The Reading Room

Vox

With 120 million monthly uniques, Washington-based news website Vox is a powerful voice in the new media landscape, along with the likes of BuzzFeed and Vice, which the New York Times describes collectively as “upstart companies.” Vox was co-founded just two years ago by liberal (at least by Washington standards) columnist Ezra Klein of the Washington Post who bought his colleague Melissa Bell on board, Slate’s Matt Yglesias and other established voices.

“Its mission is simple: Explain the news” runs the Vox slogan, as its coverage navigates politics, public policy, world affairs, pop culture, science, business, technology and sports, mostly with an American focus. So there is a lot on Clinton and Trump as the US election race hots up, analysis of why so many of this year’s Hollywood summer blockbusters underwhelmed at the box office, much probing of issues including race around the NFL and “listicles” galore –  11 facts about gun violence in the US, The 18 best TV shows airing right now, and so on.

You get a fair bit of analysis in crisply written copy that zings. There probably is something for everyone here. Design-wise the canary yellow accents look like someone is in love with their highlighter pen, but there is a sound principle behind it, best showcased on the “card stacks” pages where specific topics have various pages assigned to them and thoughtful explanations are duly given. For all those wishing to understand the emerging American mindset, Vox will continue to be a must-visit destination.

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