The A.V. Club

The A.V. Club is an online newspaper[2] and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. The A.V. Club was created in 1993 as a supplement to its satirical parent publication, The Onion. While it was a part of The Onion's 1996 website launch, The A.V. Club had minimal presence on the website at that point.

The A.V. Club
TypePopular culture, entertainment, news, reviews, politics, progressive
FormatInternet
Owner(s)G/O Media
Editor-in-chiefScott Robson[1]
Founded1993 (1993)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Websiteavclub.com

A 2005 website redesign placed The A.V. Club in a more prominent position, allowing its online identity to grow. Unlike The Onion, The A.V. Club and other sites owned by G/O Media are not satirical.[3] The publication's name is a reference to audiovisual (AV) clubs typical of American high schools.[4]

History

In 1993, five years after the founding of The Onion, Stephen Thompson, a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, launched an entertainment section of the newspaper.

"A.V. Club" is for "audiovisual club."[5] In the United States in the late 20th century, many high schools would have clubs for students who wanted to use and learn about speakers, projectors, and other early video and audio equipment.

In 1996, both The Onion and The A.V. Club debuted on the Internet.[6] The A.V. Club was originally a subsection[7] of the main theonion.com domain name.

The supplement was moved to its own domain name, theavclub.com,[8] before the 2005 acquisition of the shorter avclub.com domain name.[9] The latter change coincided with a redesign that incorporated reader comments and blog content. In 2006, the website shifted its content model again to add content on a daily, rather than weekly, basis. Some contributors have become established as freelance writers and editors.

In December 2004, Stephen Thompson left his position as founding editor of The A.V. Club.[10]

According to Sean Mills, then-president of The Onion, the A.V. Club website first reached more than 1 million unique visitors in October 2007.[11] In late 2009, the website was reported to have received more than 1.4 million unique visitors and 75,000 comments per month.[12]

At its peak, the print version of The A.V. Club was available in 17 different cities.[13] Localized sections of the website were also maintained, with reviews and news relevant to specific cities. The print version and localized websites were gradually discontinued, and in December 2013, print publication ceased production in the last three markets.[14]

2012–2014 staff departures

On 13 December 2012, long-time writer and editor Keith Phipps, who oversaw the website after Stephen Thompson left, stepped down from his role as editor of The A.V. Club. He said, "Onion, Inc. and I have come to a mutual parting of the ways."[15][16][17]

On 2 April 2013, long-time film editor and critic Scott Tobias stepped down as film editor of The A.V. Club. He said via Twitter, "After 15 great years @theavclub, I step down as Film Editor next Friday."[18]

On 26 April 2013, long-time writers Nathan Rabin, Tasha Robinson, and Genevieve Koski announced they would also be leaving the website to begin work on a new project with Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps.[19] Koski also said that she would continue to write freelance articles.[20] Writer Noel Murray announced he would be joining their new project, but would also continue to contribute to The A.V. Club in a reduced capacity.[19] On 30 May 2013, those six writers were announced as becoming part of the senior staff of The Dissolve, a film website run by Pitchfork Media.[21]

In April and June 2014, senior staff writers Kyle Ryan, Sonia Saraiya, and Emily St. James[22] left the website for positions at Entertainment Weekly, Salon, and Vox Media, respectively.[23][24] In 2015, Ryan returned to Onion, Inc. for a position in development.[25] Following his departure from The Dissolve earlier that month, Nathan Rabin returned to write freelance for the A.V. Club website in May 2015.[26] He renewed his regular column "My World of Flops" Archived 6 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The Dissolve folded in July 2015.[27]

Television series

On 16 February 2017, The A.V. Club's editor-at-large, John Teti, posted an article on the website announcing the upcoming release of a television series, titled The A.V. Club, based on the website.[28] The series, hosted by Teti, began airing on Fusion on 16 March 2017 and ran for one season.[29] The series featured news, criticism, and discussions about various popular-culture topics and featured staff members from the website.

