Vulture (magazine)

Vulture (magazine)
source
Title	Vulture
Frequency	Weekly
Category	Entertainment magazine
Company	New York Media
Firstdate	2006
Country	United States
Language	English

Vulture (magazine) is an American entertainment publication focused on popular culture, television, film, music, comedy, and celebrity journalism. Owned by New York Media, it originated as a section of a metropolitan weekly before expanding into a dedicated entertainment website and brand. Vulture has positioned itself at the intersection of mainstream entertainment coverage and long-form criticism, often covering works, creators, festivals, and institutions central to contemporary cultural conversation.

History

Vulture launched in 2006 under the umbrella of New York Magazine and New York Media, evolving from a pop-culture section into a standalone vertical; its development parallels the digital expansion of outlets such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety. Early editorial choices engaged subjects like Mad Men, The Sopranos, Gone Girl, The Office, Saturday Night Live, and The Sopranos alumni, aligning with critical discourse from outlets such as Slate, Salon, and The Guardian. Throughout the 2010s the site expanded coverage to include streaming services and franchises associated with Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu, mirroring shifts in distribution exemplified by shows like Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale, Transparent, and films related to Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars. Corporate strategy and editorial decisions were influenced by figures and institutions such as Nate Silver, Ben Smith, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, and ongoing media consolidation exemplified by Disney acquisitions and partnerships involving 21st Century Fox.

Editorial Content and Features

The magazine publishes reviews, interviews, think pieces, recaps, and listicles, covering creators and works including Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lena Dunham, Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes, Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Ava DuVernay, and franchises tied to James Bond, Batman, Superman, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games. Regular features examine festivals and markets such as Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and awards seasons centered on Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Cannes Film Festival prizes. Coverage often intersects with profiles of performers like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and directors tied to studios including Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures. Vulture also curates timeline features and episode guides for series such as Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Crown, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Friends, Twin Peaks, and The X-Files.

Contributors and Staff

The site has employed critics, writers, and editors who have worked across media institutions including The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Pitchfork, GQ, Esquire, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Gawker. Notable contributors and alumni include critics and journalists who have written about television, film, music, and comedy connected to figures such as Alan Sepinwall, Dana Stevens, Ruthie Fierberg, Jesse David Fox, Emily Nussbaum, Ken Tucker, Maureen Ryan, and editors who previously worked at Slate, The Village Voice, and Mother Jones. The staff’s reporting has intersected with publicists, agents, and institutions including CAA, WME, UTA, ICM Partners, and major production companies like A24, Plan B Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, and Bad Robot Productions.

Reception and Influence

Critical reception positions the publication alongside legacy and online outlets such as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, Vox, The Ringer, BuzzFeed, Vulture’s peers, and peer criticism that shapes discourse around programs like The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Fleabag, Atlanta, and films from auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson. Its influence is visible in pickup of cultural analysis by trade outlets including Deadline Hollywood, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, and in citations across academic and fan communities examining seriality, fandom, and auteurship with references to scholars and events like Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and university film programs at Yale University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Columbia University.

Digital Presence and Multimedia

Vulture expanded into podcasts, video interviews, and multimedia essays, producing content that engages talents and programs such as John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Pod Save America-era hosts, and serialized podcast retrospectives about series like Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, and Game of Thrones. Its social media outreach interacts with platforms and personalities on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and podcast networks like NPR affiliates and independent producers, often coordinating coverage around premiers tied to Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and release windows established by studios such as Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Awards and Recognition

The publication and its writers have been recognized in industry contexts including nominations and citations in awards bodies and journalism competitions alongside honors associated with Pulitzer Prize-caliber institutions, fellowships connected to PEN America, and critic circles like the National Society of Film Critics and Broadcast Film Critics Association. Individual pieces and critics have been listed in year-end "best of" compilations by outlets such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic.

Category:American entertainment websites Category:Magazines established in 2006