Overview

The New Yorker is an American magazine celebrated for its blend of reportage, criticism, short fiction and single-panel cartoons. Although its name evokes New York City, the magazine has a national and international readership. It is widely recognized for long-form journalism, cultural commentary, a tradition of distinctive covers and a steady presence in literary publishing.

Founding and early history

Harold Ross founded the publication and released the first issue on February 17, 1925. From its start the magazine aimed at a metropolitan, literate audience and developed a reputation for a refined editorial voice. Over the decades it has been associated with a number of influential editors and contributors and is published today as part of a larger media group.

Editorial practice and fact checking

A defining feature of the magazine is a rigorous editorial process. Stories typically undergo extensive editing and a formal fact-checking review intended to catch inaccuracies, clarify sourcing and ensure precise attribution. The magazine maintains submission and publishing guidelines and archival records that researchers and contributors consult for background and policy, including official publishing information available through its resources here.

Format, frequency and circulation

Originally a weekly, the publication schedule has evolved; the magazine currently appears roughly forty-seven times a year, combining regular and double-length issues. Circulation has varied; for example, in 2004 the magazine reported about 996,000 subscribers, illustrating its broad reach beyond the city that inspired its name.

Cartoons, covers and departments

Single-panel cartoons are a cultural hallmark, often pairing a spare drawing with a dry caption. Covers, frequently illustrated, comment on politics, society and art and are themselves collected and discussed outside the pages of the magazine. Regular departments include profiles, criticism, humor pieces, and short social commentary that balance journalistic reporting with literary tone.

Fiction, essays and notable contributors

The New Yorker has long been an important venue for short fiction and personal essays. It helped introduce or sustain the careers of many writers. Contributors have included J. D. Salinger, Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike and E. B. White. The magazine has also published landmark works such as John Hersey’s extended account of the bombing of Hiroshima and Shirley Jackson’s short story "The Lottery," both of which drew intense public attention and discussion.

Digital expansion and audio

In recent years the magazine has extended its presence online with a website that offers selected articles, searchable archives and subscriber-only material. It produces audio programs and podcasts that present articles and original reporting in spoken form, broadening access and adapting long-form journalism to new listening formats.

Influence, criticism and cultural role

The New Yorker’s influence spans journalism, literature and popular culture. Its investigative pieces and profiles often set broader conversations in motion, while its fiction pages are closely watched by readers and critics. Like any longstanding cultural institution, it has been the subject of debate and criticism over editorial decisions, representation and the balance between literary ambition and journalistic practice.

Research and archives

Back issues and digital archives make the magazine a resource for historians, critics and students of literature and journalism. Libraries and researchers consult indices and contributor lists to study trends in style, subject matter and the magazine’s role in 20th- and 21st-century cultural life. For further orientation, readers often begin with a general overview and the magazine’s own historical timelines and contributor pages available through its information services overview and publishing information.

Where to learn more

  • Historical context: founding, early editors and changes in format.
  • Content types: investigative reporting, criticism, fiction and cartoons.
  • Notable pieces: memorable essays and stories that shaped public conversation.
  • Access: print subscriptions, digital archives and audio editions.

Readers seeking specific works, author bibliographies or information about submissions will find curated pages and contributor indexes useful; individual author pages and retrospective essays provide further detail on figures such as Salinger, Nabokov, Updike and E. B. White, and institutional timelines cite circulation milestones like the figure reported in 2004.