Move to Univision, then G/O Media

In January 2016, Univision Communications acquired "a 40 percent, controlling stake" in Onion Inc., the parent company of The A.V. Club.[30] Later that year, Univision also purchased Gawker Media and reorganized several of Gawker's sites into the new Gizmodo Media Group, a division of Fusion Media Group.[31]

In November 2017, due to the community's expanding membership and an increasing volume of original content, The A.V. Club offshoot website After Dark was switched from Disqus to a separate WordPress site and re-branded The Avocado. The site was subsequently migrated from Bulbs, an internal content management system developed by Onion Inc. to the Gawker-developed Kinja platform.[32][33] It deleted the comment section and audience reviews hosted on the previous site. In July 2018, Univision announced it was looking for a buyer for the entire Gizmodo Group.[34]

In April 2019, Gizmodo and The Onion were sold to private-equity firm Great Hill Partners, which combined them into a new company named G/O Media.[35] In July 2019, executive editor Laura M. Browning and managing editor Caitlin PenzeyMoog left.[36] In early 2020, former People magazine and Entertainment Weekly editor Patrick Gomez was named editor-in-chief, and it was announced that the site was opening a Los Angeles bureau.[37] In August 2021, Yahoo! Entertainment and E! Online alum Scott Robson joined to lead the team.[38]

Onion Inc. Union

In March 2018 the employees of the company announced they had unionized with the Writers Guild Of America, East.[39] The union comprises "all of the creative staffs at Onion Inc.: The A.V. Club, The Onion, ClickHole, The Takeout, Onion Labs, and Onion Inc.'s video and art departments."[40] (ClickHole was subsequently acquired by Cards Against Humanity in February 2020.[41]) The union was recognized on 20 April 2018[42] and reached a contract agreement with management on 20 December 2018.[42] The contract includes "annual pay increases, minimum pay grades, strong diversity and anti-harassment language, just cause, union security, editorial independence, intellectual property rights, and an end to permalancers."[43]

2022 closure of Chicago office and staff departures

On 18 January 2022, the union representing staff at the website announced that all seven staff members based in Chicago had taken severance as opposed to accepting a mandatory move of work location to Los Angeles.[44] This predominantly affected the senior staff of the site and comprised the managing editor, film editor, TV editor, associate editor, senior writer, assistant editor, and editorial coordinator.[45]

Controversy

On 9 December 2010, the website ComicsComicsMag revealed a capsule review for the book Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth had been fabricated. The book had not yet been published nor even completed by the authors.[46] After the review was removed, editor Keith Phipps posted an apology on the website, stating that the reporter assigned the review could not locate a copy of the book ("for obvious reasons"), so fabricated it.[47] Leonard Pierce, the author of the review, was terminated from his freelance role with the website.[48]

Books

Awards

In 2017, The A.V. Club won an Eisner Award for "Best Comics-related Periodical/Journalism" (for works published in 2016).[49] The award went to writers Oliver Sava, Caitlin Rosberg, Shea Hennum, and Tegan O'Neil. The award also went to editor Caitlin PenzeyMoog.[50]

A.V. Club year- and decade-end lists

Starting in 1999, only lists written by individual writers were published. Beginning in 2006, The A.V. Club began publishing website-consensus, year-end album and film rankings, together with lists created by individual writers. Additionally decade-end lists were published for the 2000s and 2010s.[51][52]

Annual rankings for television began in 2010.

