Magazines come and go but some favorites stay the course. People Magazine has been on the newsstands since 1974, entertaining regular readers with celebrity articles and human interest features. The weekly publication often gets the scoop on celebrity news and exclusive photographs. News of weddings, pregnancies and other news in the celebrity world appear alongside details of TV shows and movies. The 2006 circulation figures were 3.75 million copies sold.
The magazine likes to print popularity polls and give awards. One of the most influential lists is the 100 Most Beautiful People. The first winner of this was actress, Michelle Pfeiffer. Another People Magazine poll is the Hottest Hollywood Bachelors. The 2007 list includes movie stars, Matthew McConaughey and Jake Gyllenhaal. It also has Chris Evans, who plays the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films and Adrian Grenier from the TV hit, Entourage. The largely female readership also likes the Sexiest Man Alive list. Winners of this one have included George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan and Johnny Depp.
People Stylewatch is a spin off publication that originated in 2002. It has ten editions a year and the focus is on celebrity fashion, beauty tips and style. In 1996, a Spanish language version came out, called People EN Espanol. There is also an Australian version called Who. Because of the great interest in weddings, a special issue called Amazing Real Life Weddings was published with stories of proposals and wedding days and articles about the cake, photographs and honeymoon destinations.
The web site edition of the magazine concentrates on celebrity news and features. The featured stars are usually from the world of movies and music with some sports stars too. All the People Magazine favorite sections are there. There is a scandal page and articles on the stars’ court appearances. Health scares; operations and relationship breakups are also reported.
There are quizzes too, to test how much readers really know about the life of a hot celebrity and a weekly crossword puzzle. Another regular feature is about property buying and house moving of the stars. Video extracts from TV shows and films are also available. The Teen People section focuses on celebrities of particular interest to the teenage readers.
Magazines have to stay on top of technology these days and People Magazine offers readers, different ways of receiving the latest news and photos. These can be transmitted via a podcast, email or cell phone text message. The delivery may have changed but the magazine’s fans remain loyal.
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