Utne Reader is a quarterly American magazine 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. "Utne" rhymes with the English word "chutney". 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. Eric 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 refocused on its original mission to reprint "the best of the alternative press". 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.
Every year, the magazine gives out its 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 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.
