Utne Reader

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American quarterly magazine

title: "Utne Reader" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["alternative-magazines", "modern-liberal-magazines-published-in-the-united-states", "monthly-magazines-published-in-the-united-states", "magazines-established-in-1984", "magazines-published-in-kansas", "magazines-published-in-minnesota", "mass-media-in-minneapolis–saint-paul", "mass-media-in-topeka,-kansas"] description: "American quarterly magazine" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utne_Reader" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American quarterly magazine ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox magazine"]

FieldValue
titleUtne Reader
image_fileCover of Utne Reader.gif
image_size220px
image_captionUtne Reader, cover from the January–February 2012 issue
editorChristian Williams
editor_titleEditor
frequencyQuarterly
categoryU.S. politics and public policy
companyOgden Publications
founded1984
countryUnited States
based1503 SW 42nd Street
Topeka, KS 66609-1265 U.S
languageEnglish
website
issn8750-0256
::

| title = Utne Reader | image_file = Cover of Utne Reader.gif | image_size = 220px | image_caption = Utne Reader, cover from the January–February 2012 issue | editor = Christian Williams | editor_title = Editor | staff_writer = | frequency = Quarterly | circulation = | paid_circulation = | unpaid_circulation = | total_circulation = | circulation_year = | category = U.S. politics and public policy | company = Ogden Publications | publisher = | founded = 1984 | firstdate = | country = United States | based = 1503 SW 42nd Street Topeka, KS 66609-1265 U.S | language = English | website = | issn = 8750-0256

Utne Reader (also known as Utne; , ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and DVDs.

The magazine's writers and editors contribute book, film, and music reviews and original articles that tend to focus on emerging cultural 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. Eric Utne's surname is ultimately derived from the Norwegian village of Utne, which loosely translates as "far out".

History

The magazine was founded in 1984 by Eric Utne as the Utne Reader. Its tagline was "the best of the alternative press". For its first 20 years Jay Walljasper was editor; Julie Ristau was its publisher. During these years it was transformed "from a tiny New Age newsletter to a thick, ad-rich magazine with more than 300,000 subscribers." Utne chaired the magazine until the late 1990s, when his then-wife Nina Rothschild Utne took over. The magazine was headquartered in Minneapolis.

The cover logo was changed to simply Utne in 2003, continuing until 2006, with the subtitle, A Different Read on Life.

In 2006 the magazine was purchased by Ogden Publications, publishers of Grit, Mother Earth News, Natural Home, and other magazines. The earlier title Utne Reader was brought back, and the magazine returned to and refocused on its original mission to reprint "the best of the alternative press".

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.'"

According to The New York Times, Utne Reader was a leader of the salon movement of the 1980s, devoted to debate on the issues of the day. Utne Reader was an early source of coverage of the mythopoetic men's movement when it first surfaced in the early 1990s.

Utne Independent Press Awards

The magazine bestows annual Utne Independent Press Awards, which honor alternative and independent magazines from around the world. Past winners include the Wilson Quarterly, In These Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Mother Jones, Orion, High Country News, Gnosis and New Internationalist.

In popular culture

  • In The Simpsons episode "King-Size Homer", Lisa Simpson receives a letter for a subscription to the Utne Reader. A later episode, "Dad Behavior", again references Lisa's collection of the magazines.
  • In the Family Guy episode "The Son Also Draws", Brian Griffin is seen reading the magazine.
  • In Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Zombie Nightmare", Tom Servo makes a reference to the magazine's staff during a rather tame and well-dressed disco scene.
  • In the webcomic Narbonic, in one of the first few strips in the series, the lab's intern is shown reading the magazine. Later in the comic series, another character makes a reference to the magazine.
  • In the second chapter of the novel House of Leaves, the footnotes contain a reference to a fictitious 1993 article from Utne Reader authored by "David Liddel" (also fictitious).

References

References

  1. (September 10, 1990). "Eric Utne Created the Impossible: a Reader's Digest That Both Baby Boomers and Highbrows Can Love". people.com.
  2. Amien, Deb. (April 23, 2018). "What the Heck Is That?: UTNE".
  3. (November 26, 2009). "The 20 Best Magazines of the Decade (2000–2009)". Paste Magazine.
  4. "Julie Ristau".
  5. Jay Walljasper, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20210109183610/https://www.utne.com/community/itwas20yearsagotoday It was 20 years ago today...]", ''Utne'' magazine (March / April 2004.
  6. David Hawley, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20210109182041/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19941223&slug=1948780 An Activist Agenda For New Utne Reader]", ''[[Seattle Times]]'' (December 23, 1994).
  7. Tom Groening. (September 16, 2006). "Former Utne magazine owner recounts publication's struggles". [[Bangor Daily News]].
  8. "General Magazine Editors - Top General Magazines". Book Market.
  9. "''Utne''".
  10. (Jan 29, 2007). "Utne Re-Reader: A 'Progressive Brand' Reclaims its Roots – and Name".
  11. (29 August 2020). "Utne Reader founder Eric Utne shares his 'Far Out' life in new memoir".
  12. Jonathan Rabinovitz. (April 13, 1992). "An Attempted Comeback for the Literary Salon". The New York Times.
  13. "The Virtuous Male".
  14. (May 17, 2011). "Utne Independent Press Awards: 2011 Winners".
  15. "Winners of the 2010 Utne Independent Press Awards".

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alternative-magazinesmodern-liberal-magazines-published-in-the-united-statesmonthly-magazines-published-in-the-united-statesmagazines-established-in-1984magazines-published-in-kansasmagazines-published-in-minnesotamass-media-in-minneapolis–saint-paulmass-media-in-topeka,-kansas