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| The A.V. Club | |
|---|---|
| Name | The A.V. Club |
| Type | Entertainment news and reviews website |
| Founded | 1993 (print), 1997 (online) |
| Owner | G/O Media (as of 2019) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Language | English |
The A.V. Club is an American online publication covering film, television, music, books, theater, comics, and games. It grew out of a college newspaper insert and expanded into a nationally distributed entertainment section, later transitioning to a standalone digital presence that intersected with outlets such as The Onion, Gawker Media, Vox Media, Hearst Communications, and Bustle Digital Group. The site combined longform criticism, reviews, interviews, and pop-culture commentary aimed at readers interested in both mainstream works like Star Wars, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Game of Thrones and cult or niche properties such as Twin Peaks, David Lynch, and Cult television phenomena.
The A.V. Club originated as an entertainment section in the 1990s associated with the satirical weekly The Onion; its founders drew inspiration from print features in publications such as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and Spin (magazine). During the late 1990s and early 2000s the franchise expanded alongside the growth of websites like IMDb, Pitchfork, and Metacritic, establishing regular columns and syndicated content. The site weathered shifts in digital media ownership, aligning at times with networks including The Onion, Inc., and later became part of a portfolio managed by G/O Media after an acquisition that involved properties formerly held by Gizmodo Media Group and Fusion Media Group. Throughout the 2010s it responded to industry changes driven by platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and faced newsroom reorganizations paralleling trends in outlets like Vox, BuzzFeed, and HuffPost.
The A.V. Club published recurring features balancing criticism and cultural criticism: episodic television recaps and reviews in the vein of coverage for Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and The Wire; film criticism engaging with auteurs like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Wes Anderson; music coverage profiling artists from Beyoncé, Radiohead, and Kendrick Lamar to underground acts linked to Sub Pop and Matador Records. The site maintained critics' picks, "A.V. Club" style thinkpieces on franchises including Star Trek and Doctor Who, and columns exploring pop-cultural artifacts comparable to pieces in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Slate (magazine). It also featured interviews with creators such as Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge; thinkpieces on streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video; and coverage of conventions including San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con. Interactive offerings included listicles, "best of" polls akin to outlets like Rolling Stone (list), and multimedia content with ties to Vimeo and SoundCloud.
Contributors to the site included established critics, freelance journalists, and cultural commentators who also wrote for publications such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Variety. Notable bylines overlapped with critics and writers who had appeared on programs or networks like NPR, PBS, and BBC Radio 4, and collaborated with podcasters connected to Maximum Fun and WNYC Studios. Editorial staff often contained editors with experience at legacy outlets including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork Media, and freelancers who contributed to outlets such as Vice Media, Complex (magazine), and Esquire.
The A.V. Club emphasized critical standards informed by practices in established media: review embargoes and advance screenings comparable to arrangements involving studios like Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studios, and Universal Pictures; guidelines for conflict-of-interest and disclosure reflecting norms used by institutions such as Pulitzer Prize-house publications; and rating systems for albums, films, and episodes resembling methodologies found at Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Editorially, pieces ranged from opinionated reviews to reported features on creators tied to festivals like Sundance Film Festival and awards such as the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. The outlet adopted attribution norms consistent with journalism standards promoted by organizations like the Society of Professional Journalists.
Critically, the site earned recognition from peers and readers for thoughtful commentary on mainstream and niche culture, drawing comparisons to longform criticism in The New Yorker, the accessibility of Entertainment Weekly, and the music focus of Pitchfork. Its television recaps and features influenced fan discourse around series such as Stranger Things, The Crown, and Mad Men, and its essays on internet culture intersected with coverage from Wired, The Verge, and Slate (magazine). The A.V. Club's influence extended into academia and media studies syllabi alongside texts by scholars associated with Cornell University Press and Routledge, and its pieces were cited in discussions at institutions like Columbia University and UCLA.
The site's ownership history reflected consolidation trends in digital media: initial ties to The Onion transitioned through sales and reorganizations that implicated entities such as Great Hill Partners, Gannett, and Private equity investors; later management by G/O Media placed it in a portfolio with sites resembling Deadspin, Jezebel, and Jalopnik. Revenue streams combined advertising, sponsored content partnerships with brands and platforms like Spotify and Amazon (company), and affiliate arrangements similar to those used by Pitchfork and Variety. The business model also incorporated subscription and membership experiments influenced by models at The Washington Post, The New York Times Company, and The Guardian.
Category:American entertainment websites