{{Short description|American magazine (2008–2019)}} {{About|the magazine|the pacific standard time|Pacific Time Zone|the production company co-founded by Reese Witherspoon|Pacific Standard (company)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox magazine | image_file = | image_size = <!-- 220px --> | image_alt = | image_caption = | editor = Nicholas Jackson | editor_title = Editor-in-chief | frequency = Bimonthly | total_circulation = 110,332<ref>[http://www.bpaww.com/Bpaww_com/ProductManagement/PDFDisplay.aspx?statement_id=81394&pk=gm23rz2vq2jmymuschqfsytf BPA Worldwide]{{dead link|date=January 2018}}</ref> | circulation_year = June 2011 | category = Environment, solutions-driven journalism, social issues, health, public policy, economics, social science, education | company = The Social Justice Foundation | publisher = Sara Miller McCune | founded = {{Start date|2008}} | finaldate = {{end date|2019|08|16}}<br>(final online article)<!--- date of last online article, still posted at its active website as of 2024-02-21 ---> | country = United States | based = Santa Barbara, California | language = English | website = {{URL|https://psmag.com}} | issn = 1941-5672 }} '''''Pacific Standard''''', founded as '''''Miller–McCune''''', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was published by The Social Justice Foundation, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. On August 16, 2019, a week after its primary funder backed away, it posted its last new article.
==History== ''Miller–McCune'' was launched in 2008 by Sara Miller McCune, the founder and head of SAGE Publications. It was named one of the year's "hottest launches" by ''MIN'' magazine<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minonline.com/features/9098.html|title=min magazine 2008: Hottest Magazine Launches|date=November 10, 2008|access-date=November 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228232023/http://www.minonline.com/features/9098.html|archive-date=December 28, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and received the same honor from ''Library Journal'' the following year. It also received the 2008–2009 Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Outstanding Explanatory Journalism and the Utne Reader Independent Press Award 2009 for science/technology coverage. In 2010, ''Miller McCune'' was named by ''Folio'' magazine to the FOLIO: 40 list of publishing innovators: "At a time when print is becoming a secondary product for many publishers (in mindset if not revenue), ''Miller–McCune'' is succeeding with long-form journalism."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foliomag.com/2010/sarah-miller-mccune|title=Sara Miller McCune, founder, Miller McCune-Magazine|work=Foliomag.com|access-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref>
The magazine was created for opinion leaders, policymakers, and concerned citizens who are interested in developing solutions to some of the world's toughest social and environmental problems. Its target readers are "influentials" who read ''The Economist'', ''The Atlantic'', ''Mother Jones'', and ''Wired'', but former editor-in-chief Streshinsky differentiated ''Pacific Standard'' by focusing on the behavioral and social sciences.<ref name="mb-ps">{{cite news |url=https://www.mediabistro.com/go-freelance/how-to-pitch/how-to-pitch-pacific-standard/|title=How to Pitch: Pacific Standard}} Mediabistro, Retrieved July 23, 2014</ref> In an interview, Streshinsky said:
<blockquote>... we're also committed to producing old-fashioned, well-told, deeply reported magazine journalism on subjects and characters of national interest or curiosity—we just want to do it in a way that is especially steeped in the relevant research literature and intellectual context. We value great storytelling and cogent analysis as much as anyone else on the block. And we love "conceptual scoops"—the kind of piece that can powerfully, sharply, and accurately reframe the reader's understanding of an important, complex subject.<ref name="mb-ps"/> </blockquote>
In 2010, the magazine launched Miller–McCune LIVE, a special events program to bring articles to life through comprehensive debate featuring industry leaders. The first debate, on lobbying, took place in September in Washington, D.C. The second debate was held in New York City in November with panelists Sree Sreenivasan and Rachel Sklar, who dug into the effects of social media on "real life" and ways to humanize the Internet.
In-depth pieces include stories, such as "Native Environmentalism and the Alberta Oil Boom", "Global Warming: the Archaeological Frontier", "When Facebook Is Your Medical Record", and "Art and Alzheimer's: Another Way of Remembering", the story of Hilda Goldblatt Gorenstein (Hilgos), and the documentary ''I Remember Better When I Paint''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/art-and-alzheimers-another-way-of-remembering-25996/|title=Miller-McCune website|access-date=January 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122192129/http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/art-and-alzheimers-another-way-of-remembering-25996/|archive-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref>
===Transition to ''Pacific Standard''=== In April 2011, editor John Mecklin announced his resignation, citing "creative differences" among other reasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/129253/miller-mccune-editors-resignation-letter-i-will-be-a-thoughtful-guest-and-leave/|title=Miller–McCune editor's resignation letter: 'I will be a thoughtful guest and leave'|access-date=May 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522001212/http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/129253/miller-mccune-editors-resignation-letter-i-will-be-a-thoughtful-guest-and-leave/|archive-date=May 22, 2012|url-status=dead}} Poynter.org, Retrieved May 15, 2012</ref> On May 17, the organization announced that Maria Streshinsky, former managing editor of ''The Atlantic'' magazine, would become the editor-in-chief of the magazine.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.psmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/streshinsky-pr.pdf|title=Miller–McCune Names The Atlantic's Maria Streshinsky as Editor-in-Chief|access-date=May 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525222829/http://www.psmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/streshinsky-pr.pdf |archive-date=May 25, 2012|url-status=dead|work=Pacific Standard}}</ref>
