Slate (magazine)

Last updated

Slate
Slate new logo.svg
Slate.com screenshot (2024-12-05)-1.webp
Screenshot of the website in December 2024
Type of site
 Online magazine
Available in2 languages
List of languages
  • English
  • French
Owner The Slate Group
Founder Michael Kinsley
Editor Hillary Frey
URL
CommercialYes
Registration
  • Optional for Slate Plus and commenting only (US readers)
  • Metered paywall (non-US readers)
LaunchedJune 24, 1996;29 years ago (1996-06-24)
Current statusActive
ISSN 1090-6584  (print)
1091-2339  (web)
OCLC  number 728292344

Slate is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by Michael Kinsley with Microsoft's backing. 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. [1]

Contents

As of 2025, the magazine is both ad-supported and has a membership model with a metered paywall. It is known, and sometimes criticized, for adopting contrarian views, which gave rise to the term "Slate Pitches". It has a generally liberal editorial stance. [2] [3]

History

Origin

Slate was founded in June 24, 1996 [4] [5] [6] by Michael Kinsley under the ownership of Microsoft. Kinsley wrote that one of the site's goals was proving that "the economies of cyberspace make it easier for our kind of journalism to pay for itself". [7] The outlet was considered an early pioneer of digital journalism and popularized features such as hyperlinks and communications between writers and readers. The website received much user traffic from the MSN network through its relationship with Microsoft. [8] In 1998, Slate introduced a paywall-based business model that attracted up to 20,000 subscribers but was later abandoned. [9] [10] The outlet achieved a profitable quarter in 2003 and broke even in 2004 with $6 million in revenue from six million monthly readers. [8]

Graham Holdings ownership

In 2004, the magazine was purchased by The Washington Post Company. [11] [12] An agreement in the purchase stipulated that the MSN website would continue to redirect to Slate. [12] It introduced Slate V in 2007, an online video magazine website. [13] Later, in 2008, The Washington Post Company launched The Slate Group, an online publishing entity, to manage Slate and other online magazines. [14] The same year, Slate launched The Root , an African American news site, and "The Big Money", a business news website. [13]

In 2011, Slate switched their content management system from Gutenberg to Adobe CQ5. [15] 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. [16]

In 2012, then-editor David Plotz spoke at South by Southwest on Slate's efforts in running long-form journalism. Plotz discussed their commitment for all editors to spend four to six weeks each year to focus on a project, nicknamed "Fresca" projects, instead of working on news output. [17] Slate also launched the "Slate Book Review", a monthly books section edited by Dan Kois, [18] and a dedicated ad sales team. [19]

In 2013, the magazine was redesigned under the guidance of design director Vivian Selbo. [20] After The Washington Post Company sold The Washington Post to Jeff Bezos in 2013, Slate's parent company was renamed to Graham Holdings, which continued to own the magazine Slate. [9]

In 2014, it was estimated that the website had 30 million visitors monthly. [21] The same year, Slate introduced a paywall system called "Slate Plus", offering ad-free podcasts and bonus materials. [9] [22] A year later, it had attracted 9,000 subscribers, generating about $500,000 in annual revenue. [23] By September 2014, Slate became profitable after preceding years had seen layoffs and falling ad revenue. [24] Slate then moved all content behind a metered paywall for international readers in June 2015, attributing the change to advertisers targeting domestic readers. [25]

In 2018, Slate staff members joined the Writers Guild of America, East. After union members authorized a strike, Slate agreed to a three-year collective bargaining agreement in January 2019. [26]

In 2021, Mike Pesca, host of the podcast The Gist , was suspended from Slate after a Slack discussion on Donald G. McNeil Jr. and the usage of a racial slur, [27] [28] ultimately parting ways and taking his podcast independent. [29]

