''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as ''The Atlantic Monthly'', a literary and cultural magazine that published leading writers' commentary on education, the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, and other major political issues of that time. Its founders included Francis H. Underwood and prominent writers

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.,

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

, and

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets to r ...

was its first editor. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the magazine also published the annual ''The Atlantic Monthly

Almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

''. The magazine was purchased in 1999 by businessman

David G. Bradley David G. Bradley (born March 6, 1953) is a partner in The Atlantic and Atlantic Media, and the owner of the National Journal Group. Before his career as a publisher, Bradley founded the Advisory Board Company and Corporate Executive Board, two ...

, who fashioned it into a general editorial magazine primarily aimed at serious national readers and "

thought leader A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field. A thought leader is a person who specializes in a given area and whom others in that industry turn to for guidance. As the term implies, ...

s"; in 2017, he sold a majority interest in the publication to

Laurene Powell Jobs Laurene Powell Jobs ( Powell; born November 6, 1963)United States birth records is an American billionaire businesswoman executive and philanthropist. She is the widow of Steve Jobs, who was the co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., and she m ...

Emerson Collective Emerson Collective is an organization focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the collective, which operates under a limited liabilit ...

. The magazine was published monthly until 2001, when 11 issues were produced; since 2003, it has published 10 per year. It dropped "Monthly" from the cover with the January/February 2004 issue, and officially changed the name in 2007. In 2024, it announced that it will resume publishing monthly issues in 2025. In 2016, the periodical was named Magazine of the Year by the

American Society of Magazine Editors The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazines published in the United States. ASME includes the editorial leaders of most major consumer magazine in print and digital ...

. In 2022, its writers won Pulitzer Prizes for feature writing and, in 2022, 2023, and 2024 ''The Atlantic'' won the award for general excellence by the American Society of Magazine Editors. In 2024, it was reported that the magazine had crossed one million subscribers and become profitable, three years after losing $20 million in a single year and laying off 17% of its staff. As of 2024, the website's executive editor is

Adrienne LaFrance Adrienne LaFrance is an American journalist, executive editor of ''The Atlantic'' and former editor of ''TheAtlantic.com''. Career LaFrance received her B.A. degree in journalism from Michigan State University and an M.S. in journalism from Bo ...

, the editor-in-chief is

Jeffrey Goldberg Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born 1965) is an American journalist who is the editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic''. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' before becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affairs. He moderated ...

, and the CEO is Nicholas Thompson.

Founding

19th century

In the autumn of 1857, Moses Dresser Phillips, a publisher from

, created ''The Atlantic Monthly''. The plan for the magazine was launched at a dinner party, which was described in a letter by Phillips: At that dinner he announced his idea for the magazine: ''The Atlantic''s first issue was published in November 1857, and quickly gained notability as one of the finest magazines in the English-speaking world. In 1878, the magazine absorbed '' The Galaxy'', a competitor monthly magazine founded a dozen years previously by

William Conant Church William Conant Church (August 11, 1836 – May 23, 1917) was an American journalist, author and soldier. He was publisher of several newspapers and magazines in association with his father and brother. He was the co-founder and second president of ...

and his brother Francis P. Church; it had published works by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

, Ion Hanford Perdicaris and

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. In 1879, ''The Atlantic'' had offices in Winthrop Square in Boston and at 21

Astor Place Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Literary history

A leading literary magazine, ''The Atlantic'' has published many significant works and authors. It was the first to publish pieces by the abolitionists

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic music, American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song "John Brown's Body" in N ...

" on February 1, 1862), and William Parker, whose

slave narrative The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved persons, particularly African diaspora, Africans enslaved in the Americas, though many other examples exist. Over six thousand such narra ...

, "The Freedman's Story" was published in February and March 1866. It also published Charles W. Eliot's "The New Education", a call for practical reform that led to his appointment to the presidency of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1869, works by Charles Chesnutt before he collected them in ''

The Conjure Woman ''The Conjure Woman'' is a collection of short stories by African-American fiction writer, essayist, and activist Charles W. Chesnutt. First published in 1899, ''The Conjure Woman'' is considered a seminal work of African-American literature co ...