In February 2012, Miller–McCune announced that the magazine's name would be changed to ''Pacific Standard'' as of the May–June 2012 edition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miller-mccune.com/media/announcing-our-new-name-39701/|title=Announcing Our New Name|date=February 17, 2012|access-date=2012-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221083326/http://www.miller-mccune.com/media/announcing-our-new-name-39701/|archive-date=2012-02-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a May 2012 interview, Streshinsky said that the publication's new name reflected its taking a "western" perspective: "We want to tell the nationally important stories that are coming out of this side of the country, and from the edges of the Pacific.... So many of the nation's biggest shifts have come from the West, and we want to showcase that."<ref name="jr-ps">{{cite news | last=Wihbey|first=John|url=http://journalistsresource.org/reference/research/research-chat-pacific-standard-editor-mariastreshinsky/|title=Research chat: ''Pacific Standard'' editor Maria Streshinsky}} ''Journalists Resource'', Retrieved May 15, 2012</ref>
{{As of|2014|January}}, the magazine enjoyed its largest website traffic month ever. It continues to get most of its funding from SAGE Publications, with much smaller amounts from subscription, newsstand, and website revenue.<ref>Sarah Laskow, [https://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/pacific_standard_mag.php?page=all "Meet the 6-year-old mag that just took the internet by storm"], ''Columbia Journalism Review'', January 28, 2014.</ref> In 2014, ''Pacific Standard'' was nominated for its first-ever National Magazine Award, presented by the American Society of Magazine Editors, in the category of General Excellence for Literature, Science and Politics Magazines.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.magazine.org/about-asme/pressroom/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2014-finalists-announced|title=National Magazine Awards 2014 Finalists Announced|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-date=March 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330020508/http://www.magazine.org/about-asme/pressroom/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2014-finalists-announced|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2015, digital director Nicholas Jackson was appointed editor-in-chief, and senior editor Ryan Jacobs was appointed deputy editor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/rd-recap-new-hires-at-elle-com-changes-at-pacific-standard/|title=RD Recap: New Hires at Elle.com; Changes at Pacific Standard|access-date=February 10, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> They quickly brought on creative director Taylor Le<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pubexec.com/article/pacific-standard-adds-two-masthead-taylor-le-named-creative-director-ted-scheinman-joins-senior-editor/all/|title=Pacific Standard Adds Two to Masthead: Taylor Le Named Creative Director; Ted Scheinman Joins as Senior Editor|newspaper=Publishing Executive|access-date=February 10, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> and executive editor Jennifer Sahn.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foliomag.com/people-move-29/|title=People on the Move - Folio|date=August 19, 2015|newspaper=Folio|access-date=February 10, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Jackson repositioned the magazine to tell "stories that matter," focusing most heavily on social and environmental justice.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://psmag.com/introducing-the-new-psmag-com-3309d91fcd6d#.kk4aoivq0|archive-date=2016-06-03|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160603100736/https://psmag.com/introducing%2Dthe%2Dnew%2Dpsmag%2Dcom%2D3309d91fcd6d#.kk4aoivq0|url-status=dead|title=Introducing the New PSmag.com|last=Jackson|first=Nicholas|date=April 5, 2016|newspaper=Pacific Standard|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref>
In 2017, the magazine was honored with its second National Magazine Award.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/mother-jones-wins-magazine-of-the-year-at-2017-ellies/|title=Mother Jones Wins Magazine of the Year at 2017 Ellies|access-date=February 10, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> Also in 2017, ''Pacific Standard''' nonprofit parent changed its name from the Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media, and Public Policy to The Social Justice Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Pacific Standard magazine now published by The Social Justice Foundation {{!}} SAGE Publications Inc| access-date = 2018-01-27| url = https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/pacificstandardmagazinepublishedbysocialjusticefoundation| date = 2017-09-06}}</ref>
===Demise=== Production of the print edition ceased in 2018 and it transitioned to an online-only format.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Jackson |first=Nicholas |title=The Next 10 Years of Pacific Standard |date=2018-09-27 |magazine=Pacific Standard |url=https://psmag.com/magazine/the-next-10-years-of-pacific-standard |access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref> On August 7, 2019, Nicholas Jackson, editor-in-chief, stated on Twitter that ''Pacific Standard'' was to close after its primary funder abruptly cut off all funding.<ref>{{cite tweet |number=1159185980902871041 |user=nbj914 |title=Today is an extremely difficult day |date=8 August 2019}}</ref> On August 16, 2019,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=How Much can Dietary Changes and Food Production Practices Help Mitigate Climate Change? |first=Kelley |last=Czajkaaug |date=2019-08-16 |magazine=Pacific Standard |url=https://psmag.com/environment/how-much-can-dietary-changes-and-food-production-practices-help-mitigate-climate-change |access-date=2024-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127032337/https://psmag.com/environment/how-much-can-dietary-changes-and-food-production-practices-help-mitigate-climate-change |archive-date=2024-01-27 |url-status=live}}</ref>''Pacific Standard'' posted its final new online story.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Latest |magazine=Pacific Standard |date=2024-02-21 |url=https://psmag.com/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111060944/https://psmag.com/ |archive-date=2024-01-11 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On June 2, 2020, the CEO of Grist Magazine, Inc, Brady Walkinshaw, announced that the company had bought the ''Pacific Standard'' and would be maintaining an online archive of the defunct magazines' articles.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Brady |last=Piñero Walkinshaw |author-link=Brady Walkinshaw |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Grist has acquired Pacific Standard |publisher=Grist Magazine, Inc. |url=https://grist.org/climate/grist-acquisition-pacific-standard/ |access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|35em}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://psmag.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States Category:Science and technology magazines published in the United States Category:Defunct magazines published in the United States Category:English-language magazines Category:Environmental magazines Category:Magazines established in 2008 Category:Magazines disestablished in 2018 Category:Magazines published in California