AMERICAN MASS MEDIA AND CULTURE 2

American Mass Media and Culture: The Case of Essence Magazine
First published in New York City in May 1970 by Essence Communications Inc.
(ECI), Essence is the premier black-owned glossy magazine and one of America’s oldest and
leading glossy magazines (Fernandez, 2019). ECI was founded in 1968 by five back
businessmen: Edward Lewis, Denise M. Clark, Jonathan Blount, Cecil Hollingsworth, and
Clarence O. Smith.
Essence’s original intended audience was black women. The magazine founders felt
that coming out of the Civil Rights era and entering a new wave of feminism, black women
were eager to read about beauty and fashion and empowering content like spirituality and
careers (Fernandez, 2019). The founders were right; during its first two decades in print,
Essence was one of the fastest-growing magazines. Following its acquisition by Time Inc. in
2000 and 2005, the magazine seemed to lose its focus on black women. However, since 2018,
Essence is once again fully black-owned, having been acquired by the Liberian businessman
Richelieu Dennis and his family. Consequently, the magazine has since returned to its focus
on black women.
In terms of content, except for the stint during which Time Inc. owned it, Essence has
largely maintained its editorial focus and direction. Apart from beauty, fashion, careers, and
spirituality, Essence has historically published articles that cover controversial topics,
including black politics, the criminal justice system, sex, and religion (Fernandez, 2019). It
has also featured original works by Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, and Maya Angelou. As is
expected of a glossy magazine, Essence has always been printed in bright and bold colors. In
terms of advertisements, the magazine has not been successful in attracting many advertisers.
This is despite its sizeable audience comprising one million print circulation and 5.2 million
monthly visitors to its website. In recent years, in an effort to appear to an increasingly

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younger and international audience, Essence has been redesigned to make it more eye-
catching, and its content has been improved to give a global outlook on women’s issues.
Together with other glossy magazines and teen magazines, Essence has played an
important role in influencing popular culture, especially among younger women. Celebrity
gossip has especially been successful in this regard (Fernandez, 2019). It is worth noting that
celebrity gossip is not targeted at teenagers only; adults also follow the genre. It is for this
reason that Essence publishes celebrity gossip stories from time to time, especially on its
website. Revelations of celebrities’ lifestyles influence popular culture significantly.
In recent years, Essence has experienced competition from a new generation of digital
publications. These include Blavity (since 2014), Shade Room (also since 2014), and the
Root (since 2008). Competition is also coming from sections of mainstream media that are
now increasingly courting black women (Fernandez, 2019). Under these circumstances, I
predict that to survive, Essence will need to maintain its singular focus on black women,
buoyed by its deeper, five-decades-long understanding of them and their needs. Meanwhile,
to ensure its financial sustainability, Essence must work hard at courting major advertisers.
For a long, many have been concerned that advertising in the Essence would disgruntle their
white customers. This is a concern that must be addressed.

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Reference

Fernandez, C. (2019, April 12). Essence’s New Owner Sees More Than a Magazine.
Retrieved from Business of Fashion:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/essences-new-owner-sees-
more-than-a-magazine/