'' (1899), and poetry and short stories, and helped launch many national literary careers. In 2005, the magazine won a National Magazine Award for fiction. Editors have recognized major cultural changes and movements. For example, of the emerging writers of the 1920s,

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

had his short story "

Fifty Grand "Fifty Grand" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in '' The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1927, and it appeared later that year in Hemingway's short story collection '' Men Without Women''. "Fifty Grand" tells the story of Jack ...

" published in the July 1927 edition. Harking back to its abolitionist roots, in its August 1963 edition, at the height of the civil rights movement, the magazine published

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

's defense of

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

, "

Letter from Birmingham Jail The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. It says that people have a moral responsibility to b ...

", under the headline "The Negro Is Your Brother". The magazine has published speculative articles that inspired the development of new technologies. The classic example is

Vannevar Bush Vannevar Bush ( ; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II, World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almo ...

's essay "

As We May Think "As We May Think" is a 1945 essay by Vannevar Bush which has been described as visionary and influential, anticipating many aspects of information society. It was first published in ''The Atlantic'' in July 1945 and republished in an abridged v ...

" (July 1945), which inspired

Douglas Engelbart Douglas Carl Engelbart (January 30, 1925 – July 2, 2013) was an American engineer, inventor, and a pioneer in many aspects of computer science. He is best known for his work on founding the field of human–computer interaction, particularly ...

and later

Ted Nelson Theodor Holm Nelson (born June 17, 1937) is an American pioneer of information technology, philosopher, and sociologist. He coined the terms ''hypertext'' and ''hypermedia'' in 1963 and published them in 1965. According to his 1997 ''Forbes'' p ...

to develop the modern

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...

and

hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typic ...

technology. ''The Atlantic Monthly'' founded the Atlantic Monthly Press in 1917; for many years, it was operated in partnership with

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

. Its published books included ''

Drums Along the Mohawk ''Drums Along the Mohawk'' is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film stars Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, and direct ...

'' (1936) and ''

Blue Highways ''Blue Highways'' is an autobiographical travel book, published in 1982, by William Least Heat-Moon, born William Trogdon. Summary In 1978, after separating from his wife and losing his job as a teacher, Heat-Moon, 38 at the time, took an exten ...

'' (1982). The press was sold in 1986; today it is an imprint of

Grove Atlantic Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "An ...

. In addition to publishing notable fiction and poetry, ''The Atlantic'' has emerged in the 21st century as an influential platform for

longform Long form or longform may refer to: *A variety of improvisational theatre *A type of census questionnaire *Form 1040, an American income tax form *Long-form journalism Long-form journalism refers to a genre of journalism characterized by in-dep ...

storytelling and newsmaker interviews. Influential cover stories have included Anne Marie Slaughter's "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" (2012) and

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

's "A Case for Reparations" (2014). In 2015,

's "Obama Doctrine" was widely discussed by American media and prompted response by many world leaders. As of 2022, writers and frequent contributors to the print magazine included

James Fallows James Mackenzie Fallows (born August 2, 1949) is an American writer and journalist. He is a former national correspondent for ''The Atlantic.'' His work has also appeared in ''Slate (magazine), Slate'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''The New Y ...

, Jeffrey Goldberg, Ta-Nehisi Coates,

Caitlin Flanagan Caitlin Flanagan (born November 14, 1961) is an American writer and social critic. A contributor to ''The Atlantic'' since February 2001, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2019. Her 2004 piece for ''The New Yorker'' was ...

Jonathan Rauch Jonathan Charles Rauch ( ; born April 26, 1960) is an American author, journalist, and activist. After graduating from Yale University, Rauch worked at the ''Winston-Salem Journal'' in North Carolina, for ''National Journal'', and later for ''The ...

McKay Coppins McKay Coppins (born February 2, 1987) is an American journalist, author, and staff writer for ''The Atlantic''. Career Coppins began his career at ''Newsweek'' and broke the story that Jon Huntsman Jr., would resign his ambassadorship in China ...

