"A magazine is a creative enterprise, so it's always evolving," it was explained. Benjamin Franklin was the pioneer of mass magazines. "He always seems modern – timeless in his appeal," one observer remarked. The first magazine published was in February 1741. Although "not even the best magazines are immortal. Few last a human generation", Norman Cousins believed, "Print will not only endure but will continue to be a primary force in the life of the mind." Albert Leslie Cole added, "As the level of education rises so will magazine reading. The increase in the educational level of the individual is the key to magazine readership."
The 1980s marked "the golden age of the magazine". By 1985, some 1,805 titles could be found at the newsstand. At the same time, there were about 159 million readers counted. It was said, "There is a real demand for information. And there's a need for people to understand what's happening in our world beyond the daily headlines and minute-to-minute headlines. Magazines can provide that perspective." By the 1990s, news magazines had become the most popular programs on television. One network chief insisted, " I don't think the success of '60 Minutes' was accidental at all. I think it responded to a need that simply wasn't being filled...There's an appetite for informational programming, other than news and documentaries, which isn't being taken care of by TV in general." Don Hewitt pointed out, "TV movies and sitcoms today are borrowing on real-life situations and stories on abortion, drugs and other issues, and it is difficult today to know where truth ends and the make-believe begins. As entertainment becomes more reality-based, reality seems to be more appealing. When people watch '60 Minutes' or '20/20' or 'PrimeTime Live', I think they realize that we're not mixing in a lot of fiction with it."
The success or failure of every magazine rested with the writer, the editor, the publisher and finally bringing to public notice. However Albert emphasized, "(The editors) are like musical conductors. The contributions might appear imperceptible but the effects are big." The turn of the 21st century had revolutionized the way people read magazines. For example the iPad app. "It doesn't take a genius to look at the ABCs (in 2006) to know things are changing," one publisher expressed. "It's one thing to have a forum, a great big dirty forum board where you can discuss stuff and maybe it has a search function. It's another thing to have a forum that is integrated into the content, to different articles, and integrated around the different product features." In May 2010, 'Essence' magazine celebrated its 40th anniversary. Founded by Clarence O. Smith and Edward Lewis, it had been said, "In this magazine what is not political becomes political." Editor in chief Susan L. Taylor had mentioned, "(In 1970), we were just getting ready to define ourselves as African Americans...Over the years, we have had editors who keep their ears pressed to the hearts of black women. It's where black women find the information critical to their forward movement."
