 | |
| Managing Editor | Karen Zarker |
|---|---|
| Founder | Sarah Zupko |
| Founded | October 1999; 26 years ago (1999-10) |
| Based in | Chicago |
| Language | English |
| Website | popmatters |
| OCLC | 1122752384 |
PopMatters is an internationalonline magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects ofpopular culture.PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such asmusic,[1]television,films,books,video games,comics,sports,theater,visual arts,travel, and theInternet.[2]
PopMatters was founded by Sarah Zupko, who had previously established the cultural studies academic resource site PopCultures.[3]PopMatters launched in late 1999[4] as a sister site providing original essays, reviews and criticism of various media products. Over time, the site went from a weekly publication schedule to a five-day-a-week magazine format, expanding into regular reviews, features, and columns. In the fall of 2005, monthly readership exceeded one million readers.
From 2006 onward,PopMatters produced several syndicated newspaper columns forMcClatchy-Tribune News Service.[5] By 2009 there were four different pop culture related columns each week.
The PopMatters Book Imprint publishedJoss Whedon: The Complete Companion, edited by Mary Money, withTitan Books in May 2012. The imprint also published four books in a series withCounterpoint/Soft Skull[6] in 2008–2009 includingChina Underground by Zachary Mexico,Apocalypse Jukebox: The End of the World in American Popular Music by Edward Whitelock and David Janssen,Rebels Wit Attitude: Subversive Rock Humorists by Iain Ellis, andThe Solitary Vice: Against Reading byMikita Brottman.
PopMatters publishes content from worldwide contributors. Its staff includes writers from backgrounds ranging from academics and professional journalists to career professionals and first time writers. Many of its writers are published authorities in various fields of study.[2][7] Notable former contributors includeDavid Weigel, political reporter forSlate,[8]Steven Hyden, staff writer forGrantland and author ofWhatever Happened to Alternative Nation?,[9] and Rob Horning, executive editor ofThe New Inquiry.[10] Karen Zarker is the senior editor.
