In These Times
Encyclopedia
In These Times is a politically progressive
monthly magazine of news and opinion published by the Institute for Public Affairs in Chicago
. In These Times was established as a broadsheet
format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein
, a lifelong socialist, with the aid of prominent intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky
, Herbert Marcuse
, and Julian Bond
.
In These Times is known for its investigative reporting of corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, its coverage of international affairs, and its cultural criticism. It regularly reports on environmental issues
, feminism
, grassroots democracy
, minority communities
and the media
.
In These Times founding editor and publisher is James Weinstein; its current editor and publisher is Joel Bleifuss
. It has a circulation of over 18,000 (2011). As a nonprofit organization
, the magazine is financed through subscriptions and donations.
(1926–2005) launched the politically progressive journal In These Times. He sought to model the newsweekly on the early 20th century socialist paper the Appeal to Reason. "We intend to speak to corporate capitalism as the great issue of our time, and to socialism as the popular movement that will meet it" he told the Chicago Sun Times on the eve of the first issue's release. While Weinstein himself was involved with both the New American Movement
and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
, he wanted the journal to be independent of any one political party
or faction
. Thus, over the years In These Times has published a wide variety contributors - from anarchists, to union
members, to political conservatives.
During the 1980s In These Times won notoriety for its investigative reporting of the Iran-Contra scandal. It has since broken stories on the deliberate destruction of Iraqi water treatment plants by US forces during the first Gulf War
, global warming
, and on the emergence of Mad Cow disease.
Senior In These Times editor Silja J.A. Talvi won two National Council on Crime and Delinquency PASS Awards (2005, 2006) for her reporting on the impact of three strikes sentencing on African American men, and on the trend toward privatization of the prison system.
In These Times was awarded Utne Reader
's Independent Press Award for Best Political Coverage in 2006.
's "The Third Coast," covering race relations, and Susan Douglas's "Back Talk," a critical review of the mass media. David Moberg has reported on labor and political economy
for In These Times since the magazine's inception in 1976. The magazine's editor Joel Bleifuss has written for In These Times since the mid-1980s. More stories from his column, "The First Stone," have been included in Project Censored
's "Top 25 Censored Stories of the Year" than any other journalist. Other current columnists include H. Candace Gorman
, Laura S. Washington, and Terry J. Allen.
Current senior editors include Terry J. Allen, Patricia Aufderheide, Adam Doster, Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim Muwakkil
and David Sirota
.
Notable contributors to the magazine have included Alexander Cockburn
, Barbara Ehrenreich
, Laura Flanders
, Annette Fuentes
, Juan Gonzalez
, David Graeber
, Glenn Greenwald
, Miles Harvey
, Paul Hockenos, George Hodak, Doug Ireland
, John Judis
, Naomi Klein
, Lucy Komisa, Robert McChesney
, Kim Phillips-Fein, Jeffrey St. Clair
, Jane Slaughter
, James Thindwa
, Kurt Vonnegut
, Joan Walsh
, Fred Weir
, Paul Wellstone
, G. Pascal Zachary, and Slavoj Žižek
.
Most In These Times issues run political cartoons from Tom Tomorrow
or Terry Laban
.
The magazine's tagline has evolved over the years from "The Independent Socialist Newspaper" in 1976, to "The Alternative News Magazine" in the early 1990s, to "With liberty and justice for all..." today.
by the editors and staff of the magazine. It is frequently updated with small news stories
which are not published in the print
edition.
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
monthly magazine of news and opinion published by the Institute for Public Affairs in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. In These Times was established as a broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein
James Weinstein
James "Jimmy" Weinstein was an American historian and journalist best known as the founder and publisher of In These Times...
, a lifelong socialist, with the aid of prominent intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse was a German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory...
, and Julian Bond
Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond , known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader in the American civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
.
In These Times is known for its investigative reporting of corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, its coverage of international affairs, and its cultural criticism. It regularly reports on environmental issues
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
, minority communities
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
and the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
In These Times founding editor and publisher is James Weinstein; its current editor and publisher is Joel Bleifuss
Joel Bleifuss
Joel Bleifuss is an American journalist. He is the editor and publisher of In These Times, a left-wing, Chicago-based news magazine founded in the 1976 by James Weinstein. During Bleifuss' tenure, the magazine has carried articles and columns by members of the U.S...
