Wonkette is a
politicalPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
satireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
and
gossipGossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted...
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
that details the goings-on of the political
establishmentThe Establishment is a term used to refer to the traditional ruling class elite and the structures of society that they control. The term can be used to describe specific entrenched elite structures in specific institutions, but is usually informal in application...
in Washington, DC and the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
generally. It posts multiple times daily, Monday through Friday, with limited weekend posting.
Taking a
sarcasticSarcasm is a form of humor that uses sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule, generally saying the opposite of what the statement really is.-Origin of the term:...
tone, the site focuses heavily on humorous breaking news, rumors, and the downfall of the powerful. It also deals with serious matters of politics and policy.
Wonkette is a
politicalPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
satireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
and
gossipGossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted...
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
that details the goings-on of the political
establishmentThe Establishment is a term used to refer to the traditional ruling class elite and the structures of society that they control. The term can be used to describe specific entrenched elite structures in specific institutions, but is usually informal in application...
in Washington, DC and the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
generally. It posts multiple times daily, Monday through Friday, with limited weekend posting.
Taking a
sarcasticSarcasm is a form of humor that uses sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule, generally saying the opposite of what the statement really is.-Origin of the term:...
tone, the site focuses heavily on humorous breaking news, rumors, and the downfall of the powerful. It also deals with serious matters of politics and policy. While liberal in outlook, the site is critical of
RepublicansThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
,
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
and
IndependentsIn politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses...
.
The name of the site is a
playFor the rapper see WordplayWord play is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work. Puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling character names are common...
on the
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
word
wonk, meaning a 'zealous student of political policy'.
Launch and history
Wonkette was established in January 2004 as part of the
Gawker MediaGawker Media is an online media company founded and owned by Nick Denton based in New York City. It is considered to be one of the most visible and successful blog-oriented media companies. As of January 2009, it is the parent company for 10 different weblogs, including Gawker.com, Defamer,...
network. Its founding
editorEditing is the process of selecting and preparing language, images, sound, video, or film through processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications in various media...
was
Ana Marie CoxAna Marie Cox is an American author and blogger. She is the founding editor of the political blog Wonkette and is widely considered synonymous with the title. She is Washington editor of the Time magazine web site and previously held the same position at the defunct Radar Magazine.-Personal...
, a former editor at
suck.comSuck.com was one of the earliest ad-supported content sites on the Internet. It featured daily editorial content on a wide variety of topics, including politics and pop-culture and was targeted at Generation X...
. Under her tenure, Wonkette became known for its sharp, sarcastic, intelligent voice, and for its mixture of heady political discourse with repeated references to
ginGin is a spirit flavoured primarily with juniper berries. Distilled gin is made by redistilling white grain spirit which has been flavoured with juniper berries. Compound gin is made by flavouring neutral grain spirit with juniper berries without redistilling.The most common style of gin,...
and
anal sexAnal sex most often refers to the sex act involving insertion of the penis into the anus. The term anal sex can also sometimes include other sexual acts involving the anus, including Anal–oral sex and fingering...
.
Cox rapidly established a large reading audience and media notice for the site. The blog gained further national media attention after Cox publicized the story of
Jessica CutlerJessica Louise Cutler is a blogger, an author, and former congressional staff assistant who was fired for detailing her active sexual life, including receiving money for having sex, in her blog.-Washingtonienne:...
aka "Washingtonienne", a former
HillThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
staffer who blogged about her
affairAffair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romatic affair.-Political affair:...
with a member of former Senator
Mike DeWineRichard Michael "Mike" DeWine is a former two-term Republican senator from Ohio, serving from 1995 to 2007.Born in Springfield, Ohio, to Jean and Richard L. DeWine, DeWine lives in Cedarville but grew up in neighboring Yellow Springs, Ohio...
's staff.
Cox announced her resignation as Wonkette's editor on January 5, 2006 in order to promote her book,
Dog Days.
Changes in personnel
Cox was succeeded on Wonkette by
David LatDavid B. Lat is an American blogger and a former federal prosecutor. He wrote under the pseudonym Article III Groupie, pretending to be a woman, for the judicial gossip blog Underneath Their Robes, until he revealed his identity in a November 2005 interview with Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker. ...
, the author of Underneath Their Robes, a blog about the federal judiciary, and Alex Pareene, a young
New York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
student and Gawker intern/guest editor in New York who moved to DC for the Wonkette position. (Pareene has since become the day editor of Gawker.)
In June 2006, Lat announced his decision to leave Wonkette. His slot was to be filled by guest editors until August 2006, when Gawker blogger Ken Layne joined as permanent guest editor. Layne became West Coast bureau editor officially before the November midterm elections. Wonkette reached its highest pre-2008 traffic during the midterm elections due to scandal coverage of
Mark FoleyMark Adam Foley is an American real estate agent who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida....
and other incumbents involved in corruption, sex-abuse and bribery scandals.
