16 magazine
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16 Magazine is a teen fan magazine based out of New York. It was the first teen magazine to focus entirely on celebrities. Founded in 1956, the first issue hit the newsstands in May 1957 with Elvis Presley on the cover. It was published quarterly, and cost 15 cents an issue.
At first, 16 Magazine was modeled along the lines of the traditional movie star magazines such as Photoplay. However, its longtime editor in chief, former fashion model Gloria Stavers, transformed the magazine from a standard general interest movie magazine into a major fan magazine that focused on the pre-teen female as its primary readerbase. Stavers chose to cater to that particular market because of the many fan letters she had read from girls aged 9 through 12 who were writing to popular celebrities in care of the magazine. She remembered how she felt at that age,[[1]]and she developed a formula as to how to increase the readership of the magazine within that demographic.
The magazine covers featured hyperbole laden headlines, head shots of various male actors and singers, and very whimsical artwork. Although the newspaper type of paper was used for articles, the magazine did feature colorful pin-up posters. Many pre-teens bought those magazines strictly for the posters, and the posters helped to bolster, and in some cases hinder, the careers of many teen idols.
During the 1960s, 16 magazine introduced its readers to a variety of rock and roll/pop music acts, referred to the readers as "Faves." Some of those acts include the Beatles, Hermans Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jim Morrison and The Doors.
In the 1970s, the magazine focused its attention primarily on bubblegum rock stars such as the Osmonds, David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman and others. With the exception of the Jackon 5, seldom were racial minorities on the covers, and the appearance of female celebrities on its covers was also rare.
In the 1980s, the magazine continue to serve up one boy band after another from Duran Duran, to N'Sync. However, the band Destiny's Child broke the racial and gender barrier when they appeared on the cover.
16 Magazine is sometimes credited with shaping rock journalism, but most of the articles tended to lean on the lighter side. Instead of asking serious questions about musical influences, it would offer the readers interviews asking a celebrity what was his favorite color or meal, or have him describe his "ideal girl" or dream date. However, there were times when 16 Magazine did push the envelope, for example, when Stavers published an obitiuary for her friend, the slain comedian Lenny Bruce.
Despite the lack of serious journalism, 16 was still was the top selling teen magazine for many years, despite competition from Tiger Beat and others. For at least 30 years of publishing, 16 Magazine was entirely self-supporting. The magazine (like Mad Magazine) refused to carry any advertising. Even without advertising revenue, at the height of its popularity had more than 5,000,000 readers. The 'no advertisements' policy changed when 16 Magazine was acquired by Primedia in the 1990s. In 2001, 16 became part of their Teen Magazines groups and is considered a monthly "specials" issue focusing on a specific topic or act.
In 1997, the 40th year of publication, former 16 magazine editors Randi Reisfeld and Danny Fields published the book "Who's Your Fave Rave?". It is a history of the magazine, and a biography on its long-time editor in chief.
[edit] External link
Rockcritics.com article about 16 magazine and how it was viewed in the industry [2]
Example of some 16 Magazine covers from the 1970s [[3]]
