On the 3rd of March 1923, a small, unassuming magazine hit newsstands in New York City with a bold promise: to tell the news through people, not just events. This was Time, the first weekly news magazine in the United States, born from the partnership of two Yale graduates, Briton Hadden and Henry Luce. Hadden, a carefree and teasing spirit, envisioned a publication that was both important and fun, while Luce, the more serious and autocratic force, saw it as a tool to shape public opinion. Their initial idea was to call the magazine Facts, emphasizing brevity so a busy man could read it in an hour, but they soon settled on Time, with the slogan Take Time , It's Brief. The first issue featured Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House of Representatives, on its cover, setting a precedent for the magazine's focus on influential individuals. The cover price was 15 cents, a small sum that would eventually lead to a media empire. Hadden's death in 1929 left Luce as the dominant figure, ruling the company with an iron fist, while Roy Larsen, a Harvard graduate and former circulation manager, became his right-hand man, playing a crucial role in the magazine's development and expansion.
The Rise of a Media Empire
Following Hadden's death, Henry Luce transformed Time into a media juggernaut, leveraging the power of radio and film to reach millions. Roy Larsen, who had been hired in 1922, played a pivotal role in this expansion, bringing Time into the infant radio business with a 15-minute quiz show called Pop Question in 1924. By 1928, Larsen had launched a weekly broadcast of 10-minute news summaries over 33 stations, and in 1931, he introduced The March of Time, a 30-minute radio program that dramatized the week's news, reaching audiences previously unaware of Time's existence. This strategy not only increased circulation but also established Time as a cultural force. Larsen's influence grew, and by the 1960s, his family's stock in Time Inc. was worth around $80 million, while Luce's holdings were valued at approximately $109 million. Larsen remained a key figure, serving as a director and vice chairman until 1979, and was the only employee ever exempted from the company's mandatory retirement policy. The magazine's reach expanded globally, with European, Asian, and South Pacific editions, each tailored to its region, and a French edition set to launch in 2025.The Evolution of Style and Substance
Time's distinctive writing style, known as Timestyle, was characterized by its acerbic and irreverent tone, often using inverted sentences that became the subject of parody. The magazine coined or popularized many neologisms, including socialite, guesstimate, televangelist, pundit, and tycoon, and introduced the terms World War I and World War II in 1939. The Milestones section, which listed significant events in the lives of famous people, was a hallmark of Time's early years, though it evolved over time to become more detailed and less formulaic. The magazine also featured a Listings section until the mid-1970s, providing capsule summaries of films, plays, and other cultural events. The iconic red border, introduced in 1927, became a symbol of Time's identity, with only eight changes since then, including a black border for mourning after the September 11 attacks and a green border for an Earth Day issue. The magazine's cover design and content have evolved to reflect changing times, from the Person of the Year feature, which has recognized figures like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, to the Time 100 list, which highlights the most influential people of the year.