, Gillian White,

Vann R. Newkirk II Vann R. Newkirk II (born December 27, 1988) is an American journalist and staff writer for ''The Atlantic'' who writes on politics, the environment, Race (human categorization), race, and healthcare policy. Early life Vann Newkirk grew up in Roc ...

, Derek Thompson,

David Frum David Jeffrey Frum (; born 30 June 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the ...

, Jennifer Senior,

George Packer George Packer (born August 13, 1960) is an American journalist, novelist, and playwright. He is best known for his writings about U.S. foreign policy for ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Atlantic'' and for his book '' The Assassins' Gate: America in ...

Ed Yong Edmund Soon-Weng Yong (born 17 December 1981) is a British Americans, British-American science journalist and author. In 2021, he received a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series on the COVID-19 pandemic. He is the author of two ...

, and James Parker. On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Jeffrey Goldberg, who had served as editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' since 2016, had been named as the tenth moderator of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

news program, ''

Washington Week ''Washington Week'', originally titled as ''Washington Week in Review'' and billed as ''Washington Week with the Atlantic'' since 2023, is an American public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educa ...

'', and that the politics and culture publication would also enter into an editorial partnership with the television program – which was retitled accordingly as ''Washington Week with The Atlantic'' – similar to the earlier collaboration with the ''National Journal''. The first episode under the longer title, and with Goldberg as moderator, was the one broadcast on August 11, 2023.

Political viewpoint

In 1860, three years into publication, ''The Atlantic''s then-editor

endorsed Republican

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

for his first run for president and also endorsed the

. In 1964, Edward Weeks wrote on behalf of the editorial board in endorsing Democratic President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and rebuking Republican

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

's candidacy. In 2016, during the

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

, the editorial board endorsed a candidate for the third time in the magazine's history, urging readers to support Democratic nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

in a rebuke of Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's candidacy. After Trump prevailed in the November 2016 election, the magazine became a strong critic of him. In March 2019, a cover article by editor

Yoni Appelbaum Yoni Appelbaum (born 1979 or 1980) an American historian and journalist, is Senior Editor for politics at ''The Atlantic''. Appelbaum was previously a columnist for the publication. Early life and education Appelbaum is the son of Diana Muir K ...

called for the

impeachment of Donald Trump The impeachment of Donald Trump may refer to: * First impeachment of Donald Trump, the 2019 impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress ** Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump ** First impeachment trial of Donald Trump * S ...

: "It's time for Congress to judge the president's fitness to serve." In September 2020, it published a story, citing several anonymous sources, reporting that Trump referred to dead American soldiers as "losers". Trump called it a "fake story", and suggested the magazine would soon be out of business. In 2020, ''The Atlantic'' endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

in the 2020 presidential election, and urged its readers to oppose Trump's re-election bid. In early 2024, ''The Atlantic'' published a special 24-article issue titled "If Trump Wins," warning about a potential second term for Trump being worse than his first. In October, the publication endorsed Democratic nominee

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

in her presidential bid against Trump in the 2024 election.

Format

''Aspen Ideas Festival''

In 2005, ''The Atlantic'' and the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

launched the

Aspen Ideas Festival Founded in 2005, the Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) is a week-long event held in Aspen, Colorado in the United States. The Aspen Ideas Festival program of events includes discussions, seminars, panels, and tutorials from journalists, designers, inno ...

, a ten-day event in and around the city of

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

. The annual conference features 350 presenters, 200 sessions, and 3,000 attendees. The event has been called a "political

who's who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

" as it often features policymakers, journalists, lobbyists, and

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

leaders. On January 22, 2008, TheAtlantic.com dropped its subscriber wall and allowed users to freely browse its site, including all past archives. By 2011 ''The Atlantic''s web properties included TheAtlanticWire.com, a news- and opinion-tracking site launched in 2009, and TheAtlanticCities.com, a stand-alone website started in 2011 that was devoted to global cities and trends. According to a ''

Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...

'' profile in December 2011, "traffic to the three web properties recently surpassed 11 million uniques per month, up a staggering 2500% since ''The Atlantic'' brought down its paywall in early 2008."