. It has a circulation of over 18,000 (2011). As a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, the magazine is financed through subscriptions and donations.
History
In 1976 historian and former editor of Studies on the Left, James WeinsteinJames Weinstein
James "Jimmy" Weinstein was an American historian and journalist best known as the founder and publisher of In These Times...
(1926–2005) launched the politically progressive journal In These Times. He sought to model the newsweekly on the early 20th century socialist paper the Appeal to Reason. "We intend to speak to corporate capitalism as the great issue of our time, and to socialism as the popular movement that will meet it" he told the Chicago Sun Times on the eve of the first issue's release. While Weinstein himself was involved with both the New American Movement
New American Movement
The New American Movement was founded in 1971 by a group of leaders of opposition to the Vietnam War to serve as a forum for discussing where and how to redirect their activities. The call to convene was issued by Michael Lerner...
and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee
The Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee was founded in 1973 by Michael Harrington, who led a minority caucus in the Socialist Party. Harrington's caucus supported George McGovern's his call for a cease-fire and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam...
, he wanted the journal to be independent of any one political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
or faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
. Thus, over the years In These Times has published a wide variety contributors - from anarchists, to union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
members, to political conservatives.
During the 1980s In These Times won notoriety for its investigative reporting of the Iran-Contra scandal. It has since broken stories on the deliberate destruction of Iraqi water treatment plants by US forces during the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, and on the emergence of Mad Cow disease.
Senior In These Times editor Silja J.A. Talvi won two National Council on Crime and Delinquency PASS Awards (2005, 2006) for her reporting on the impact of three strikes sentencing on African American men, and on the trend toward privatization of the prison system.
In These Times was awarded Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
's Independent Press Award for Best Political Coverage in 2006.
Contributors
Two of the longest running columns in the magazine are Salim MuwakkilSalim Muwakkil
Salim Muwakkil is an American journalist based in Chicago. He is a senior editor at In These Times and an op-ed columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Muwakkil writes on African American issues, Middle East politics, and US foreign policy...
's "The Third Coast," covering race relations, and Susan Douglas's "Back Talk," a critical review of the mass media. David Moberg has reported on labor and political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
for In These Times since the magazine's inception in 1976. The magazine's editor Joel Bleifuss has written for In These Times since the mid-1980s. More stories from his column, "The First Stone," have been included in Project Censored
Project Censored
Project Censored is a non-profit, media criticism and investigative journalism project within the Sonoma State University Foundation. It is managed through the School of Social Sciences at the university....
's "Top 25 Censored Stories of the Year" than any other journalist. Other current columnists include H. Candace Gorman
H. Candace Gorman
H. Candace Gorman is an Chicago, Illinois-based attorney best known for representing two Guantanamo detainees. Her father, Robert J. Gorman, was also an attorney with a practice in Chicago....
, Laura S. Washington, and Terry J. Allen.
Current senior editors include Terry J. Allen, Patricia Aufderheide, Adam Doster, Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim Muwakkil
Salim Muwakkil
Salim Muwakkil is an American journalist based in Chicago. He is a senior editor at In These Times and an op-ed columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Muwakkil writes on African American issues, Middle East politics, and US foreign policy...
and David Sirota
David Sirota
David J. Sirota is a progressive Denver-based American political figure, radio show host and commentator. He is an author, book reviewer, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, a Democratic political strategist, political operative, Democratic spokesperson, and blogger...
.
Notable contributors to the magazine have included Alexander Cockburn
Alexander Cockburn
Alexander Claud Cockburn is an American political journalist. Cockburn was brought up in Ireland but has lived and worked in the United States since 1972. Together with Jeffrey St. Clair, he edits the political newsletter CounterPunch...
, Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich
-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
, Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders is a British-American journalist who presents the current events show GRITtv, broadcast weekdays on Link and Free Speech TV....
, Annette Fuentes
Annette Fuentes
Annette Fuentes is an American journalist who writes regularly on health and social policy for The New York Times, The Nation the Village Voice, The Progressive, and In These Times, where she is a contributing editor...
