Gapers Block

Last updated
Gapers Block
Company type Privately held company
Founded2003 (2003)
FounderAndrew Huff
Naz Hamid
Headquarters,
Key people
Andrew Huff
Services Online magazine
Website gapersblock.com

Gapers Block (Gapers Block Media, LLC) was a Chicago-centric web publication focused on covering Chicago culture under the tag line: "Slow down and check out Chicago". The site, gapersblock.com, lists local events, aggregates other Chicago blogs and news of local interest and features many topical blogs: A/C (arts and culture), Drive-Thru (food related), Transmission (local music), Mechanics (state and local politics), Tailgate (sports coverage), and Book Club (book club and literary scene coverage).

Contents

History

Conceived in 2003 by Andrew Huff and Naz Hamid, the stuck-in-traffic themed section names, such as Merge (blog, links aggregation), Slowdown (calendar event listings), and Rearview (noteworthy local photos), are inspired by the Chicago-coined term, "gapers' block", a synonym (with "gapers' delay") for rubbernecking. The site was the first city blog in Chicago and one of the earliest examples of the genre; Gothamist and the Metroblogging network were also founded in 2003.

The site is written by volunteers from various backgrounds and professions, with content organized into topical sections, including arts & culture, literature, food, music, politics, and sports. [1]

In 2010, the cookbook The Everything Cast Iron Cookbook was published, based in large part on author Cinnamon Cooper's "One Good Meal" column [2] on Gapers Block. [3]

In December 2015, editor and publisher Andrew Huff announced the site would be going on "indefinite hiatus" on January 1, 2016. [4]

Accreditations and awards

Notable contributors and alumni

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References

  1. Gapers Block - Chicago news, reviews & commentary
  2. "One Good Meal archives". Gapersblock.com. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  3. Cooper, Cinnamon (2010). The Everything Cast Iron Cookbook. United States: Adams Media. p. 304. ISBN   978-1440502255.
  4. "A Letter from the Editor". Gapersblock.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. "Gapers Block" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , Forbes , Web Site Reviews, accessed May 31, 2010.
  6. gapers block | Typesites
  7. "The Chicago Community Trust Announces Community News Matters Award Recipients – Knight Foundation". Archived from the original on 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  8. http://www.suntimes.com/-1,romance-places-092509g.photogallery?index=2 [ dead link ]
  9. 40 Under 40: 2009 | Crain's Chicago Business
  10. "Congratulations to our 2013 Lisagor winners!". 3 May 2014.
  11. "Congrats to our Lisagor Finalists!". 19 March 2014.
  12. Chicago Reader - Best of Chicago 2013 - Best Local Blog Accessed Sept. 5, 2013.
  13. Chicago Reader - Best of Chicago 2014 - Best Local Blog Accessed June 25, 2014.
  14. Chicago Reader - Best of Chicago 2015 - Best Local Blog Accessed June 24, 2015.