''The Atlantic Wire''

In 2009, the magazine launched ''The Atlantic Wire'' as a stand-alone

news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, content aggregator, feed reader, news reader, or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates digital Content (media), content such as online newsp ...

site. It was intended as a curated selection of news and opinions from online, print, radio, and television outlets. At its launch, it published

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

s from across the media spectrum and summarized significant positions in each debate. It later expanded to feature news and original reporting. Regular features in the magazine included "What I Read", describing the

media diet Media consumption or media diet is the sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. It includes activities such as interacting with new media, reading books and magazines, watching television and film, and list ...

s of people from entertainment, journalism, and politics; and "Trimming the Times", the feature editor's summary of the best content in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. ''The Atlantic Wire'' rebranded itself as ''The Wire'' in November 2013, and was folded back into ''The Atlantic'' the following year. In August 2011, it created its video channel. Initially created as an aggregator, ''The Atlantic''s video component, Atlantic Studios, has since evolved in an in-house production studio that creates custom video series and original documentaries.

''CityLab''

In September 2011, ''The Atlantic'' launched ''CityLab'', a separate website. Its co-founders included

Richard Florida Richard L. Florida (born 1957) is an American urban studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He is a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU's School of Profess ...

, urban theorist and professor. The stand-alone site has been described as exploring and explaining "the most innovative ideas and pressing issues facing today's global cities and neighborhoods." In 2014, it was rebranded as ''CityLab.com'', and covers transportation, environment, equity, life, and design. Among its offerings are Navigator, "a guide to urban life"; and Solutions, which covers solutions to problems in a dozen topics. In December 2011, a new Health Channel launched on TheAtlantic.com, incorporating coverage of food, as well as topics related to the mind, body, sex, family, and public health. Its launch was overseen by Nicholas Jackson, who had previously been overseeing the Life channel and initially joined the website to cover technology. TheAtlantic.com has also expanded to visual storytelling, with the addition of the "In Focus" photo blog, curated by Alan Taylor. In 2015, TheAtlantic.com launched a dedicated Science section and in January 2016 it redesigned and expanded its politics section in conjunction with the 2016 U.S. presidential race. In 2015, ''CityLab'' and

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

launched ''CityLab Latino'', which features original journalism in Spanish as well as translated reporting from the English language edition of ''CityLab.com''. The site has not been updated since 2018. In early December 2019, Atlantic Media sold ''CityLab'' to

Bloomberg Media Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately-held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar ...

, which promptly laid off half the staff. The site was relaunched on June 18, 2020, with few major changes other than new branding and linking the site with other Bloomberg verticals and its data terminal. In September 2019, TheAtlantic.com introduced a digital subscription model, restricting unsubscribed readers' access to five free articles per month. In June 2020, ''The Atlantic'' released its first full-length documentary, ''

White Noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...

'', a film about three

alt-right The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...

activists.

Praise, retractions, legal issues, and controversies

In June 2006, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' named ''The Atlantic'' one of the top ten English-language magazines, describing it as the "150-year-old granddaddy of periodicals" because "it keeps us smart and in the know" with cover stories on the then-forthcoming fight over ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

''. It also lauded regular features such as "Word Fugitives" and "Primary Sources" as "cultural barometers". On January 14, 2013, ''The Atlantic''s website published " sponsor content" promoting

David Miscavige David Miscavige (; born April 30, 1960) is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology ...

, the leader of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

. While the magazine had previously published advertising looking like articles, this was widely criticized. The page comments were moderated by the marketing team, not by editorial staff, and comments critical of the church were being removed. Later that day, ''The Atlantic'' removed the piece from its website and issued an apology.Raabe, Natalie (n.d.)
"Statement from ''The Atlantic''"
. Wemple, Erik
"The Atlantic's Scientology problem, start to finish"
, ''The Washington Post'' blog, January 15, 2013. Stelter, Brian, and Christine Haughney
"The Atlantic Apologizes for Scientology Ad"
, January 15, 2013, ''The New York Times''. In 2019, the magazine published an expose on the allegations against movie director

Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series. After graduating from the Univ ...

that "sent Singer's career into a tailspin". It was originally contracted to ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine, but the writers moved it there due to what ''New York Times'' reporter Ben Smith described as

Hearst magazines Hearst Magazines is a division of Hearst Communications that oversees its magazine publishing business in the United States and abroad. Its headquarters are located at Hearst Tower in the Midtown Manhattan of New York City. It has an audience ...