Album of the Year
Year Artist Album Nation Source
2006The Hold SteadyBoys and Girls in America United States[53]
2007Arcade FireNeon Bible Canada[54]
2008TV on the RadioDear Science United States[55]
2009PhoenixWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix France[56]
2010Kanye WestMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy United States[57]
2011Wye OakCivilian United States[58]
2012Frank OceanChannel Orange United States[59]
2013Kanye WestYeezus United States[60]
2014Angel OlsenBurn Your Fire for No Witness United States[61]
2015Kendrick LamarTo Pimp a Butterfly United States[62]
2016David BowieBlackstar United Kingdom[63]
2017Kendrick LamarDAMN. United States[64]
2018Beach House7 United States[65]
2019FKA TwigsMagdalene United Kingdom[66]
2020Fiona AppleFetch the Bolt Cutters United States[67]
2021Japanese BreakfastJubilee United States[68]
2022BeyoncéRenaissance United States[69]

Film of the Year
Year Director Film Nation Source
2006Alfonso CuarónChildren of Men United States
 United Kingdom
 Mexico		[70]
2007Joel and Ethan CoenNo Country for Old Men United States[71]
2008Andrew StantonWALL-E United States[72]
2009Kathryn BigelowThe Hurt Locker United States
 Canada
 France		[73]
2010Debra GranikWinter's Bone United States[74]
2011Terrence MalickThe Tree of Life United States[75]
2012Paul Thomas AndersonThe Master United States[76]
2013Richard LinklaterBefore Midnight United States[77]
2014Richard LinklaterBoyhood United States[78]
2015George MillerMad Max: Fury Road Australia
 United States		[79]
2016Kenneth LonerganManchester by the Sea United States[80]
2017Sean BakerThe Florida Project United States[81]
2018Lee Chang-dongBurning South Korea[82]
2019Martin ScorseseThe Irishman United States[83]
2020Kelly ReichardtFirst Cow United States[84]
2021Wes AndersonThe French Dispatch United States[85]
2022Todd FieldTár United States[86]

Television Show of the Year
Year Show Network Nation Source
2010Breaking BadAMC United States[87]
2011LouieFX United States[88]
2012Breaking BadAMC United States[89]
2013EnlightenedHBO United States[90]
2014HannibalNBC United States[91]
2015Mad MenAMC United States[92]
2016The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime StoryFX United States[93]
2017The Good PlaceNBC United States[94]
2018The AmericansFX United States[95]
2019FleabagAmazon Prime Video United Kingdom[96]
2020I May Destroy YouHBO United Kingdom[97]
2021SuccessionHBO United States[98]
2022The BearHulu United States[99]