On September 16, 2025, Slate filed a lawsuit against Google over alleged antitrust violations. [30]

slate.fr

In February 2009, slate.fr, a French-language offshoot of Slate, was launched. Its five founders were: Le Monde editors Jean-Marie Colombani and Éric Leser  [ fr ], Libération and 20 minutes editor Johan Hufnagel  [ fr ], Les Echos editor Éric Le Boucher  [ fr ], and political advisor Jacques Attali. The founders held fifty percent in the publishing company, while The Washington Post Company held 15 percent. [31] [32] In 2011, slate.fr started a separate site covering African news, Slate Afrique, with a Paris-based editorial staff. [33]

Content

Reputation for counterintuitive arguments ("Slate pitches")

Since 2006, [34] 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. [24] The Columbia Journalism Review defined Slate pitches as "an idea that sounds wrong or counterintuitive proposed as though it were the tightest logic ever". [35] In 2014, Slate's then editor-in-chief, Julia Turner, acknowledged that a reputation for counterintuitive arguments forms part of Slate's "distinctive" brand, but argued that the hashtag misrepresents the site's journalism. [24]

In 2019, Slate editors such as David Plotz noted that the Slate pitch had become difficult due to the polarizing politics of the Trump administration. [36] In 2022, The New York Times reported that anonymous Slate staffers felt that the publication's reputation for contrarian views had diminished over the years. [37] Former Slate writer Matthew Yglesias concurred with this reporting, noting that the journalism industry had become homogeneous in recent times. [38]

Podcasts

According to the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Slate has been involved in podcasts "almost from the very beginning" of the medium. Its first podcast, Political Gabfest, was released in 2005 and was inspired by Slate's editorial conference calls. Slate podcasts have gotten longer over the years. The original Gabfest ran 15 minutes; by 2012, most ran about 45 minutes. In 2012, it was reported that Slate's podcasts had the highest advertisement and sell-through rates of their content on account of high user engagement. [39]

By June 2012, Slate had expanded their lineup to 19 podcasts, with Political Gabfest and Culture Gabfest being the most popular. [39] This count had shrunk to 14 by February 2015, with all receiving six million downloads per month. [40] In 2018, it offered a slate of 25 podcasts. [41]

Recurring features

Reception

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism regarded the outlet as the "web's oldest living magazine". [15] In 2004, The New York Times opined that the publication produced "well-regarded journalism". [8] In 2010, the Columbia Journalism Review commended Slate's high-quality editorial standards and praised its usage of interactive and multimedia content, calling them "consistently innovative, and often a big hit with readers". [17] In 2019, The New York Times wrote that Slate was known for "counterintuitive analysis and its many podcasts". [26] In 2022, Katie Robertson of the New York Times noted Slate was known for its "smart analysis, interesting debate and top-tier journalistic talent". [37]

Accolades

In 2003, Slate won the National Magazine Award (NMA) for General Excellence. [8] Slate was also nominated for four digital National Magazine Awards in 2011 and won the NMA for General Excellence. [48] [49] Between 2009-2014, Slate was nominated for an NMA 14 times, winning the award twice. [21] Slate received an NMA for general excellence in 2016. [26] Slate's investment in podcasts has led to receiving some awards, including Slow Burn and Political Gabfest. [50]

National Magazine Awards

YearCategoryArticle(s)Author(s)Citation
2003General Excellence, Digital MediaN/AN/A [51]
2011General Excellence, Digital MediaN/AN/A
2013Columns and Commentary It’s Not About the Law, Stupid", "The Supreme Court’s Dark Vision of Freedom", "Where Is The Liberal Outrage?" Dahlia Lithwick
2016Podcasting Slow Burn : "Deal or No Deal", "Tell-All", "Move On"N/A [52]

Controversies

"Monkeyfishing"

On June 7, 2001, Slate published an article by Jay Forman of a practice of fisherman from an island in the Florida Keys of fishing for rhesus monkeys. [53] The Wall Street Journal [54] and The New York Times [53] found the claim to be a hoax after investigation. Later, Forman admitted to his editor, Jack Shafer, that his claim had been fabricated. [55]

