founded 2003 2003 founder andrew huff naz hamid headquarters chicago united states key people andrew huff services online magazine website gapersblock.com gapers block gapers block media llc is a chicago centric web publication focused on covering chicago culture under the tag line slow down and check out chicago . the site gapersblock.com lists local events aggregates other chicago blogs and news of local interest and features many topical blogs a c arts and culture drive thru food related transmission local music mechanics state and local politics tailgate sports coverage and book club book club and literary scene coverage . contents 1 history 2 accreditations and awards 3 notable contributors and alumni 4 references 5 external links history edit conceived in 2003 by andrew huff and naz hamid the stuck in traffic themed section names such as merge blog links aggregation slowdown calendar event listings and rearview noteworthy local photos are inspired by the chicago coined term gapers block a synonym with gapers delay for rubbernecking . the site was the first city blog in chicago and one of the earliest examples of the genre ; gothamist and the metroblogging network were also founded in 2003 . the site is written by volunteers from various backgrounds and professions with content organized into topical sections including arts & culture literature food music politics and sports . 1 in 2010 the cookbook the everything cast iron cookbook was published based in large part on author cinnamon cooper s one good meal column 2 on gapers block . 3 in december 2015 editor and publisher andrew huff announced the site would be going on indefinite hiatus on january 1 2016 . 4 accreditations and awards edit it was named a forbes favorite 5 in forbes.com s best of the web directory in the category best city blogs . web design site typesites credits gapers block s aesthetics well crafted layout 6 and noteworthy typography . chicago community trust awarded gapers block 35 000 in an effort to boost new sources of local news and information and increase the amount of neighborhood based original local coverage ... with priority given to stories about underserved communities and issues that affect them . 7 the chicago sun times in 2009 named the gapers block book club the 2 best way to find romance in chicago . 8 gapers block editor and publisher andrew huff was listed in crain s chicago business s 40 under 40 9 in 2009 . david schalliol brian ashby dave nagel akemi honga and natalia echeverry were the recipients of the peter lisagor award for best use of features video 10 for the area in 2014 . jason prechtel was a finalist 11 for the award for best individual blog post independent for ventra s parent company an international history of fare card glitches the same year . the site was named best local blog in the chicago reader s best of chicago poll in 2013 12 2014 13 and 2015 14 notable contributors and alumni edit anne elizabeth moore freelance journalist artist and author nilay patel editor in chief of the verge references edit gapers block chicago news reviews & commentary one good meal archives . gapersblock.com . retrieved 10 december 2012 . cooper cinnamon 2010 . the everything cast iron cookbook . united states adams media . p. 304 . isbn 1440502250 . a letter from the editor . gapersblock.com . retrieved 21 december 2015 . gapers block forbes web site reviews accessed may 31 2010 . gapers block typesites the chicago community trust announces community news matters award recipients knight foundation http www.suntimes.com 1 romance places 092509g . photogallery index 2 dead link 40 under 40 2009 crain s chicago business 1 2 chicago reader best of chicago 2013 best local blog accessed sept. 5 2013 . chicago reader best of chicago 2014 best local blog accessed june 25 2014 . chicago reader best of chicago 2015 best local blog accessed june 24 2015 . external links edit gapers block website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title gapers block & oldid 698394164 categories american online magazinesmagazines established in 2003magazines published in illinoislocal interest magazineshidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from january 2011 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 5 january 2016 at 21 03 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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