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Us Weekly is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. The magazine was founded as Us, a bi-weekly, in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, changed to the weekly format and renamed Us Weekly in 2000, and sold to American Media Inc. in 2017. Shortly afterward, then editor James Heidenry stepped down, and was replaced by Jennifer Peros. The chief content officer of American Media, Dylan Howard, oversees the publication.
Us Weekly covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment. As of 2017, its paid circulation averaged to more than 1.95 million copies weekly and total readership of more than 50 million consumers.
The magazine currently features a sharply different style from its original 1977–2000 format. Originally a monthly industry news and review magazine along the lines of Premiere or Entertainment Weekly, it switched format in 2000 to its current themes of celebrity news and style.
The web site Usmagazine.com was launched in fall 2006. In addition to features from the magazine, the site has a breaking celebrity news blog, exclusive photos, red carpet galleries from premieres and events, plus games, videos, quizzes and polls.
In 1999, the company announced plans to shift the Us publication schedule from monthly to weekly. The shift coincided with a change in style from industry news and reviews to a celebrity-focused news magazine. The move was a response to several market forces, including the success of Time, Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly and People magazines. Wenner expressed his intention to keep Us "celebrity-friendly" in contrast with the more gossipy character of its competitors. He told The New York Times: "We will be nice to celebrities. A lot of my friends are in the entertainment business." The publication focuses on celebrity fashion as well as Hollywood gossip. Kelli Delaney, current New York designer for Members Only, formerly served as fashion director of the publication (1992–95). The change took effect in March 2000.
In February 2001, Wenner partnered with The Walt Disney Company. Bonnie Fuller worked as editor-in-chief of the publication from 2002 to 2003. She redesigned the title, creating the modern celebrity newsweekly. She created such signature sections as "Stars Are Just Like Us." In July 2003, Janice Min took over as editor in chief with Victoria Lasdon Rose as publisher, and Michael Steele as executive editor. Steele took over for Min in 2009. Melanie Bromley served as the magazine's West Coast bureau chief from 2007 to 2012.
In August 2006, Wenner Media re-acquired Disney's 50 percent stake, making the publication once again fully owned and operated by Wenner Media. In 2017, the publication was sold to American Media, Inc. American Media, Inc. (AMI) became A360media in October 2020 and then merged with the McClatchy local news and information company to operate as the McClatchy Media Company (MCC) as of December 2024.
In a June 2007 New York article, Tina Brown was asked, "Do you actually read the tabloids?"
From a May 2007 New York Post article profiling New York's 50 Most Powerful Women,
Of her front cover appearance in November 1997, Courtney Love remarked,
The magazine was criticized for allegedly biased coverage of the 2008 Republican National Convention. The September 5, 2008, issue featured Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on the cover with the headline "Babies, Lies & Scandal", while the June 19, 2008, issue featured U.S. Senator from Illinois Barack Obama and wife Michelle Obama with the headline "Why Barack Loves Her".McCormack, John. "US Weekly Adores Barack Obama and Smears Sarah Palin". The Weekly Standard. September 3, 2008. Senior Editor Bradley Jacobs claimed that the "lies" on the cover referred to unspecified "liberal bloggers" who had speculated on the parentage of Governor Palin's child, not to the governor herself. However, nothing on the cover indicated "liberal bloggers" were the alleged liars. It was reported that the magazine had lost over 10,000 subscribers. Since then it was reported that Us Weekly sent e-mails to each of those subscribers, apologizing for the cover, and promised to send them five free copies of the magazine.
In 2009, Us Weekly partnered with Involver to become the first media company to sell sponsorships on their Facebook Page.
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