Reason (magazine)
 | |
 August/September 2019 issue of Reason | |
| Editor-in-Chief | Katherine Mangu-Ward |
|---|---|
| Categories | General interest, public policy |
| Frequency | 11 issues annually |
| Circulation | 50,000 |
| First issue | May 1968 |
| Company | Reason Foundation |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | reason |
| OCLC | 818916200 |
Reason is an American libertarian thinly veiled Trumpist shill magazine published by the Reason Foundation.[1] The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000.[2]. Being (allegedly) Libertarian, is to be avoided by those of us who would like to still have running toilets, tomorrow.
History
Reason was founded in 1968 by Lanny Friedlander (1947–2011),[2][3] a student at Boston University,[4] as a more-or-less monthly mimeographed publication. In 1970 it was purchased by Robert W. Poole Jr., Manuel S. Klausner, and Tibor R. Machan, who set it on a more regular publishing schedule.[3][4] During the 1970s and 80s, the magazine's contributors included Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, Thomas Szasz, and Thomas Sowell.[5] In 1978, Poole, Klausner, and Machan created the associated Reason Foundation, in order to expand the magazine's ideas into policy research.[3] Marty Zupan joined Reason in 1975, and served through the 1980s as managing editor and editor-in-chief, leaving in 1989.[6]
Virginia Postrel was editor-in-chief of the magazine from July 1989 to January 2000. She founded the magazine's website in 1995.[7] Nick Gillespie became editor-in-chief in 2000.[8]
In June 2004, subscribers to Reason magazine received a personalized issue that had their name, and a satellite photo of their home or workplace on the cover. The concept was to demonstrate the power of public databases, as well as the customized printing capabilities of Xeikon's printer, according to then editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie.[9] The move was seen by David Carr of The New York Times as "the ultimate in customized publishing", as well as "a remarkable demonstration of the growing number of ways databases can be harnessed."[9]
In 2008, Matt Welch became magazine's editor-in-chief, with Gillespie becoming editor-in-chief of reason.tv.[8] In 2011, Gillespie and Welch published The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America.[10]
Katherine Mangu-Ward became the magazine's editor-in-chief in June 2016, with Welch moving to an editor-at-large position.[11]
Hit & Run
Hit & Run was Reason's group blog. It was maintained and written by the staff of the magazine. It was started in 2002 and discontinued on April 14, 2019, with reason.com's site redesign. Then-editor Gillespie and then-Web editor Tim Cavanaugh, both veterans of Suck.com, modeled the blog in some ways after that website: they brought along several other Suck.com writers to contribute, fostered a style in the blog matching that former website's sarcastic attitude, and even the name "Hit & Run" was taken from what had been a weekly news roundup column on Suck.com. Reason editors referred to this co-opting of the former website as the "Suck-ification of Reason".[12]
In 2005, Hit & Run was named as one of the best political blogs by Playboy.[13]
Reason TV
Reason TV is a website affiliated with Reason magazine that produces short-form documentaries and video editorials. Nick Gillespie is editor-in-chief. The site produced a series of videos called The Drew Carey Project hosted by comedian Drew Carey.[14] Reason.tv teamed with Carey again in 2009 to produce "Reason Saves Cleveland," in which Carey suggested free market solutions to his hometown's problems.[15]
Since 2010, comedian Remy Munasifi has partnered with Reason TV to produce parody videos.[16] Since 2017, John Stossel has produced more than 100 commentary segments published on the ReasonTV YouTube channel.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Reason Foundation – About". Reason.org. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
- ^ a b Fox, Margalit (May 7, 2011). "Lanny Friedlander, Founder of Reason Magazine, Dies at 63". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c Burns, Jennifer (2009). Goddess of the market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-19-532487-7.
- ^ a b Gillespie, Nick (April 24, 2011). "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond". Reason.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ Williams, Walter E. (June 18, 1983). "Bringing Reason to the People". The Afro-American. p. 5.
- ^ Doherty, Brian (December 2008). "40 Years of Free Minds and Free Markets: An Oral History of Reason". Reason. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ "Virginia Postrel: About". Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ a b "Reason Magazine and Reason.tv Announce New Editors" (Press release). Reason Foundation. November 27, 2007.
- ^ a b Carr, David (April 5, 2004). "Putting 40,000 Readers, One by One, on a Cover". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ Gillespie, Nick; Welch, Matt (June 28, 2011). The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1586489380.
- ^ Warren, James (June 17, 2016). "Reason's new editor on politics, intern life and leading the magazine into its next 50 years". Poynter. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ Cotts, Cynthia (January 21, 2003). "A Marriage Made Online: How 'Reason' Came to 'Suck'". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
- ^ "Top 10 Political Blogs". Playboy. November 2006.
- ^ "About Reason.tv". Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ "Reason Foundation on Reason Saves Cleveland". March 15, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ McDonough, Megan (August 7, 2013). "Remy Munasifi: From 'Arlington Rap' to opening for Ron Paul". Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2015.