' "timid" nature. "There's not a lot of nuance here",

said. "They

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

d a story that should have been published in the

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

for reasons unknown." In June 2020, ''The Atlantic'' faced legal action in Japan that claimed defamation and invasion of privacy in the article "When the Presses Stop" by

Molly Ball Molly Ball is an American political journalist and writer. She is the senior political correspondent for ''The Wall Street Journal''. She is the author of a 2020 biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Early life and education Ball was rais ...

, published in the January/February 2018 edition, which led to numerous removals, corrections and clarifications after a settlement was reached in January 2024. The lawsuit highlighted

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

and ethical concerns, bringing attention to the magazine's editorial practices. On November 1, 2020, ''The Atlantic'' retracted an article, "The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

–Obsessed Parents", after an inquiry by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. An 800-word editor's note said, "We cannot attest to the trustworthiness and credibility of the author, and therefore we cannot attest to the veracity of the article." The article's author, freelancer Ruth Shalit Barrett, had left the staff of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' in 1999 amid allegations of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

. On January 7, 2022, Barrett sued the magazine for defamation. The lawsuit claimed ''The Atlantic'' misrepresented Barrett's background and destroyed her journalistic career through what it publicly said about her. In legal filings, Barrett argued that ''The Atlantic'''s handling of allegations and errors in another article written by

demonstrated inconsistency in the magazine's editorial standards and accountability measures. Barrett asserted that the factual inaccuracies and ethical violations in Ball's piece, as highlighted by a separate defamation lawsuit that resulted in a settlement and numerous retractions and corrections to Ball's story, were “transgressions far more numerous and incomparably worse” than any mistakes attributed to her own work. On February 5, 2024, ''The Atlantic'' cut ties with contributor Yascha Mounk after he was accused of rape. He called the allegation "categorically untrue." In 2025, national-security leaders in the Donald Trump administration accidentally included ''The Atlantic'' editor Jeffrey Goldberg in a group chat where they organized and strategized upcoming military strikes on the

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

Ownership and editors

By its third year, it was published by

publishing house

Ticknor and Fields Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business published many 19th-century American authors, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, Henr ...

, which later became part of

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

, based in the city known for literary culture. The magazine was purchased in 1908 by editor at the time,

Ellery Sedgwick Ellery Sedgwick (February 27, 1872 – April 21, 1960) was an American editor, brother of Henry Dwight Sedgwick. Early life He was born in New York City to Henry Dwight Sedgwick II and Henrietta Ellery (Sedgwick), grand daughter of William E ...

, and remained in Boston. In 1980, the magazine was acquired by

Mortimer Zuckerman Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inve ...

, property magnate and founder of

Boston Properties BXP, Inc. (formerly Boston Properties, Inc.) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust which invests in premier workplaces in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. As of December 31, 2023, the c ...

, who became its chairman. On September 27, 1999, Zuckerman transferred ownership of the magazine to

, owner of the

National Journal Group Atlantic Media, Inc. is an American print and online media company owned by David G. Bradley and based in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. It held numerous publications and businesses. Since 2020, it holds a minority stake in ''The Atl ...

