Speaking to ColorLines in 2012, Demby recalled in particular an occasion when a CNN reporter approached him on a basketball court to ask for comment on Bill Cosby's Pound Cake speech at the 2004 NAACP Image Awards.

In search of an alternative, Demby founded PostBougie as a group blog, inviting collaborators who shared his desire "to have conversations that assumed that black people were human beings who were complicated and imperfect, a space that wasn't super didactic.

Racial coverage began to migrate to media organizations and websites that covered it full time," including ColorLines, Racialicious and This Week in Blackness in addition to PostBourgie.

Smith: "These sites don’t bring in corporate dollars like Vox or FiveThirtyEight, but they have survived and even thrived by concentrating their coverage on issues affecting people of color, and by providing opportunities for writers to write on these subjects with a frankness rarely seen in mainstream publications.

"[3] PostBourgie has drawn notice for its commentary on topics including television,[4] film,[5][6] music and language,[7] gentrification,[8] hair politics,[9] and race and violence.

Mashable named it to a list of "11 diverse podcasts to give you a fresh perspective on life," saying "PostBourgie's topics run the gamut, but always include intelligent conversation between Demby and various media personalities he invites to chat.