Curriculum Vitae
Biography
S.T. VanAirsdale is Professional Journalist in Residence at Sacramento State University, where he advises the student-run State Hornet news organization. He is also a contributor and former Senior Editor at Sactown Magazine.
He was born and raised in Sacramento, California, where he undertook writing and reporting as an undergraduate at the California State University. After making his way east, he acquired a M.A. in journalism at New York University and covered the movie beat for indieWIRE and the New York Daily News.
In 2005, while still at NYU, VanAirsdale launched The Reeler, a Web site 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. By 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 on film 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 covered the 2007-08 Oscar race for Vanity Fair‘s awards-season blog Little Gold Men and has also been a guest commentator for CNN, A&E Biography and ABC Radio.
He has also reported and written extensively about gun violence in America for Sactown and The Awl.
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.
VanAirsdale presently resides in Sacramento and can be reached here.