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Teen magazines have fed youthful fan frenzy for decades

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By Eric Kohanik,ReMIND Magazine

Teen magazines have always capitalized on frenetic fan frenzy. And their business models have always basically been the same: focus on what has long been a coveted demographic — young and primarily female consumers unafraid to swoon over their favorite music and TV idols, and eager to feast on celebrity gossip and pinup photos.
With such titles as Teen World, Flip, Fave! and more, teen ‘zines lined the shelves of bookstores and newsstands everywhere, attracting readers with colorful covers and attention-grabbing headlines like: “Monkee Dating Secrets,” “Donny’s First Date!” or even “Beatles’ Secret Wild Pix!”
The publications always zoomed in on teen idols — TV and music stars like Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Annette Funicello, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, The Monkees, Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman … the list goes on and on. And, as far as graphic design went, vivid colors were usually the order of the day. A wide variety of typefaces would litter virtually every inch of the magazine covers. And close-cropped head shots mounted on cartoon bodies were a cheesy but common gimmick.
Although some teen magazines actually stem back to the 1940s, most of them really took off during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when baby boomers (those born in the late 1940s) and the middle boomers (those born in the mid 1950s) were throttling their way through teenage years. And, although a few publications have managed to survive to this day, many of them have fallen by the wayside through the years. Here’s a quick tour of some of the more memorable players in the teen ‘zine world.
16 Magazine
There are many who say that 16 was the magazine that blazed the trail for rock music journalism. Initially designed as a bimonthly publication before becoming a monthly fixture, 16 Magazine stretches its history back to the 1950s. Its first issue, in May 1957, featured the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll — Elvis Presley — on the cover. The issue also boasted a tagline on the cover that trumpeted the publication as “The Magazine for SMART Girls.” During its heyday, 16 Magazine had more than 5 million readers. Its final issue appeared in 2001.
Tiger Beat
Originally launched as Lloyd Thaxton’s Tiger Beat way back in September 1965, this is one of the surviving cornerstones of the teen magazine world that still manages to capitalize and thrive on the ins and outs of movies, music, fashion and, of course, teen-idol gossip. Thaxton, one of the mag’s co-founders and well known back in the 1960s as the host of a pop music TV show, wrote a column every month during the publication’s early days. He even had his picture adorn the top of the magazine cover when it launched. Tiger Beat continues to march on every month, along with a website (tigerbeat.com) and a social media presence designed to complement the print edition.
Seventeen
Launched way back in September 1944, Seventeen was the first U.S.-based magazine for teenagers. Its initial goal was simply to encourage young girls to become hardworking, upstanding citizens of their communities. The publication soon expanded to include a focus on fashion and other topics that appealed to young female consumers. The magazine continues that tradition to this day, with international editions scattered around the globe and an online presence (www.seventeen.com) geared to bolster its brand.

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