George(magazine)
Categories | Politics magazine |
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Frequency | Monthly |
First issue | September 1995 |
Final issue | January 2001 |
Company | Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. |
Country | United States |
Based in | New York City |
Language | English |
ISSN | 1084-662X |
Georgewas a monthly magazine centered on the theme of politics-as-lifestyle founded byJohn F. Kennedy Jr.andMichael J. Bermanwith publisherHachette Filipacchi Media U.S.inNew York Cityin September 1995. Its tagline was "Not Just Politics As Usual." It was published from 1995 to 2001.
Overview
[edit]For the debut issue, creative director Matt Berman (no relation to co-founder Michael Berman) conceived a cover which received a great deal of attention[citation needed]for its image ofCindy Crawforddressed asGeorge Washingtonphotographed byHerb Ritts.
Georgedeparted from the format of traditional political publications, whose audience primarily comprised people in or around the political world. The general template forGeorgewas similar to magazines such asRolling Stone,EsquireorVanity Fair.The consistent underlying theme was to marry the themes of celebrity and media with the subject of politics in such a way that the general public would find political news and discourse about politics more interesting to read.
Notable contributors
[edit]Reception
[edit]When it first appeared,Georgeattracted great interest, and for a brief period had the largest circulation of any political magazine in the nation, partly due to the celebrity status of Kennedy, but it soon began losing money. Kennedy andGeorgeoccasionally courted controversy to boost sales, one notable example being the 1997 issue wherein Kennedy in his editorial lambasted his cousinsMichael KennedyandJoe Kennedy II,whose marital scandals had recently made news, as "poster boys for bad behavior."[2]
Kennedy later complained that the magazine was not taken seriously in the publishing world.
Critics calledGeorge"the political magazine for people who don't understand politics," assailing it for "stripping any and all discussion of political issues from its coverage of politics."[citation needed]In a feature in its final issue,Spymagazine asserted that the magazine's premise was flawed because, "Politics overlapped with Pop Culture in such a limited number of ways".[3]That fairly critical profile inSpydescribedGeorgeas "scrambling for celebrities 'with tits' as often as possible to put on the cover and then trying to figure out what that person had to do with politics".
Decline
[edit]After Kennedydied in a plane crashin 1999, Hachette Filipacchi Magazines purchased Kennedy's portion of the magazine from his estate and continued for over a year, with Frank Lalli as editor-in-chief.[4]With falling advertising sales,[4]the magazine ceased publication in 2001, two years after Kennedy's death.[5]
External videos | |
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Tenth anniversary discussion at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University,C-SPAN |
In 2005,Harvard Kennedy Schoolheld a panel discussion titled "Not Just Politics as Usual," which commemorated the 10th anniversary of the magazine's launch. The panel was moderated byTom Brokawand featured appearances by other journalists.[6]
Back-issue popularity
[edit]A February 1997 edition ofGeorgewith the tagline "Survival Guide to the Future", wherein Kennedy interviewsBill Gates,has become well sought-after by adherents of theQAnonconspiracy theory, with one copy online being listed at $3,499.99.[7]
References
[edit]- ^DePaulo, Lisa (April 9, 2019)."John F. Kennedy Jr. and George Magazine: A Story of Politics, Love and Loss, 20 Years Later".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedApril 9,2019.
- ^"By George, JFK Jr. Bares A Lot."CNN AllPolitics. August 11, 1997. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^"Poster Boy for Poster-Boy Behavior".Spy.March 1998. pp. 30–38.RetrievedSeptember 2,2020.
- ^abBercovici, Jeff."Hachette delivers death ax to George".Media Life Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon September 30, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 2,2020.
- ^"Reliable Sources: 'George' Folds".CNN Transcripts.January 6, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 11,2018.
- ^Gavel, Doug (October 13, 2005)."'Not just politics as usual' Kennedy School pays tribute to JFK Jr., George ".The Harvard Gazette.
- ^Merlan, Anna (February 4, 2022)."A Magazine From 1997 Is Selling For Thousands of Dollars Online Because of QAnon".Vice News.RetrievedFebruary 6,2022.
External links
[edit]- York, Anthony (July 18, 1999)."Can George survive without JFK Jr.?".Salon.
- Jacobs, Samuel P. (October 12, 2005)."IOP Honors George Magazine at Forum".The Harvard Crimson.
- "Kennedy School Press Release: George Magazine Anniversary Forum".John F. Kennedy School Of Government.October 5, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon November 25, 2006.
- "George Magazine To Fold In March".CNN.January 4, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon November 29, 2006.
- Usborne, David (January 6, 2001)."Without its founder, JFK Jnr's 'George' folds".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon January 2, 2008.
- 1995 establishments in New York City
- 2001 disestablishments in New York (state)
- Monthly magazines published in the United States
- Defunct political magazines published in the United States
- Defunct magazines published in the United States
- Magazines established in 1995
- Magazines disestablished in 2001
- Magazines published in New York City