, which focused on

and

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

news. Bradley had promised that the magazine would stay in Boston for the foreseeable future, as it did for the next five-and-a-half years. In April 2005, however, the publishers announced that the editorial offices would be moved from their longtime home at 77 North Washington Street in Boston to join the company's advertising and circulation divisions in Washington, D.C. Later in August, Bradley told ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' that the move was not made to save money—near-term savings would be $200,000–$300,000, a relatively small amount that would be swallowed by severance-related spending—but instead would serve to create a hub in Washington, D.C., where the top minds from all of Bradley's publications could collaborate under the

Atlantic Media Company Atlantic Media, Inc. is an American print and online media company owned by David G. Bradley and based in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. It held numerous publications and businesses. Since 2020, it holds a minority stake in ''The Atl ...

umbrella. Few of the Boston staff agreed to move, and Bradley then commenced an open search for a new editorial staff. In 2006, Bradley hired James Bennet, the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

bureau chief for ''The New York Times'', as editor-in-chief. Bradley also hired Jeffrey Goldberg and

Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American political commentator. Sullivan is a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ''The Daily Dish'', in 2000, and ...

as writers for the magazine. In 2008, Jay Lauf joined the organization as publisher and vice-president; as of 2017, he was publisher and president of ''

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

''. In early 2014, Bennet and Bob Cohn became co-presidents of ''The Atlantic'', and Cohn became the publication's sole president in March 2016 when Bennet was tapped to lead ''The New York Times''s editorial page. Jeffrey Goldberg was named editor-in-chief in October 2016. On July 28, 2017, ''The Atlantic'' announced that

(the widow of former

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

chairman and CEO

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

) had acquired majority ownership through her

organization, with a staff member of Emerson Collective, Peter Lattman, being immediately named as vice chairman of ''The Atlantic''. David G. Bradley and Atlantic Media retained a minority share position in this sale. In May 2019, technology journalist Adrienne LaFrance became executive editor. In December 2020, former ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'' editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson was named CEO of ''The Atlantic''. In 2022, ''The Atlantic'' moved its offices to The Wharf in Washington, D.C.'s

Southwest Waterfront The Southwest Waterfront is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. (Southwest), Southwest Washington, D.C. The Southwest quadrant is the smallest of Washington's four Address (geography)#Quadrants, quadrants, and the Southwest Waterfront is one of on ...

neighborhood.

List of editors

, 1857–1861 *

James T. Fields James Thomas Fields (December 31, 1817 – April 24, 1881) was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston. Biography Early life and family He was born in ...

, 1861–1871 *

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( ; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American Realism (arts), realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ...

, 1871–1881 *

Thomas Bailey Aldrich Thomas Bailey Aldrich ( ; November 11, 1836 – March 19, 1907) was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt ...

, 1881–1890 *

Horace Scudder Horace Elisha Scudder (October 16, 1838 – January 11, 1902) was an American man of letters and editor. Biography He was born into a Boston family as the youngest of seven siblings—six brothers and one sister. His siblings included Davi ...

, 1890–1898 *

Walter Hines Page Walter Hines Page (August 15, 1855 – December 21, 1918) was an American journalist, publisher, and diplomat. He was the United States ambassador to Great Britain during World War I. After World War I broke out in 1914 Page was so enthusiastica ...

, 1898–1899 *

Bliss Perry Bliss Perry (25 November 1860 – 13 February 1954), was an American literary critic, writer, editor, and teacher. Biography Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts to Arthur Latham Perry, a prominent economist, and Mary Brown Perry. He w ...

, 1899–1909 *

, 1909–1938 * Edward A. Weeks, 1938–1966 * Robert Manning, 1966–1980 * William Whitworth, 1980–1999 * Michael Kelly, 1999–2003 *

Cullen Murphy John Cullen Murphy, Jr. (born September 1, 1952) is an American writer, journalist and editor who was managing editor of ''The Atlantic'' magazine from 1985 to 2006. Early life and education He was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1952, a son ...

, 2003–2006 (interim editor, never named editor-in-chief) * James Bennet, 2006–2016 *

, 2016–present

References

External links

*
"A History of ''The Atlantic''
(archived 23 October 1997)
''The Atlantic'' archival writings by topic

Online archive of ''The Atlantic''
(earliest issues 1857 up to 2016) at the Internet Archive * Hathi Trust
''Atlantic Monthly''
digitized issues, 1857–1928, plus search of 1929–1963, 1971, and 1976 (partial)
An early history of ''The Atlantic''
from ''The Literary Digest'' (1897)
''Atlantic Monthly'' records
at the

University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

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