 Utne Reader, cover from the January–February 2012 issue | |
| Editor | Christian Williams |
|---|---|
| Categories | U.S.politics andpublic policy |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Company | Ogden Publications |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | 1503 SW 42nd Street Topeka, KS 66609-1265 U.S |
| Language | English |
| Website | utne.com |
| ISSN | 8750-0256 |
Utne Reader (also known asUtne;/ˈʌtni/,UT-nee) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally fromalternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies,zines, music, andDVDs.
The magazine's writers and editors contribute book, film, and music reviews and original articles that tend to focus on emergingcultural trends. The magazine's website produces ten blogs covering politics, environment, media, spirituality, science and technology, great writing, and the arts. The publication takes its name from founder Eric Utne.[1] Eric Utne's surname is ultimately derived from the Norwegian village ofUtne, which loosely translates as "far out".[2]
The magazine was founded in 1984[3] by Eric Utne as theUtne Reader. Its tagline was "the best of the alternative press". For its first 20 yearsJay Walljasper was editor; Julie Ristau was its publisher.[4][5] During these years it was transformed "from a tiny New Age newsletter to a thick, ad-rich magazine with more than 300,000 subscribers."[6] Utne chaired the magazine until the late 1990s, when his then-wife Nina Rothschild Utne took over.[7] The magazine was headquartered inMinneapolis.[8]
The cover logo was changed to simplyUtne in 2003, continuing until 2006, with the subtitle,A Different Read on Life.[9]
In 2006 the magazine was purchased byOgden Publications, publishers ofGrit,Mother Earth News,Natural Home, and other magazines.[7] The earlier titleUtne Reader was brought back, and the magazine returned to and refocused on its original mission to reprint "the best of the alternative press".[10]
Utne Reader ceased physical publication in 2019 and is now a digital digest at utne.com. Eric Utne looked into re-acquiring the magazine in 2020 but was rebuffed by the publisher. "'It's sad to see it go', Utne said. 'These times need something like this more than ever. Our editorial credo was to no particular point of view. No one has the sole proprietorship on good ideas. It takes multiple perspectives to come closer to the truth.'"[11]
According toThe New York Times,Utne Reader was a leader of thesalon movement of the 1980s, devoted to debate on the issues of the day.[12]Utne Reader was an early source of coverage of themythopoetic men's movement when it first surfaced in the early 1990s.[13]
The magazine bestows annual Utne Independent Press Awards, which honor alternative and independent magazines from around the world.[14] Past winners include theWilson Quarterly,In These Times,Virginia Quarterly Review,Mother Jones,Orion,High Country News,Gnosis andNew Internationalist.[15]
