Time listed the magazine in the 2006 edition of its "50 Coolest Websites"[2] and the Utne Reader called the site "more nourishing than the newsprint diet that has previously dominated your breakfast.

Doerr's essays addressed his and his wife's challenges living abroad with their infant sons; his many perspectives on Rome; and the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Past judges include Elliot Ackerman, Monica Ali, Nicole Cliffe, Helen DeWitt, Junot Díaz, Sasha Frere-Jones, Amanda Hesser, John Hodgman, Nick Hornby, Karl Iagnemma, Tayari Jones, Sam Lipsyte, Colin Meloy, Celeste Ng, Dale Peck, David Rees, Mary Roach, Gary Shteyngart, Jeff VanderMeer, and Meg Wolitzer.

In light of the plagiarism controversy that surrounded novice author Kaavya Viswanathan's debut novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, in 2006 The Morning News developed a contest to find a writer who could formulate a "coherent and original piece of fiction completely made from the works of others."

Out of 54 entrants, Bonnie Furlong was chosen the winner of the contest for her story The Parlourmaid's Tale, or, MS in a Dustbin,[13] which, according to Gawker.com, "served Kaavya her weak ass on a plate.

The freeform read-along is guided via blog by Morning News contributing writer Matthew Baldwin; participants are urged to read about 75 pages per week and discuss their progress in online forums.

The goal of the event, as Womack stated in an interview with the Associated Press, is to put the book "back in the hands of real readers: thousands of them, in fact, on the same page at the same time.