©️ Stu VanAirsdale / All rights reserved
Curriculum Vitae
Resume
Biography (Short)
Stu VanAirsdale is an award-winning writer, editor, media strategist and educator. He is the creator and host of the podcast What is California? as well as the former Professional Journalist in Residence at Sacramento State University, where he taught journalism and communications for a decade. He currently serves as the managing editor of Sactown Magazine.
Stu is a former senior editor with Gawker Media, Penske Media Company, and Sactown Magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Slate, Bloomberg Businessweek, and numerous other national publications.
His students are three-time winners of (and six-time nominees for) the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award, regarded as the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism. Stu received the 2021 Educator of the Year Award (University Division) from California Journalism & Media Affiliates.
Biography (Extended)
Stu VanAirsdale is a writer, editor, media strategist and educator. He currently serves as the managing editor of Sactown Magazine.
He is the founder of the strategy and consulting firm Storywise Media, as well as the creator and host of the podcast What is California? He is the former Professional Journalist in Residence at Sacramento State University, where he taught journalism and communications for a decade and advised the student-run State Hornet news organization from 2015-22.
He was born and raised in Sacramento, where he studied journalism as an undergraduate at Sacramento State. He acquired a M.A. in journalism at New York University and covered the film and culture for indieWIRE and the New York Daily News.
In 2005, while still at NYU, VanAirsdale launched The Reeler, a website devoted to the city’s diverse film culture. With its irreverent analysis, in-depth reporting, diverse festival coverage and ensemble of talented contributors, The Reeler quickly became an essential read for movie lovers both in and out of New York. In 2007, The L Magazine named The Reeler the "Best One-Stop NYC Film Site" in its annual Best of New York issue.
In 2008 VanAirsdale joined Gawker Media, contributing interviews, commentary and breaking industry news as a Senior Editor at the Hollywood news blog Defamer. In 2009, VanAirsdale and his former Defamer comrades resurrected Movieline, a Web-based incarnation of the legendary ’90s movie magazine. He served as the site’s editor-in-chief from April 2010 through July 2012, during which time he introduced Movieline’s influential Oscar Index and internationally renowned Consider Uggie campaign.
VanAirsdale is a former columnist for Esquire.com, and his writings have also appeared at The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Awl, Slate and The Huffington Post among numerous other publications. He served as the inaugural blogger for Vanity Fair‘s awards-season site Little Gold Men and has also been a guest commentator for CNN, A&E Biography and ABC Radio. He is also a former Senior Editor at Sactown Magazine.
In October 2017, The State Hornet won a prestigious national Newsmaker Pacemaker Award from Associated College Press--the only state university in California so honored by ACP. The State Hornet competed as a Newspaper Pacemaker Award finalist in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, the year after discontinuing its print edition in favor of a 100% digital multimedia product, The State Hornet was recognized as a finalist for ACP’s inaugural Innovation Pacemaker award.
In 2021, The State Hornet won the Innovation Pacemaker Award and was recognized as a finalist for the Online Pacemaker Award. At the ACP/CMA National College Media Convention, StateHornet.com also won first-place Best in Show for websites among large four-year universities (over 10,000 students). In 2022, The State Hornet won the Online Pacemaker Award for excellence in digital media.
In March 2022, VanAirsdale was honored as Educator of the Year (University Division) by the organization California Journalism & Media Affiliates, which comprises members of the California News Publishers Association and California College Media Association, with support from the California Press Foundation.
In 2022, VanAirsdale founded Storywise Media, a full-service consulting firm supporting story-driven content strategy and audience relations for businesses, individuals, and officials.
VanAirsdale is available for full-time and part-time editorial projects, media consulting, workshops, and speaking engagements. He can be reached here.