References
  1. "MG/O Media Announces New Editors In Chief Of AV Club, Gizmodo, Jezebel". Cision. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. Castillo, Jay (14 December 2017). "This Photo Is The Perfect Example Of What Internet Will Look Like If Net Neutrality Loses". Inquisitr. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. "About Us". The A.V. Club. 1 January 1988. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. "About Us". The A.V. Club. 1 January 1988. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. "About Us". The A.V. Club. 1 January 1988. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. "The Onion: America's Finest News Source". The Onion. 19 December 1996. Archived from the original on 31 December 1996. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  7. "The ONION, Number One in News". 19 December 1996. Archived from the original on 19 December 1996. Retrieved 19 July 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. "The Onion's A.V. Club | the Internet's Only Entertainment Guide". 30 September 2001. Archived from the original on 27 November 1999. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  9. "Home | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. 6 August 2005. Archived from the original on 6 August 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. "Bio for Stephen Thompson, Editor, NPR Music". NPR. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  11. David Shankbone (24 November 2007). "An interview with 'America's Finest News Source'", Wikinews
  12. Johnson, Steve (27 October 2009). "Onion's A.V. Club is building up its brand". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  13. Gilmer, Marcus (8 November 2013). "The Onion bids adieu to print". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  14. Ryan, Kyle (8 November 2013). "The Onion & A.V. Club ending print publication next month". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  15. Goodybyes & Hellos Untitled Keith Phipps Project, 13 December 2012
  16. Keith Phipps is no longer editor of The A.V. Club The A.V. Club, 14 December 2012
  17. Editor Keith Phipps Leaves The A.V. Club Criticwire, 13 December 2012
  18. "Scott Tobias Leaves A.V. Club, Site Looking For a New Film Editor", Criticwire, 2 April 2013
  19. An Update from The A.V. Club The A.V. Club 26 April 2013
  20. Genevieve Koski [@GenevieveKoski] (26 April 2013). "To clarify: I'll still contribute as a freelancer whenever I can, but I am no longer an editor. So you can't blame me for mistakes anymore!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. "Introducing The Dissolve, A New Film Site". Pitchfork. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  22. St. James, Emily (3 June 2019). "On coming out as trans in Donald Trump's America". Vox. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  23. Adams, Sam (9 June 2014). "A.V. Club Exodus Continues as Todd VanDerWerff Becomes Vox's First Culture Editor". Indiewire. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  24. Bazilian, Emma (21 April 2014). "Matt Bean staffs up at Entertainment Weekly". Adweek. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  25. Ryan, Kyle (16 March 2015). "I know it might sound strange, but I believe you'll be coming back before too long". CMYKyle: Kyle Ryan's Shameless Self-Promotion. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  26. Rabin, Nathan (25 August 2015). "Nathan Rabin • The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  27. Phipps, Keith (8 July 2015). "The End". The Dissolve. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  28. Teti, John (16 February 2017). "The A.V. Club will soon exist in TV show form". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  29. Hughes, William (15 March 2017). "The A.V. Club TV show debuts tomorrow night, on Fusion". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  30. Folkenflik, David (19 January 2016). "Area Satirical Publication The Onion Sold To Univision (Seriously)". NPR.
  31. Villafañe, Veronica (22 September 2016). "Univision Rebrands Gawker Media As Gizmodo Media Group; Starts Translating Content For Univision.com". Forbes.
  32. Mullin, Benjamin (16 June 2017). "Kinja, the publishing system at the heart of Gawker, lives on under Univision". Poynter.
  33. Laura M. Browning and Sean O'Neal (23 August 2017). "Welcome (back) to The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club.
  34. "Hi, we're the A.V. Club, and we're for sale". 10 July 2018.
  35. Hayes, Dade (8 April 2019). "Univision Finalizes Sale Of Former Gawker Portfolio And The Onion To Private Equity Firm Great Hill Partners". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  36. Hays, Kali (26 July 2019). "The Media Carousel: A roundup of who's been hired, fired or maybe just jumped ship in media land recently". Women's Wear Daily. PMC. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  37. "Patrick Gomez Named Editor-in-Chief, The A.V. Club, Reid To BDG Fashion Director". mediapost.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  38. Media, G/O. "G/O Media Announces New Editors In Chief Of AV Club, Gizmodo, Jezebel". prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  39. "Staff of the satire website The Onion has unionized". AP NEWS. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  40. Club, The A. V. (29 March 2018). "Onion Inc. has unionized". News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  41. "Cards Against Humanity Bought Clickhole". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  42. Onion Inc Union [@OnionIncUnion] (20 December 2018). "We're proud to announce that the Onion Inc Union has a contract! We voted unanimously to ratify our first contract as a union under @wgaeast. We're incredibly happy. t.co/YufzA6KpIk" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  43. "Onion Inc. Ratifies First Contract with the Writers Guild of America, East | Press Room". Writers Guild of America, East. