Nearly two decades after its last reincarnation folded, Life magazine is returning as a quarterly print publication next month, 2024, amid a fractured media landscape shaped by the internet, social media and AI. Karlie Kloss, model and entrepreneur, backs the project through her Bedford Media, saying the brand’s legacy deserves reinvigoration.
The new Life will include a website, social media, short‑form video, documentary films and events. Henry Luce founded Life in 1936, launching with a cover photo by Margaret Bourke‑White of the Fort Peck Dam, a New Deal project. The magazine chronicled mid‑century America—World War II, the space race, Civil Rights—and showcased photographers such as Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gordon Parks, and iconic images like the V‑J Day kiss and portraits of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Its circulation peaked at over 8 million copies in the 1960s.
After ceasing regular weekly publication in 1972, Life briefly became monthly, then stopped in 2000. For the past 25 years it appeared as occasional special issues or newspaper supplements. The rights were acquired in 2024 from Dotdash Meredith, and the editorial team includes Richard Turley, Hugo Lindgren, Eve Lyons, and Caryn Ganz. They aim to preserve Life’s human‑focused storytelling while adapting to modern platforms.
Source: New York Times Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing