How to Pitch: TV Guide

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Circulation: 2 million
Frequency: Weekly
Special issues: Fall and summer preview issues, plus several other mainstays that vary year to year

Background: The 1950s were an exciting and revolutionary time in American culture. Brown vs. the Board of Education brought an end to legalized segregation in public schools, the first polio vaccine was introduced to the general public, and the U.S. officially entered the space race against the Soviet Union with the launch of Explorer 1. But perhaps more importantly, at least for all of the resident couch potatoes, the '50s saw the phenomenal surge in popularity of one of the most iconic objects in American culture: the television.

TV Guide was launched on April 3, 1953 with the mission of providing readers with detailed listing information for broadcast shows. It was a relatively straightforward goal that was considerably easier back when Lucille Ball and her son Desi Arnaz, Jr., graced the cover of the inaugural issue. But at the dawn of the new millennium, with digital and satellite cable offering up hundreds of channels to millions of subscribers, TV Guide was forced to shake things up.

Today the mag still provides listings (particularly for national, prime-time shows), but the focus of the publication has shifted to profiles and other features that will appeal to the hard-core TV fiend. "Our mission is to really help people sort through all the choices that they have because it's really become overwhelming," says articles editor Bruce Fretts.

Because of its unique positioning as the only magazine focused solely on TV coverage (unlike close competitor Entertainment Weekly that only offers spotty television news and updates), TV Guide is the definitive resource for rescuing readers from aimless hours of channel surfing. Adds Fretts, "We watch everything and make editorial choices in terms of what we're going to feature in order to guide people to what they should be watching -- what the best stuff is, what they need to be aware of, what's becoming culturally relevant."...

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