The Monkey Cage was a political science blog. Established in 2007, it was published by The Washington Post from 2013 through 2022. In 2023 it relaunched as the website Good Authority.
History
editThe blog was created in 2007 by a small group of academics, in a quest to get people interested in their political science research. It soon attracted writers, gained readers, and won awards[1]
In 2013, it entered into a three-year publishing deal with The Washington Post, which was renewed several times over the years.[1][2][3][4]
After leaving The Washington Post in 2022, the blog planned to relaunch as an independent site in 2023.[5] It has since relaunched as the website Good Authority.[6]
Purpose and contents
editThe blog was created in part to push back on political media coverage and policy discourse that ignored political science research.[1][7] The blog's contents have been described as a form of explainer-journalism,[7] as the blog primarily published short editorials by academic political scientists who summarized their political-science research or apply political science to current events. The blog also occasionally published pieces by scholars in related academic disciplines.[8][9]
Political scientist Erik Voeten was an editor on The Monkey Cage for some time.[10]
Recognition
editIn 2011, the blog won "Blog of the Year" by The Week magazine.[11]
The blog's content has been cited in numerous newspapers.[9] According to John M. Sides, the blog was visited by 719,000 people and viewed over 2 million times from November 2007 and December 2010.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "How academic blog 'Monkey Cage' became part of the mainstream media". Inside Higher Ed. January 18, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ Kafka, Alexander C. (January 10, 2016). "How the Monkey Cage Went Ape". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ Gold, Hadas (August 26, 2013). "Monkey Cage to Washington Post". POLITICO. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ "The Monkey Cage joins The Washington Post in a Wonkbloggy, 538ish deal". Nieman Lab. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ TMC Editorial Team (December 5, 2022). "A transition for TMC (The Monkey Cage): Moving on from The Washington Post". Washington Post. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "About". Good Authority. September 21, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ a b Nexon, Dan (July 11, 2021). "The Vision Thing: More on the New Duck". The Duck of Minerva. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ "About The Monkey Cage". The Washington Post. 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Sides, John (2011). "The Political Scientist as a Blogger". PS: Political Science & Politics. 44 (2): 267–271. doi:10.1017/S1049096511000060. ISSN 1537-5935. S2CID 154727650.
- ^ "Erik Voeten". Georgetown University. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ Farley, Robert (2013). "Complicating the Political Scientist as Blogger". PS: Political Science & Politics. 46 (2): 383–386. doi:10.1017/S1049096513000061. ISSN 1049-0965.