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 Us Weekly (January 13, 2014) | |
| Editor | Jennifer Peros |
|---|---|
| Chief content officer | Dylan Howard |
| Categories | Celebrity |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Total circulation (2013) | 2,032,581[1] |
| Founded | May 3, 1977; 48 years ago (1977-05-03) |
| Company | A360 Media, LLC |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City |
| Language | English |
| Website | usmagazine |
| ISSN | 1529-7497 |
| OCLC | 61312882 |
Us Weekly is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. The magazine was founded asUs, a bi-weekly, in 1977[2] byThe New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, changed to the weekly format and renamedUs Weekly in 2000, and sold toAmerican Media Inc. in 2017.[3] Shortly afterward, then editor James Heidenry stepped down, and was replaced by Jennifer Peros. The chief content officer of American Media,Dylan Howard, oversees the publication.[4]
Us Weekly covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment. As of 2017, its paid circulation averaged to more than 1.95 million copies weekly and total readership of more than 50 million consumers.[5]
The magazine currently features a sharply different style from its original 1977–2000 format. Originally a monthly industry news and review magazine along the lines ofPremiere orEntertainment Weekly, it switched format in 2000 to its' current themes of celebrity news and style.
The web site Usmagazine.com was launched in fall 2006. In addition to features from the magazine, the site has a breaking celebrity news blog, exclusive photos, red carpet galleries from premieres and events, plus games, videos, quizzes and polls.
Us was launched as a fortnightly publication in 1977 bythe New York Times Company.[6] The magazine lost money before turning its first profit in 1980. It was sold later that year toMacfadden Media. It was acquired byJann Wenner in 1985 and is a part of Wenner Media LLC, which also publishesRolling Stone andMen's Journal. In 1991,Us became a monthly publication.[7]
In 1999, the company announced plans to shift theUs publication schedule from monthly to weekly. The shift coincided with a change in style from industry news and reviews to a celebrity-focused news magazine. The move was a response to several market forces, including the success of Time, Inc.'sEntertainment Weekly andPeople magazines. Wenner expressed his intention to keepUs "celebrity-friendly" in contrast with the more gossipy character of its competitors. He toldThe New York Times: "We will be nice to celebrities. A lot of my friends are in the entertainment business."[8] The publication focuses on celebrity fashion as well as Hollywood gossip.Kelli Delaney, current New York designer forMembers Only, formerly served as fashion director of the publication (1992–95). The change took effect in March 2000.
In February 2001, Wenner partnered withThe Walt Disney Company.[9]Bonnie Fuller worked as editor-in-chief of the publication from 2002 to 2003. She redesigned the title, creating the modern celebrity newsweekly.[10] She created such signature sections as "Stars Are Just Like Us."[11] In July 2003,Janice Min took over as editor in chief with Victoria Lasdon Rose as publisher, and Michael Steele as executive editor. Steele took over for Min in 2009.Melanie Bromley served as the magazine's West Coast bureau chief from 2007 to 2012.[12]
In August 2006, Wenner Media re-acquired Disney's 50 percent stake, making the publication once again fully owned and operated by Wenner Media.[13] In 2017, the publication was sold to American Media, Inc.[3] American Media, Inc. (AMI) became A360media in October 2020 and then merged with the McClatchy local news and information company to operate as the McClatchy Media Company (MCC) as of December 2024.
In a July 2006Variety article,Janice Min,Us Weekly editor-in-chief, citedPeople for the increase in cost to publishers of celebrity photos:
They are among the biggest spenders of celebrity photos in the industry. ... One of the first things they ever did, that led to the jacking up of photo prices, was to pay $75,000 to buy pictures ofJennifer Lopez readingUs magazine, soUs Weekly couldn't buy them.That was the watershed moment that kicked off high photo prices in my mind. I had never seen anything like it. But they saw a competitor come along, and responded. It was a business move, and probably a smart one.[16]
In a June 2007New York article,Tina Brown was asked, "Do you actually read the tabloids?"
Of course. I read everything. I adoreUs Weekly. I think it's a genius magazine. I'm a big fan of magazines that fulfill the goal of what they're trying to be.[17]
From a May 2007New York Post article profiling New York's 50 Most Powerful Women,
Janice Min, 37, editor,Us magazine. With her mag's profits placed as high as $90 million a year and readership up 191 percent in the last five years, Janice is not just like us. Nonetheless, the success ofUs is attributed partly to the mother of two's reputation as perky and well liked – as well as its addictive features like the new "Faux Biz", which makes fun of off-base gossip.[18]
Of her front cover appearance in November 1997,Courtney Love remarked,
"I wanted to do a kind of mock-Eagles, decadent '70s California-type thing, and I ended up looking likePamela Anderson on the cover! Bad, dirty Pam! It was terrible. But I didn't do it on purpose and it was gone in thirty days."[19]
The magazine was criticized for allegedly biased coverage of the2008 Republican National Convention. The September 5, 2008, issue featuredAlaska GovernorSarah Palin on the cover with the headline "Babies, Lies & Scandal", while the June 19, 2008, issue featuredU.S. Senator from IllinoisBarack Obama and wifeMichelle Obama with the headline "Why Barack Loves Her".[20] Senior Editor Bradley Jacobs claimed that the "lies" on the cover referred to unspecified "liberal bloggers" who had speculated on the parentage of Governor Palin's child, not to the governor herself. However, nothing on the cover indicated "liberal bloggers" were the alleged liars. It was reported that the magazine had lost over 10,000 subscribers. Since then it was reported thatUs Weekly sent e-mails to each of those subscribers, apologizing for the cover, and promised to send them five free copies of the magazine.[21]
In 2009,Us Weekly partnered withInvolver to become the first media company to sell sponsorships on their Facebook Page.[22]
On April 15, 1980, Photoplay published its last issue, its pink and scarlet cover ... Peter J. Callahan, president of Macfadden, which he had acquired five years earlier, said that the decision to cease publication was made "very reluctantly."