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  44. Onion Inc Union [@OnionIncUnion] (18 January 2022). "UPDATE: The seven A.V. Club workers in Chicago have decided to take their union-contract-protected severances rather than move to L.A. without a cost-of-living adjustment. A statement from the union (1/X): t.co/IOUwuR0TWn" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  45. Onion Inc Union [@OnionIncUnion] (18 January 2022). "The A.V. Club will be losing its managing editor, film editor, TV editor, associate editor, senior writer, assistant editor, and editorial coordinator. These workers oversee the site's film, TV, music, comics, and books coverage, and are essential to its daily operations. 5/X" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  46. "The Most Amazing Review of the Year". Comics Comics. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  47. "An apology from The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  48. Kaufman, Rachel. "AV Club Writer Loses Gig After Faking Review". Adweek. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  49. "Awards: 2010-Present". Comic-Con. San Diego Comic Convention. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  50. Rife, Katie (22 July 2017). "Holy crap, The A.V. Club won an Eisner Award". The A.V. Club. Onion Inc. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  51. "Best Of 2010 S – Pop culture news, movie, TV, music and gaming reviews". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  52. "The best films of the '00s". The A.V. Club. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  53. Bahn, Christopher (19 December 2006). "Best Music Of 2006  • Article  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  54. Bahn, Christopher (12 December 2007). "The best music of 2007  • Article  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  55. "The best music of 2008  • Article  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  56. "The top 25 albums of 2009  • Best of  • the A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  57. Heller, Jason (8 December 2010). "The best music of 2010  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  58. Eakin, Marah (6 December 2011). "The best music of 2011  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  59. "The best music of 2012  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  60. Adams, Erik (5 December 2013). "The 23 best albums of 2013  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  61. Anthony, David (8 December 2014). "The 20 best albums of 2014  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  62. "The 15 best albums of 2015". Avclub.com. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  63. "The A.V. Club's 20 best albums of 2016". Avclub.com. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  64. "The A.V. Club's 20 best albums of 2017". The A.V. Club. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  65. "The A.V. Club's 20 best albums of 2018". The A.V. Club. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  66. "The 20 best albums of 2019". The A.V. Club. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  67. "The 20 best albums of 2020". The A.V. Club. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  68. "The 20 best albums of 2021". The A.V. Club. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  69. "Here Are the 30 Best Albums of 2022". The A.V. Club. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  70. Murray, Noel (21 December 2006). "The Year In Film 2006  • Article  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  71. Murray, Noel (19 December 2007). "The Year In Film 2007  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  72. Murray, Noel; Phipps, Keith; Rabin, Nathan; Robinson, Tasha; Tobias, Scott (17 December 2008). "The year in film 2008  • Article  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  73. Murray, Noel (17 December 2009). "The year in film 2009  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  74. Murray, Noel (16 December 2010). "The best films of 2010  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  75. Adams, Sam (13 December 2011). "Best films of 2011  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  76. Adams, Sam (19 December 2012). "The best films of 2012  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  77. Adams, Sam (17 December 2013). "The best films of 2013  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  78. "The 20 best movies of 2014  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  79. "The 20 best films of 2015". Avclub.com. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  80. "The 20 best films of 2016". Avclub.com. 19 December 2015.
  81. "The 20 best films of 2017". Avclub.com. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  82. "The best films of 2018". The A.V. Club. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  83. "The best films of 2019". The A.V. Club. 16 December 2019.
  84. "The best films of 2020". The A.V. Club. 17 December 2020.
  85. "The best films of 2021". The A.V. Club. 21 December 2021.
  86. "The 30 best films of 2022 ranked, and don't try to fight us on this". The A.V. Club. 22 December 2022.
  87. Alston, Joshua (20 December 2010). "The 25 best television series of 2010  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  88. "Best TV of 2011  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  89. "The best TV of 2012  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  90. St. James, Emily (20 December 2013). "Enlightened was the best TV show of 2013  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  91. Adams, Erik (11 December 2014). "The best TV shows of 2014 (part 2)  • Best of  • The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  92. "The best TV of 2015, part 2". Avclub.com. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  93. "The best TV of 2016, part 2". Avclub.com. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  94. "The A.V. Club's 20 best TV shows of 2017". The A.V. Club. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  95. "The best TV of 2018". The A.V. Club. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  96. "The 25 best TV shows of 2019". The A.V. Club. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  97. "The 25 best TV shows of 2020". The A.V. Club. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  98. "The 25 best TV shows of 2021". The A.V. Club. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  99. "The 30 best TV shows of 2022". The A.V. Club. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.