Staff

Michael Kinsley was Slate's founder and served as its first editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2002. He was followed by Jacob Weisberg, who held the position from 2002 to 2008. Afterward, David Plotz became editor until July 2014, when he was replaced by Julia Turner. [21] After Turner resigned in 2019 to join the Los Angeles Times, Jared Hohlt became editor on April 1, 2019. [26]

Former HuffPost editor Hillary Frey was named as the magazine's new editor-in-chief in May 2022. [56] [50]

Key executives

Notable contributors and departments

Past contributors

References

  1. ↑ "Slate Magazine: Private Company Information – Businessweek". Bloomberg Business. April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ Nerkar, Santul (June 27, 2024). "How Partisan Media Outlets Are Previewing the Debate". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on June 21, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025. Writing for Slate, a liberal news site, (...)
  3. ↑ Shafer, Jack (October 29, 2008). "You're wasting your time worrying about the "liberal media."". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. In theory, Slate is a quasi-liberal magazine about politics and culture that publishes opinion, interpretive journalism, essays, straight reporting, and more.
  4. ↑ "Inaugural Issue of Slate New Interactive Magazine From Microsoft And Editor Michael Kinsley, to Debut Online Today". Microsoft . June 24, 1996. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  5. ↑ Kuczynski, Alex (February 15, 1999). "Slate Drops Its On-Line Subscription Fee". The New York Times . Retrieved November 28, 2025. Slate was started in June 1996
  6. ↑ Pogrebin, Robin (March 30, 1998). "For $19.95, Slate Sees Who Its Friends Are". The New York Times . Retrieved November 28, 2025. Slate has planned to go paid since its inception in June 1996
  7. 1 2 3 Tracy, Marc (January 5, 2022). "Slate's Top Editor, Jared Hohlt, Leaves After a Three-Year Run". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on January 2, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Carr, David (July 23, 2004). "Microsoft Says It Is Exploring the Sale of Slate Magazine". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 Kaufman, Leslie (March 24, 2014). "Slate to Introduce a Membership Plan". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Slate Sets Off with 10,000 Paying Subscribers". Wired . Reuters. March 4, 1998. Archived from the original on November 24, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  11. ↑ Carr, David (December 22, 2004). "Washington Post Company Buys Slate Magazine". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Washington Post to buy Slate from Microsoft". NBC News . Associated Press. December 21, 2004. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Slate to launch business site, "The Big Money"". Reuters . March 17, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Washington Post unit to develop Web magazines". Reuters . June 4, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Phelps, Andrew (September 29, 2011). "Clean Slate: How the online mag's tech director Dan Check fine-tuned a 15-year-old machine". Nieman Foundation for Journalism . Archived from the original on November 24, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  16. ↑ Farhi, Paul (August 25, 2011). "Slate magazine lays off Jack Shafer, Timothy Noah". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  17. 1 2 Gandert, Sean (December 31, 2010). "Slate". Columbia Journalism Review . Archived from the original on September 9, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  18. ↑ Bosman, Julie (March 2, 2012). "Slate to Begin a Monthly Review of Books". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013. Slate will introduce a monthly book review on Friday (...) Dan Kois, a senior editor in the culture department, will oversee the book review
  19. ↑ Moses, Lucia (August 27, 2012). "'Slate' Gets a New Publisher". Adweek . ISSN   0199-2864. Archived from the original on April 13, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2015. Online magazine Slate recently created a dedicated sales force to capitalize on its traffic growth
  20. ↑ Peterson, Andrea (September 23, 2013). "I hate the new Slate. But it wasn't designed for me". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 Kaufman, Leslie (July 14, 2014). "Julia Turner Is Named Editor in Chief of Slate". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  22. ↑ Peterson, Andrea (April 21, 2014). "Slate, left behind in The Post's Bezos buyout, models its subscription service on Amazon Prime". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  23. ↑ "One year in, Slate draws 9,000 paying subscribers". Digiday . June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025. Slate said it has gotten more than 9,000 members, which, it said, has exceeded expectations. Still, the numbers aren't eye-opening, representing an annual revenue intake of about $500,000