, Juan Gonzalez
Juan Gonzalez (journalist)
Juan González is an American progressive broadcast journalist and investigative reporter. He has also been a columnist for the New York Daily News since 1987...
, David Graeber
David Graeber
David Rolfe Graeber is an American anthropologist and anarchist who currently holds the position of Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He was an associate professor of anthropology at Yale University, although Yale controversially declined to rehire him, and his...
, Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
, Miles Harvey
Miles Harvey
Miles Harvey is an American journalist and author. He is best known for his 2000 book, The Island of Lost Maps, which recounted the strange story of a Floridian named Gilbert Bland, who stole many old and precious maps from various libraries across America.Harvey graduated from the University of...
, Paul Hockenos, George Hodak, Doug Ireland
Doug Ireland
Doug Ireland is an American journalist and blogger who writes about politics, power, media, and also about gay issues. He is the U.S...
, John Judis
John Judis
John B. Judis is an American journalist. He received B.A. and M.A. degrees in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a senior editor at The New Republic and a contributing editor to The American Prospect....
, Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
, Lucy Komisa, Robert McChesney
Robert W. McChesney
Robert Waterman McChesney is an American professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication. His work concentrates on the history and political economy of communication, emphasizing the role media play in democratic...
, Kim Phillips-Fein, Jeffrey St. Clair
Jeffrey St. Clair
Jeffrey St. Clair is an investigative journalist, writer and editor. He is the co-editor, with Alexander Cockburn, of the political newsletter CounterPunch, and a contributing editor to the monthly magazine In These Times. He has also written for The Washington Post, San Francisco Examiner, The...
, Jane Slaughter
Jane Slaughter
Jane Slaughter is an American journalist who writes frequently on labor affairs. Her writing has appeared in The Nation, The Progressive, Monthly Review, and In These Times. She is based in Detroit....
, James Thindwa
James Thindwa
James Thindwa is a community organizer in the Chicago, Illinois area. He heads Chicago Jobs with Justice where he organizes for workers rights.He was born to Malawian parents in Zimbabwe...
, Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, Joan Walsh
Joan Walsh
Joan Maureen Walsh is a liberal editor, writer, and blogger. Since February 2005 she has been the editor-in-chief of Salon.com, a San Francisco-based American liberal politics and culture Web site. She joined Salon as its first full-time news editor in 1998, and became managing editor in 2004...
, Fred Weir
Fred Weir
Fred Weir is a Canadian journalist who lives in Moscow and specializes in Russian affairs. He is a Moscow correspondent for the Boston-based daily The Christian Science Monitor, and for the monthly Chicago magazine In These Times. He has been a regular contributor from Moscow to The Independent,...
, Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
, G. Pascal Zachary, and Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
.
Layout
Each In These Times issue includes Frontline, Features, Views, and Culture sections.- The Frontline department consists of several recent news items. A hallmark of Frontline is the Apall-o-meter which highlights particularly ironic or astonishing news quirks.
- The Features section is made up of several longer pieces, including the cover story, and analyses.
- The Views department consists of three to four opinion columns.
- The Culture portion of the magazine features book, film, theatre and music reviews. Other elements of popular culture such as television programming, and fashion are critically examined in this section.
Most In These Times issues run political cartoons from Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins. His weekly comic strip This Modern World, which comments on current events, appears regularly in over 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada as of 2006, as well as on CREDO Action and Daily Kos, where he is its comics curator...
or Terry Laban
Terry LaBan
Terry LaBan is an alternative/underground cartoonist and newspaper comic strip artist. He is probably best known for his comic book series Cud, and his syndicated strip Edge City....
.
The magazine's tagline has evolved over the years from "The Independent Socialist Newspaper" in 1976, to "The Alternative News Magazine" in the early 1990s, to "With liberty and justice for all..." today.
The ITT List
The ITT List is a blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
by the editors and staff of the magazine. It is frequently updated with small news stories
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
which are not published in the print
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
edition.
External links
- In These Times website - A portion of ITT content is available free of charge on their website, yearly subscriptions are available for the full print edition
- The ITT List - A weblog from the editors and staff of ITT magazine
- Fire on the Prairie - A podcastPodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
(active 2003-2006) with interviews and speeches from progressive leaders