Outdoor Life

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007)

Outdoor Life
Categories	Hunting/fishing magazine
Frequency	Monthly
Circulation	925,000^[1]
Publisher	Outdoor Life Pub. Co
First issue	January 1898
Company	Time Warner
Country	United States
Language	English
Website	outdoorlife.com
ISSN	0030-7076

Outdoor Life is an outdoors magazine about hunting, fishing, survival and camping. It is a sister magazine of Field & Stream.

Outdoor Life launched in Denver, Colorado in January of 1898. Founder and Editor-in-Chief (1898-1929), J.A. McGuire, intended Outdoor Life to be a magazine for sportsmen, written by sportsmen, covering all aspects of the outdoor arena.

The first issue ranged in topics from a moose hunt in Alaska to advice about Native Americans. Some of the original sections were titled, "Photography" (much like the Snapshots section in the magazine today), "Trap and Target" and "In the Game and Field".

At a time when publishing was advancing in technology, Outdoor Life was an innovator. In 1903, the first photograph was printed on the cover in black and white. A short time later, in 1906 the first color cover appeared on the magazine. As OL developed and established itself on the forefront of sportsman magazines, it took a big step. In 1934 Outdoor Life moved from its original location in Denver to New York City, where it remains today.

Outdoor Life editorial material was vast over the years, following its audience’s interests in new developments and progression, such as aviation, motor vehicles and boating. However, OL stayed true to its original focus: the outdoorsman. Outdoor Life also frequently lists hunting and fishing tips and quizzes as well as testing new outdoor gear, keeping it and their readers on top of their game.

Over the years, Outdoor Life has been lucky enough to have luminaries in the field write for the magazine. Ernest Hemingway accompanied OL on a marlin fishing trip in Cuba in 1935. Zane Grey, a well-known adventure writer and big game fisherman was a common contributor between 1918 and 1932. Also, former President Teddy Roosevelt contributed from 1901- 1904. Other famous contributors to Outdoor Life include Amelia Earhart, Clark Gable, and Babe Ruth.

Outdoor Life is owned by Time4 Media, a division of Time Inc. In 1990 Time Inc. was bought by Warner communications to create Time Warner, a conglomerate of communication, publication and entertainment companies. The magazine also licensed their title to the Outdoor Life Network cable channel from its 1996 launch until 2006, when the network dramatically de-emphasized programs about fishing and hunting, and changed their name to Versus (TV channel). The Outdoor Life Network name was retained on the Canadian version of the channel.

The Outdoor Life Conservation Award was first given in 1923 to those who “accomplish the greatest good for the sportsmen’s cause in the United States,” said founder J.A. McGuire. Jimmy Carter is the most famous recipient.

There is also an Outdoor Life Conservation Pledge. It was established in 1946 and then revised in 1993. It has been taken by thousands of people including Harry Truman and Al Gore and it runs on the letters page of every issue of Outdoor Life.

The pledge reads: “I pledge to protect and conserve the natural resources of America. I promise to educate future generations so they may become caretakers of our water, air, land and wildlife.”

This and other magazines of this nature have been critical of PeTA and other "Animal Rights" groups, and anti-hunting groups.