2 • January 3, 2014• www.TidbitsFlorida.com
MAGAZINES (continued): may be best remembered for its covers that featured paintings by artist Norman Rockwell. Rockwell’s first cover was in May, 1916, and over the next 50 years, he provided more than 300 paintings for the magazine’s cover. • National Geographic with its familiar yellow border has been published continuously since the first issue in 1888. Its articles about geography, history, and world culture are read by 8.3 million people in 36 languages around the world every month. National Geographic published its first wildlife photographs in 1906, and its first color photo appeared in 1914. • Recently graduated from Yale in 1923, Henry Luce borrowed $86,000 from relatives to start up TIME magazine. TIME was designed with news summaries that “busy men” could read weekly in under an hour. The first issue’s cover featured retired Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Joseph G. Cannon. In July of that year, a woman was on the cover for the first time, a popularw actress of the day, Italian Eleanora Duse. Starting out with 12,000 subscribers, by 1963, after 40 years of publication, TIME had a circulation of 3,600,000 in 150 countries. Today it has the world’s largest circulation for a weekly news magazine with over 25 million readers. • In 1928, TIME began its famous “Man of the Year” issue, with Charles Lindbergh as the first person of distinction. This individual is chosen as the person who “for good or ill” has most affected the course of the year, with “ill” choices including Adolf Hitler. In 1936, the title became “Person of the Year,” when American socialite Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom King Edward VIII of England abdicated his throne, was chosen. TIME’s December 31, 1999 issued named Albert Einstein as the Person of the Century.
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• LIFE magazine debuted in 1936 and is credited with establishing photojournalism. Publisher Henry Luce had already achieved great success with TIME, and wanted a publication that told the story in pictures. LIFE’s first cover featured a photo of Montana’s Fort Peck Dam, and the issue sold 380,000 copies. Just four months later, circulation was up over one million copies a week. LIFE was published weekly for 37 years. • Henry Luce’s next success story was Sports Illustrated, which debuted in 1954. His advisors strongly cautioned him about launching a magazine strictly devoted to sports. Two previous magazines of the same name had already failed during the 1930s and 1940s. The first issue’s featured article was about Roger Bannister, who had broken the four-minute-mile barrier three months earlier. The cover was a photo of Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews. Michael Jordan holds the record for the most appearances on the cover of SI, with 50 covers. The team that’s been honored the most times is the New York Yankees, with a record 71. Over 23 million people read Sports Illustrated every week. • The Lady’s Magazine is considered the first significant women’s magazine. First published in London in 1770, it contained essays on female virtues, fashion advice, hints for wives and mothers, medicinal recipes, and embroidery patterns. Upwards of 150,000 American women were reading Godey’s Lady’s Book when the Civil War broke out, making it the most widely circulated magazine in the country. • McCall’s was initially established as a women’s magazine called The Queen in 1873. It was renamed in 1897 and remained such until 2001 when Rosie O’Donnell became editorial director and changed the title to Rosie. Rosie lasted a little over a year. Female baby boomers may remember Betsy McCall paper dolls printed in McCall’s beginning in May, 1951.
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• We started reading Better Homes and Gardens in 1922, Ladies’ Home Journal in 1883, Good Housekeeping in 1885, Redbook in 1903, Woman’s Day in 1931, followed by Family Circle in 1932. • Adolescent girls got their very own magazine in 1944, when Seventeen hit the stands, bringing fashion, beauty, and dating tips. Early cover girls included Carol Lynley, Twiggy, Cybil Shepherd, Olga Korbut, and a 13-year-old Brooke Shields. • The first issue of TV Guide was released in April of 1953, a comprehensive listing of the week’s television programs, TV-related news, celebrity interviews, program reviews, and crossword puzzles. Actress Lucille Ball was on the cover holding her newborn son, Desi Arnaz, Jr., whose birth had been written into the storyline of the popular sitcom I Love Lucy. • In March of 1974, you could have purchased the inaugural issue of People magazine for 35 cents. The beautiful 29-year-old Mia Farrow was on the cover, the star of the upcoming movie The Great Gatsby. In 1985, the magazine introduced their new feature “Sexiest Man Alive,” with 29-year-old Mel Gibson capturing the first title. Since then, People has created their “World’s Most Beautiful People” and “Best & Worst Dressed” special issues. About 47 million people read People every week. • Although magazines derive about half of their income from advertising (the other half from subscriptions and single copy sales), a few magazines do not accept advertising. Consumer Reports does not want to give the impression that their product evaluations are influenced in any way by an advertiser, and have no paid advertising. • The list of leading magazine advertisers includes Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, and Nestle.
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