On Darwin Day, Atheists Get A New News Website, But Will It Evolve Into A Must-Read?

There’s a new media outlet in town, and if it’s successful, it just might put you in a state of disbelief.

Coinciding with the birth of Charles Darwin, or Darwin Day, the American Humanist Association (AHA) on Wednesday announced the launch of TheHumanist.com. The effort, the group says, will focus on daily original reporting and commentary on issues concerning a “growing godless view.” Described as a “media hub,” the site is aiming to be a resource for secular-minded news consumers in search of news and information not tainted by theology.

To some on the right, that description may sound no different than the New York Times, but based on a cursory look, TheHumanist.com is decidedly more single-minded. And so far, the authors of its inaugural pieces are having no problem staying on topic. Headlines include “Do Creationist Textbook Writers Have Borderline Personality Disorder?” and “‘Under God’ Makes a Mockery of Religious Freedom,” to name a few. One article looks at “The Religious Disneyfication of the Harlem Renaissance.”

At the same time, the writing is focused and decisive, even if much of it has an echo-chambery feel. No stranger to media endeavors, the nonprofit AHA already publishes a bimonthly print magazine, The Humanist. Its editor, Jennifer Bardi, also serves as a senior editor for the new website. In a statement she said the website will “provide fresh news and lively commentary from a humanist perspective on a wide range of political and cultural issues.”

Maggie Ardiente, another senior editor (as well as AHA’s communications director) added that the website is an effort to serve “[m]illions of humanists and atheists [who] are absorbing information about the secular movement through the Internet.”

The young website is sparse at present and currently has no noticeable advertising. It’s unclear how, or if, the new outlet will generate revenue for the AHA. In 2012, The Humanist magazine generated more than $82,000 for the organization, according to AHA’s form 990. The AHA had total revenue of about $2.1 million that year.

Only time will tell if the new outlet will distinguish itself amid the primordial ooze that is online media. Check it out and decide for yourself, here. And Happy Darwin Day.

Got a news tip? Email me. Follow me on Twitter @christopherzara.