Tone Madison is an independent website covering culture and politics in Madison.
Our focus is on journalism that treats culture in Madison as the complex subject it is—not as fodder for promotional fluff. We champion things we love, but we also ask annoying questions and throw the occasional brick.
In August 2018, Tone Madison formed a partnership with the Madison-based arts nonprofit Communication. We operate as an autonomous entity under Communication’s umbrella. Communication acts as a fiscal receiver for Tone Madison, and our two organizations share office space and collaborate on some programming. Communication’s board and staff are not involved in Tone Madison’s editorial decision-making.
Reader support: Recurring donations From Tone Madison Sustainers and one-time donations help us cover our costs and pay our contributors for their time and effort.
Sponsorship policy: Sponsorships from businesses and organizations also provide revenue for Tone Madison. Sponsor displays on our website are clearly delineated and not disguised as stories. Sponsors may choose to underwrite a particular story or project, but we do not run “branded” or “native” content. Sponsors do not purchase influence over our editorial decisions.
Other disclosures and ethics policy: Many of our contributors are in bands or otherwise participate in the communities we cover. Tone Madison also puts on events involving local venues and performers. We do our best to be transparent and fair about any potential conflicts of interest. We expect all of our contributors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and to put the interests of our audience above all.
Publisher: Scott Gordon
News and Politics Editor: Christina Lieffring
Film Editor: Grant Phipps
Music Editor: Steven Spoerl
Fundraising and Finance Director: Micaela Magel
Contributors past and present: Luis Acosta Jr., Ian Adcock, Hannah Keziah Agustin, Alisyn Amant, Kailee Andrews, Rodlyn-Mae Banting, Mary Dahlman Begley, Kai Brito, Dylan Brogan, Jane Burns, Kai Brito, Nate Carlin, JT Cestkowski, Will Cioci, Trish Connelly, Maxwell Courtright, Ashlie Crooks, Jamie Dawson, Sasha Debevec-McKenney, Maggie Denman, Liz DiNovella, Rachal Duggan, Emili Earhart, Marc Eisen, Frank Emspak, Sarah Jennings Evans, Dan Fitch, Jason Fuhrman, Jenie Gao, Andrea Gonzales-Paul, Russell Emerson Hall, Andrew Hanson, Edwanike Harbour, Sam Harrington, Jess Haven, Alice Herman, Jess Horn, Jane Houseal, Katie Hutchinson, Maija Inveiss, Bob Jacobson, Hanna Kohn, Kristian Knutsen, James Kreul, Reid Kurkerewicz, Rodney Lambright II, Emilio Leanza, Christina Lieffring, Dayna Long, TL Luke, Rob Lundberg, Oona Mackesey-Green, Holly Marley-Henschen, Bianca Martin, Frankie Mastrangelo, John McCracken, Emily Mills, Andy Moore, Erica Motz, Andrew Mulhearn, Ben Munson, Molly Nagappala, Jill Nagler, Jeremy Nealis, C Nelson-Lifson, nipinet, Mike Noto, Lauden Nute, Caleb Oakley, Elizabeth Marie Lang Oreamuno, Neal Patten, Michael Penn II, Lewis Peterson, Grant Phipps, Chali Pittman, Adam Powell, Jesse Raub, Kay Reynolds, Katie Richards, Catie Rutledge, Kailea Saplan, Mia Sato, Sami Schalk, Phoebe Schlough, Daniel Seeger, Kavin Senapathy, Andrew Sernatinger, Joel Shanahan, Sannidhi Shukla, Shaysa Sidebottom, Steven Slack, Henry Solotaroff-Webber, Shaun Soman, Loren Sommer, Abe Sorber, Hayley Sperling, Steven Spoerl, Zack Stafford, M.Rose Sweetnam, Alan Talaga, Owen Tuohy, Francisco Velazquez, Howard Veregin, Claire Warhus, Tom Whitcomb, Olivia Williams, Andrew Winistorfer, Sarah Witman, David Wolinsky, Evan Woodward
Our logo was created by Madison-based designer Shelby Floyd.
Feedback: We don’t have comments on our website but love to talk with our readers on our Facebook page, on Twitter, and via email.
Pitching us: If you’re a writer, audio producer, videographer, photographer, or illustrator who shares our vision, send story ideas to [email protected], but read our pitch guidelines first. We also accept pitches for guest columns for members of the Madison community with something to say about cultural issues.
Asking us to write about your stuff: We’re choosy about what we cover, but are happy to hear from you about your project, event, band, or other thing. Send the relevant details to [email protected] and we’ll let you know if we are interested.
Sending us tips: Seen or heard something you think we should know about? You can do that at [email protected] as well.
Interested in sponsorship? Sponsoring Tone Madison is a great way for your business or organization to enrich the Madison community and get your message out to a smart, engaged local audience. Reach [email protected] for more information and our media kit.