  24. 1 2 3 Levy, Nicole (September 30, 2014). "Long-serving deputy Julia Turner takes the reins at Slate". Politico . Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  25. ↑ Turner, Julia (June 8, 2015). "A Change to Slate for International Readers". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on November 27, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. Slate is rolling out a paywall for international users. (...) The paywall will be metered, which means that you can read five stories every month for free. (...) Our U.S.-based sales team sells primarily to domestic advertisers, many of whom only want to reach a domestic audience.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Peiser, Jaclyn (March 6, 2019). "Slate Picks a Skilled Storyteller as Its New Top Editor". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  27. ↑ Robertson, Katie; Smith, Ben (February 23, 2021). "Slate Suspends Mike Pesca of "The Gist" After Debate Over Racial Slur". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on September 30, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  28. ↑ Wemple, Erik (February 26, 2021). "Slate clarifies guidelines on use of racial slurs following suspension of podcaster Mike Pesca". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  29. ↑ Wemple, Erik (September 3, 2021). "Slate and Mike Pesca have agreed to 'part ways'". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025. Podcast host Mike Pesca and Slate have 'mutually agreed to part ways' (...) Pesca will take his podcast, 'The Gist,' to an independent platform.
  30. ↑ Poritz, Isaiah (September 16, 2025). "Slate Magazine Sues Google After Digital Ads Antitrust Ruling". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on November 27, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025. News company Slate Group LLC sued Google LLC over antitrust violations in Manhattan federal court Tuesday
  31. ↑ Andrews, Robert (February 15, 2009). "Interview: Jacob Weisberg, Chairman, Slate Group: Breaking Out Of The Beltway". CBS News . Archived from the original on September 18, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  32. ↑ Beaugrand, Raphaël (February 10, 2009). "Slate.fr: Jean-Marie Colombani à l'assaut du Web, actualité Tech & Net". Le Point (in French). Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  33. ↑ Bryant, Lisa (January 13, 2012). "Paris-Based Slate Afrique Celebrates 1st Anniversary". Voice of America . Archived from the original on September 3, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. One of the youngest pan-Africa publications is celebrating its one-year anniversary. A French-language spinoff of popular Internet magazine Slate.com, Slate Afrique aims to bring quality news to African and foreign readers. (...) Slate Afrique is currently based in Paris
  34. ↑ Weisberg, Jacob (June 19, 2006). "Are you a member of the Slate club?". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. [One way to be a Slatey writer] is to make the contrarian case that all the common assumptions about a subject are simply and hopelessly wrong.
  35. ↑ Goldenberg, Kira (October 16, 2014). "Stop trolling your readers". Columbia Journalism Review . Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved October 16, 2014. The hate-share headline is a devious twist on the time-honored "#slatepitch," an idea that sounds wrong or counterintuitive proposed as though it were the tightest logic ever.
  36. ↑ Uberti, David (January 16, 2019). "The future of the #SlatePitch in Trump's world". Columbia Journalism Review . Archived from the original on September 26, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. 'Is there a place for a contrarian take in a hyperpartisan world where there's an appalling president [Trump] (...)' (...) But he [Plotz], Weisberg, and current Slate writers are right that the old sensibility has lost some of its purchase
  37. 1 2 Robertson, Katie (February 11, 2022). "Slate, the Pioneering Web Magazine, Struggles to Find Identity and Profit". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025. Slate once stood out as a home for contrarian takes and intellectual debate, but that distinction has faded in recent years, they [three anonymous Slate staffers] said.