In October 2007, Pareene announced that he would be leaving the site in order to work for
Gawker MediaGawker Media is an online media company founded and owned by Nick Denton based in New York City. It is considered to be one of the most visible and successful blog-oriented media companies. As of January 2009, it is the parent company for 10 different weblogs, including Gawker.com, Defamer,...
out of New York City and Layne left the site shortly afterwards as well. John Clarke, Jr. - formerly of the
New York Times and
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
- briefly took over as the site's editor mid-October, with Jim Newell, formerly of
IvyGate]IvyGate is a popular blog and online news source covering news and gossip from Ivy League universities.- History :IvyGate was founded in 2006 by Columbia University alumni Chris Beam and Nick Summers...
, and Megan Carpentier, formerly the anonymous author of the "Ask a Lobbyist" column, serving as associate editors. Layne returned as Wonkette's managing editor in January 2008.
Within weeks of his return, Layne replaced associate editor Megan Carpentier with Sara K. Smith, who marked her anniversary at the site in February 2009. Newell, Smith, Layne and videographer Liz Glover covered the Denver DNC and St. Paul RNC conventions for the site. Newell and columnist Josh Fruhlinger covered Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington.
Columns by Princess Sparkle Pony and the Comics Curmudgeon are regularly featured, along with video produced by Liz Glover. Guest editors include Reason Magazine editor
Nick GillespieNick Gillespie is the editor of Reason.com and Reason.tv and was the editor in chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008. He has written articles or been a commentator for many media outlets and edited an anthology, Choice: The Best of Reason.Gillespie's educational portfolio includes a B.A. in...
, Reason reporter David Weigel, Princess Sparkle Pony blogger Peter Huestis, DCeiver editor and Huffington Post writer Jason Linkins. Current interns include Juli Weiner, editor of Columbia's literary magazine
The Blue and WhiteThe Blue and White is a magazine written by undergraduates at Columbia University, New York City. Founded in 1890, the magazine has dedicated itself throughout its existence to providing students an outlet for intellectual and political discussion, literary publication, and general parody.-...
, and Malaka Gharib, a contributor to The Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera English and Brightest Young Things.
Present arrangements
On April 14, 2008
Gawker MediaGawker Media is an online media company founded and owned by Nick Denton based in New York City. It is considered to be one of the most visible and successful blog-oriented media companies. As of January 2009, it is the parent company for 10 different weblogs, including Gawker.com, Defamer,...
announced that it was selling Wonkette and that Layne would remain managing editor and part owner. Gawker Media head Nick Denton attributed the sale to "hunkering down" before another dot com downturn and the internet bubble bursts: "And, even if not, better safe than sorry; and better too early than too late..."
In addition to managing editor Ken Layne, Wonkette currently employs two associate editors: Jim Newell and Sara K. Smith. Under this group, the blog makes frequent targets of mainstream media outlets like
CNNCable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
, the
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...
and
PoliticoA politico or pol is a person involved in politics. The word comes from the Greek languageπολιτικός, where it means "politician".In the modern usage it refers to people involved in political behavior of any sort. For instance, the term is often used to describe people who have overly political...
, when they are perceived as missing opportunities for substantive political analysis by attempting to get "scoops" or simply covering the actions of others in the
mainstream mediaMainstream Media is considered by some to be a catch-all term that applies to all mass media outlets in the world. It is considered by others to be a catch-all term that applies to all mass media outlets that existed in the United States of America prior to 1987.Controversy exists over the meaning...
. Truck Nutz references became very popular during the 2008 Presidential Election, while following the election of Barack Obama, the site also began making frequent jokes at the expense of Tea Party Protesters, Birthers,
Peggy NoonanPeggy Noonan is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture, a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and was a primary speech writer and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan...
's weekly column and
Sarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician who served as Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 and was the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2008....
. It also launched Wonkabout, a D.C. culture guide, on February 12, 2009, which features a weekly brunch column by Brunch DC creator Michael Herman.
Awards and accomplishments
The Bloggies at SXSW selected Wonkette as Best Political Blog in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Wonkette was chosen as a top political blog by
Vanity FairVanity Fair is an American Hollywood magazine of pop culture, fashion, and politics published by Condé Nast Publications. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1981 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition...
and
Real SimpleReal Simple is a monthly women's interest magazine published by Time Inc.. Real Simple, which was launched by Time in 2000, features articles and information related to homekeeping, childcare, cooking and emotional wellbeing...
in 2008. Wonkette won the Best Liberal Blog category in the 2008
Weblog AwardsA Blog award is an award for the best blog in a given category. Some blog awards are based on a public vote and others are based on a fixed set of criteria applied by a panel of judges....
and is nominated in the humor, politics and group-blog categories in the 2009 Bloggies.