suggested that its original worldview, influenced by its founder Kinsley and described by Engber as "feisty, surprising, debate-club centrist-by-default" and "liberal contrarianism", had shifted towards "a more reliable, left-wing slant", whilst still giving space for heterodox opinions, albeit "tempered by other, graver duties". He argued that this was necessary within the context of a "Manichean age of flagrant cruelty and corruption", although he also acknowledged that it could be "a troubling limitation".

Podcasts

According to NiemanLab, ''Slate'' has been involved in podcasts "almost from the very beginning" of the medium. Its first podcast offering, released on July 15, 2005, featured selected stories from the site read by Andy Bowers, who had joined ''Slate'' after leaving

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

in 2003. By June 2012, ''Slate'' had expanded their lineup to 19 podcasts, with ''Political Gabfest'' and ''Culture Gabfest'' being the most popular. This count had shrunk to 14 by February 2015, with all receiving six million downloads per month. The podcasts are "a profitable part of 'Slatesbusiness"; the magazine charges more for advertising in its podcasts than in any of its other content. * ''Amicus'' – legal commentary * ''Audio Book Club'' * ''Culture Gabfest'' * ''Daily Podcast'' – some of everything * ''Decoder Ring'' – with Willa Paskin * ''The Waves'' (formerly ''DoubleX'') – women's issues * ''Hang Up and Listen'' – sports * ''Hit Parade'' – pop music history * ''If Then'' - technology, Silicon Valley, and tech policy * ''Lexicon Valley'' – language issues * ''Manners for the Digital Age'' * ''Mom and Dad Are Fighting'' – parenting * ''Money'' – business and finance
''One Year''
* '' Political Gabfest'' * ''Spoiler Specials'' – film discussion * ''

Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was to "Get inside the ...

'' – pop culture and the arts, in partnership with Public Radio International * '' The Gist'' * Thirst Aid Kit * Slow Burn * ''Video Podcast'' * ''Trumpcast'' ''Slate'' podcasts have gotten longer over the years. The original ''Gabfest'' ran 15 minutes; by 2012, most ran about 45 minutes.

Staff

Jacob Weisberg Jacob Weisberg (born 1964) is an American political journalist, who served as editor-in-chief of The Slate Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company. In September 2018, he left Slate to co-found Pushkin Industries, an audio content company, ...

was ''Slate's'' editor from 2002 until 2008. Weisberg's deputy editor

David Plotz David A. Plotz (born 31 January 1970) is an American journalist and former CEO of ''Atlas Obscura'', an online magazine devoted to discovery and exploration. A writer with ''Slate'' since its inception in 1996, Plotz was the online magazine's edit ...

then became editor until July 2014, when he was replaced by Julia Turner. Turner resigned as editor of ''Slate'' in October 2018.

Jared Hohlt Jared Hohlt (born 1971 or 1972) is an American writer and magazine editor. He was named editor of Slate (magazine), Slate magazine in March 2019. He is a 1994 graduate of Harvard University. Career Hohlt's first job was at Slate, as an editoria ...

became editor-in-chief on April 1, 2019. He stepped down in January 2022. Hillary Frey was named new editor in chief in May 2022.

Key executives

* Hillary Frey (editor in chief) * Dan Check (chief executive officer) * Charlie Kammerer (chief revenue officer) * Lowen Liu (deputy editor) *

Josh Levin Joshua Benjamin Levin (born March 15, 1980) is an American writer and the national editor at ''Slate'' magazine. Levin also hosts the magazine's sports podcast, '' Hang Up and Listen.'' Biography Early life Levin was born and raised in New O ...

(editorial director) * Allison Benedikt (executive editor) * Susan Matthews (news director) * Laura Bennett (features director) * Jeffrey Bloomer (features editor) * Forrest Wickman (culture editor)

Notable contributors and departments

Anne Applebaum Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written extensively about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She has worked at ''The Econ ...

(Foreigners) * John Dickerson (Politics) *

Simon Doonan Simon Doonan (born 1952 He worked at Barneys until it closed in 2019. He writes a column on style for ''Slate''. In his book, ''Eccentric Glamour'', he decried porno chic in Western society in general. Interviewed for an article for the ''Ne ...

(Fashion) * Stefan Fatsis (Hang Up and Listen) * Ashley Feinberg (Politics) * Daniel Gross (The Juice) * Fred Kaplan (War Stories) * Juliet Lapidos (Books / Explainer / Brow Beat) *

Dahlia Lithwick Dahlia Lithwick is a Canadian-American lawyer, writer, and journalist. Lithwick is currently a contributing editor at ''Newsweek'' and senior editor at ''Slate''. She primarily writes about law and politics in the United States. She writes "Supr ...

(Jurisprudence) * Michael Moran (Reckoning / Foreign Policy) * Timothy Noah (The Customer) *

Meghan O'Rourke Meghan O'Rourke (born 1976 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American nonfiction writer, poet and critic. Background and education O'Rourke was born January 26, 1976, in Brooklyn, New York. The eldest of three children born to Paul and Barbara O� ...

(The Highbrow / Grieving) * Daniel M. Lavery ( Dear Prudence, since 2015) *

Mike Pesca Mike Pesca (born December 29, 1971) is an American radio journalist and podcaster based in New York City. He is the host of the daily podcast, '' The Gist,'' and the editor of ''Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History.'' Ca ...

(The Gist) *

Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most o ...

(poetry editor) * Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy / Science) *

Ron Rosenbaum Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist. Life and career Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City, New York and grew up in Bay Shore, New York. He graduated fr ...

(Spectator) *

William Saletan William Saletan is an American writer for '' The Bulwark''. Background and education Saletan, a Jewish native of La Porte, Texas, graduated from Swarthmore College in 1987. Journalism Abortion and contraception Saletan has written extensivel ...

