Entertainment Weekly

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Its first issue was published on February 16, 1990, and its original television advertising portrayed it as a consumer guide to popular culture, including movies, music, and book reviews, sometimes with video game and stage reviews. The magazine was created as a sister publication to *People* and was founded by Michael Klingensmith, with Jeff Jarvis as its creator. It won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 1996 and 2002. In 2016, it launched a free, ad-supported online-video network with *People*, which was later rebranded as PeopleTV. The publication transitioned to a monthly print model in August 2019, citing a shift toward deeper digital coverage, podcasts, and live events. Print publication ceased entirely in 2022, moving to a digital-only format. A Greek edition launched in August 2021, marking its first international expansion. Typical content included celebrity covers, television ratings, movie grosses, and in-depth industry articles. Its layout featured recurring sections such as "Sound Bites" with memorable quotes, "The Must List" of staff favorites, "First Look" at upcoming projects, and "The Monitor" covering major life events. Unlike celebrity-focused titles like *Us Weekly*, it emphasized entertainment media news and critical reviews, and unlike trade magazines such as *Variety*, it targeted a general audience.

Reader's Guide

Entertainment Weekly, launched in 1990 as a sister publication to People, was conceived as a consumer guide to popular culture, covering film, television, music, books, and Broadway theatre. Unlike celebrity-focused magazines such as Us Weekly or trade publications like Variety, EW targeted a general audience with critical reviews and industry news. It won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice, in 1996 and 2002. At its peak, the magazine generated $55 million in annual profit, though it faced pressure as celebrity coverage expanded across platforms and print advertising declined. After Time Inc.’s $2.8 billion acquisition by Meredith, EW was kept partly due to its integration with the more profitable People. The magazine transitioned to a monthly print model in 2019 and ceased print publication entirely in 2022, becoming digital-only. Its content included recurring features like “The Must List,” “First Look,” and “The Hit List,” and it expanded into video via the People/Entertainment Weekly Network, later rebranded as PeopleTV. EW’s significance is as a bridge between trade and celebrity journalism, offering accessible yet substantive entertainment coverage. Its survival in digital form, despite industry-wide shifts, underscores its niche as a critical guide for a broad readership.

Did You Know?

• Entertainment Weekly was formed as a sister magazine to People.

From Industry Review to Celebrity Fixture: The Long Road to Us Weekly

Us Weekly did not arrive fully formed. In 1977, the New York Times Company launched a bi-weekly publication simply called Us, conceived as an industry news and review magazine in the vein of titles like Premiere or Entertainment Weekly. The early years were financially rough — the title operated at a loss until it posted its first profit in 1980, the very year it was sold to Macfadden Media. Ownership shifted again in 1985 when Jann Wenner brought the magazine into his Wenner Media umbrella, the same company behind Rolling Stone and Men's Journal. By 1991, Us had settled into a monthly cadence, still focused on trade-style coverage of the entertainment world. For over two decades, the publication occupied a niche that felt more like a professional journal than a consumer magazine. That identity, however, was about to be dismantled entirely, setting the stage for one of the most dramatic reinventions in magazine publishing history.

The 2000 Rebrand: A New Voice for Celebrity Culture

In 1999, Wenner Media announced a sweeping overhaul: the monthly Us would become a weekly, and its editorial DNA would be completely rewritten. The new direction was a direct response to the commercial success of Entertainment Weekly and People, both of which had carved out lucrative celebrity-news territories. Jann Wenner articulated a distinct philosophy — the magazine would remain "celebrity-friendly" rather than gossipy, and he told The New York Times that he intended to be "nice to celebrities," noting that many of his own friends worked in entertainment. The transformation took effect in March 2000, when the title officially became Us Weekly. Bonnie Fuller, who served as editor-in-chief from 2002 to 2003, then redesigned the publication into the modern celebrity newsweekly readers recognize today, introducing signature features like "Stars Are Just Like Us." Janice Min assumed the editor-in-chief role in July 2003, further cementing the new identity and driving what would become one of the fastest-growing magazines in the industry.

Ownership Whirlwind and the Road to McClatchy

Us Weekly's corporate history reads like a case study in magazine-industry consolidation. After Wenner Media acquired the title in the mid-1980s, the company formed a partnership with The Walt Disney Company in February 2001, giving Disney a fifty-percent stake. That arrangement lasted until August 2006, when Wenner Media bought back Disney's share and regained full control. The next major transition came in March 2017, when American Media Inc. purchased the publication. The change in ownership triggered a leadership shakeup: editor James Heidenry stepped down and was succeeded by Jennifer Peros, while chief content officer Dylan Howard assumed oversight. American Media itself was later rebranded as A360media in October 2020, and in December 2024 it merged with the McClatchy local-news company to form the McClatchy Media Company. By April 2026, the magazine's New York headquarters had been shuttered, roughly half of its fifty-person staff were laid off — including the entire social-media and Spanish-language teams — and the remaining employees shifted to fully virtual work.

Signature Sections and Cultural Resonance

Us Weekly built its identity around a constellation of recurring features that gave readers a structured, almost ritualistic window into celebrity life. "Just Like Us" showed stars performing mundane, everyday activities — a concept the magazine credited to a Sesame Street segment about animals. "Who Wore It Best?" invited readers to vote on which celebrity pulled off an outfit better, while "Fashion Police" enlisted well-known comedians to mock or praise the week's most notable red-carpet looks. Other staples included "Hot Stuff" for Hollywood gossip, "The Record" for life events like births and divorces, and "Us Musts" for recommended films and television. By 2017, the magazine's paid circulation exceeded 1.95 million copies per week, with total readership surpassing fifty million. Tina Brown called it "a genius magazine" in a 2007 New York profile, and a New York Post piece that same year noted profits as high as ninety million dollars annually, with readership climbing 191 percent over five years.