Look (magazine)

Look (magazine)
Title	Look
Founder	Gardner Cowles Jr.
Founded	1937
Firstdate	1937
Finaldate	1971
Country	United States
Based	Des Moines, Iowa; New York City
Language	English

Look (magazine)

Look was a prominent American biweekly general-interest magazine noted for its emphasis on photography, human-interest stories, and popular culture from 1937 until 1971. Founded by Gardner Cowles Jr. and published by Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting, it competed directly with Life (magazine), shaping visual journalism alongside publications such as Time (magazine), The Saturday Evening Post, and Collier's Weekly. Widely read during the mid-20th century, it chronicled events tied to figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and institutions including The Broadway League, National Football League, and Major League Baseball.

History

Look was established in 1937 by Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting out of Des Moines, Iowa with the intent of capitalizing on the photographic illustration trend propelled by Life (magazine). Early operations involved editors and publishers who had ties to organizations such as The New York Times Company and personalities connected to Herbert Hoover era networks. During World War II the magazine covered campaigns involving the United States Army, the United States Navy, and theaters like Normandy and the Pacific War, while profiling leaders from Winston Churchill to Joseph Stalin through photo-essays and feature reportage. Postwar expansion moved significant editorial functions to New York City, where Look vied for ad revenue with outlets connected to Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast Publications. Corporate shifts in the 1950s and 1960s saw interactions with media conglomerates and regulatory contexts involving the Federal Communications Commission, culminating in financial strains that paralleled transformations at competitors such as Life (magazine) and Newsweek.

Editorial Content and Features

Look's editorial mix included long-form human-interest profiles, celebrity interviews, serialized features, and investigative pieces on topics engaging figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Jack Kerouac, and Andy Warhol. Regular departments highlighted sports reporting on Babe Ruth-era nostalgia and contemporary stars from Mickey Mantle to Muhammad Ali, entertainment coverage tied to Hollywood, and political journalism involving administrations from Harry S. Truman to Lyndon B. Johnson. Special themed issues explored subjects connected to institutions such as Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and events like the World's Fair and the Olympic Games. Feature series sometimes intersected with advocacy around public figures including Eleanor Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and legal matters related to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Photography and Visual Style

Look is especially noted for pioneering large-format photojournalism, employing photographers trained in studios and newsrooms that also supplied outlets such as Life (magazine) and agencies like Associated Press and Magnum Photos. Its pictorial style captured moments from cinematic portraits of Humphrey Bogart, Elizabeth Taylor, and Grace Kelly to documentary sequences of urban life in Harlem and rural scenes from the Dust Bowl. Photo-essays documented military operations tied to Iwo Jima and social movements involving figures such as Bayard Rustin and Stokely Carmichael, while fashion spreads referenced designers with ties to Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. Innovations in layout and printing paralleled technological advances promoted by companies like Kodak and Polaroid Corporation.

Circulation and Demographics

At its peak, Look's circulation rivaled that of Life (magazine), reaching millions of readers across suburban and urban markets including Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston. Advertisers from Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, RCA, and Colgate-Palmolive targeted Look's middle-class audience, while syndicated columns echoed voices familiar to readers of Readers Digest and Good Housekeeping. Demographic studies of the era linked readership to households influenced by popular culture icons such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles, as well as civic engagement around elections featuring candidates like Richard Nixon and Adlai Stevenson II.

Notable Contributors and Covers

Look featured work from prominent photographers and writers associated with publications like Harper's Bazaar and agencies such as Life (magazine). Contributors included photographers and reporters who worked with figures including Ansel Adams-era landscapes, portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, and coverage of political icons like Robert F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Cover subjects ranged from entertainers like Lucille Ball and Bob Hope to athletes such as Joe DiMaggio and Bill Russell, as well as public leaders like Charles de Gaulle and Jawaharlal Nehru. Look's photo essays elevated photojournalists whose careers intersected with institutions including National Geographic Society and awards like the Pulitzer Prize.

Decline and Closure

The magazine's decline in the 1960s and early 1970s resulted from rising production costs, shifts in advertising budgets toward television networks such as NBC, CBS, and ABC, and changing reader tastes influenced by countercultural icons like Bob Dylan and the Vietnam War era protests. Efforts to restructure paralleled corporate maneuvers by media owners connected to conglomerates like Westinghouse Electric Corporation and legal pressures involving antitrust scrutiny in mass media markets. Facing declining revenue and competition from specialized magazines such as Esquire and People (magazine), the publisher ceased publication in 1971, marking the end of an era that had once documented leaders from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon and entertainers from Marilyn Monroe to The Beatles.

Category:Defunct magazines of the United States