(Human Nature) * Jack Shafer (Press Box) * Eliot Spitzer (The Best Policy) * Mike Steinberger (Drink) * Dana Stevens (Surfergirl through 2005/Movies) * Seth Stevenson (Ad Report Card / Well-Traveled) *

James Surowiecki James Michael Surowiecki ( ; born April 30, 1967) is an American journalist. He was a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'', where he wrote a regular column on business and finance called "The Financial Page". Background Surowiecki was born in Meri ...

(The Book Club) *

Leon Neyfakh Leon Neyfakh (born 1985) is an American journalist, radio host and writer. He is known for hosting the podcasts '' Slow Burn'' and ''Fiasco'', and his book '' The Next Next Level: A Story of Rap, Friendship, and Almost Giving Up''. Early life an ...

(Podcast) * Tom Vanderbilt (Transport) *

(The Big Idea) *

Tim Wu Timothy "Tim" Shiou-Ming Wu (born 1972) is a Taiwanese American legal scholar and official in the Biden Administration tasked with Technology and Competition policy. He was also a professor of law at Columbia University and a contributing opini ...

(Technology/Jurisprudence) *

Emily Yoffe Emily J. Yoffe (born October 15, 1955) is an American journalist and contributing writer for ''The Atlantic''. From 1998 to 2016 she was a regular contributor to ''Slate'' magazine, notably as Dear Prudence. She has also written for ''The New ...

( Dear Prudence - until 2015 -, Human Guinea-pig) *

Reihan Salam Reihan Morshed Salam (; born 29 December 1979) is a conservative American political commentator, columnist and author who since 2019 has been president of the Manhattan Institute. He was previously executive editor of ''National Review'', a column ...

(Politics) *

Laura Miller Laura Miller (born November 18, 1958) is an American journalist and politician who served as the 58th mayor of Dallas, Texas from 2002 through 2007. She decided not to run for re-election in 2007. She was the third woman to serve as mayor of Da ...

(Books and Culture) * Carl Wilson (Music)

Past contributors

Emily Bazelon Emily Bazelon (born March 4, 1971) is an American journalist. She is a staff writer for ''The New York Times Magazine,'' a senior research fellow at Yale Law School, and co-host of the ''Slate'' podcast ''Political Gabfest''. She is a former sen ...

* Pete Buttigieg *

Paul Boutin Paul Boutin (born December 11, 1961 in Lewiston, Maine) is an American magazine writer and editor who writes about technology in a pop-culture context. Boutin, who began writing for ''Wired'' in 1997, wrote for ''The New York Times'' from 2003 ...

Ian Bremmer Ian Arthur Bremmer (born November 12, 1969) is an American political scientist and author with a focus on global political risk. He is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm with principal offi ...

* Phil Carter * David Edelstein *

Franklin Foer Franklin Foer (; born July 20, 1974) is a staff writer at ''The Atlantic'' and former editor of ''The New Republic'', commenting on contemporary issues from a liberal perspective. Personal life Foer was born in 1974 to a Jewish family. He is t ...

Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones (né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for ''Pretty Decorating'', '' ego trip'', ''Hit It And Quit It'', ''Mean'', '' Slant'', ''The New York Post'', '' ...

Atul Gawande Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Departme ...

Austan Goolsbee Austan Dean Goolsbee (born August 18, 1969) is an American economist and writer. He is the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

* Robert Lane Greene *

Virginia Heffernan Virginia Heffernan (born August 8, 1969) is an American journalist and cultural critic. Since 2015, she has been a political columnist at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and a cultural columnist at ''Wired (magazine), Wired''. From 2003 to 2011, she w ...

* David Helvarg *

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

* Jodi Kantor *

Mickey Kaus Robert Michael "Mickey" Kaus (; born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist, pundit, and author, known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on ''Slate'' until 2010. Kaus is the author of ''The End of Equality'' and ...

* Patrick Radden Keefe * Paul Krugman * Steven Landsburg *

Will Leitch William F. Leitch (born October 10, 1975 in Mattoon, Illinois) is an American writer and the founding editor of the Gawker Media former sports blog '' Deadspin''. Leitch is a national correspondent for MLB.com, a contributing editor at ''New Yor ...

Farhad Manjoo Farhad Manjoo (born 1978) is an American journalist. Manjoo was a staff writer for ''Slate'' magazine from 2008 to September 2013, when they left to join ''The Wall Street Journal''. In January 2014, they joined ''The New York Times'', replacing ...

Louis Menand Louis Menand (; born January 21, 1952) is an American critic, essayist, and professor, best known for his Pulitzer-winning book '' The Metaphysical Club'' (2001), an intellectual and cultural history of late 19th and early 20th century America. ...

* Daniel Radosh * Bruce Reed *

Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...

* Herbert Stein *

* Julia Turner * Josh Voorhees * Rob Walker *

David Weigel David Weigel (born September 26, 1981) is an American journalist. He works for ''Semafor''. Weigel previously covered politics for ''The Washington Post,'' ''Slate,'' and ''Bloomberg Politics'' and is a contributing editor for ''Reason'' magaz ...

* Robert Wright *

Matthew Yglesias Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981) is a liberal American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics. Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as ''The American Prospect'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''Sla ...

* Fareed Zakaria

Other recurring features

* Assessment * Books * Dear Prudence (advice column) * Dispatches * Drink * Food * Foreigners * Gaming * Science Denial * Shopping * The Good Word (language) * The Movie Club * The TV Club

Summary columns

* Slatest ( news aggregator)

References

External links

*
''Slate''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slate (magazine) Online magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1996 Political magazines published in the United States Cultural magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City American political websites Podcasting companies