  38. ↑ Yglesias, Matthew (February 17, 2022). "The regrettable death of the Slatepitch". Slow Boring. Archived from the original on November 28, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. Katie Robertson of the New York Times recently wrote about my former employer Slate (...) That's [Slate pitch] something Slate has sort of lost. But more than just Slate, I feel like it's been lost by the internet as a whole.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Phelps, Andrew (June 4, 2012). "Slate doubles down on podcasts, courting niche audiences and happy advertisers". Nieman Foundation for Journalism . Archived from the original on October 1, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 Owens, Andrew (February 6, 2015). "Slate's podcast audience has tripled in a year, and its bet on audio over video continues to pay off". Nieman Foundation for Journalism . Archived from the original on August 23, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  41. 1 2 3 4 Peiser, Jaclyn (September 12, 2018). "Jacob Weisberg Leaves Slate to Join Malcolm Gladwell in Podcast Venture". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on August 22, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. It now offers 25 podcasts, including "Slate Political Gabfest," which has been running for 13 years; "Trumpcast," which is co-hosted by Mr. Weisberg; and "Slow Burn," (...)
  42. 1 2 3 4 Barber, Kayleigh (July 26, 2022). "How Slate's Charlie Kammerer is prioritizing frequency to boost podcast revenue". Digiday . Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  43. ↑ Dockterman, Eliana (July 23, 2025). "'Slate's Audio Book Club' Is on The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time". Time . Archived from the original on July 31, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  44. ↑ Kaufman, Leslie (May 5, 2014). "Slate Raising Its Investment in Podcasts". The New York Times . ISSN   1553-8095. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  45. ↑ Falk, Tyler (June 27, 2017). "Slate will take over co-producer role with 'Studio 360'". Current . Archived from the original on October 11, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  46. ↑ Sen, Sanjay (December 6, 2020). "Exclusive: Nichole Perkins And Bim Adewunmi's 'Thirst Aid Kit' Is Joining Slate". Essence . Archived from the original on October 2, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  47. ↑ Quah, Nicholas (January 11, 2018). "Slow Burn Is the Watergate Podcast You Didn't Know You Needed". Vulture . Archived from the original on May 22, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025. Slow Burn, a new limited series podcast from Slate, (...)
  48. ↑ Pardee, Thomas (March 16, 2011). "Epicurious, Slate, Esquire Win Big at Digital National Magazine Awards". Ad Age . Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2025. two got that prize [for general excellence in digital media] this year: (...) [Epicurious] and Slate, in the news and opinion category. (...) Slate and National Geographic had the most nominations, with four each.
  49. ↑ "Check Out The Winners Of This Year's National Magazine Awards For Digital Media". Business Insider . March 17, 2011. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2025. Now behold the winners. (...) General Excellence, News & Opinion - Slate
  50. 1 2 Fischer, Sara (May 11, 2022). "Slate taps Hillary Frey as new editor-in-chief". Axios . Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  51. ↑ "National Magazine Award Winners 1966-2015 | ASME". www.magazine.org. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  52. ↑ "New Yorker, Times Magazine and Topic Win Top Honors at National Magazine Awards". American Society of Magazine Editors . Archived from the original on August 15, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  53. 1 2 Kuczynski, Alex (June 25, 2001). "Tortured Tale Of Journalism And Monkeys". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  54. ↑ "Slate's Monkeyshine". OpinionJournal. June 27, 2001. Archived from the original on July 21, 2001. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  55. ↑ Ivry, Sara (February 12, 2007). "'Monkey Fishing' Author Admits to Falsehood". The New York Times . Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  56. ↑ Robertson, Katie (May 11, 2022). "Slate Names Ex-HuffPost Editor as Its New Top Editor". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2025. Slate has named Hillary Frey, a former top editor at HuffPost, as its new editor in chief.
  57. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Who We Are". Slate . January 15, 2020. Archived from the original on August 4, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
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