Essence (magazine)

Essence

Jill Scott on the cover of the May 2010 issue of Essence
Editor	Vanessa Bush
Frequency	Monthly
Total circulation (2011)	1,050,013
First issue	1970
Company	Essence Communications (Time Inc.)
Country	United States
Based in	New York City, New York
Website	essence.com
ISSN	0014-0880

Essence is a monthly magazine for African American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty, with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone, and their slogan "Fierce, Fun, and Fabulous" suggests the magazine's goal of empowering African-American women. The topics the magazine discusses range from celebrities, to fashion, to point-of-view pieces addressing current issues in the African-American community.

Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968, and it began publishing Essence magazine in May 1970. Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million.Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation.

In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 percent of Essence Communication inc, a publishing company that publishes magazines aimed at African-American women, namely Essence and Suede magazines. In 2005 Time Inc. made a deal with Essence Communication Inc. to purchase the remaining 51 percent it did not already own. The deal placed the ownership of the 34-year-old Essence magazine, one of the United State's leading magazines for women of color, under white ownership.

The magazine features sections called Celebrity, Fashion, Beauty, Hair, Love, and Point-of-View. The magazine has covered topics from family, to social issues in the African-American community, to African-American women in the military, to being HIV positive. Celebrities including Michelle Obama and Whitney Houston have appeared on the cover and been featured in the magazine through interviews and photo spreads. Originally launched primarily as a fashion magazine, Essence has grown to be a guideline for African-American women in many aspects of life.

Frequent contributors, including current editor-in-chief Vanessa K. Bush, provide advice for the business-minded black woman, helping them to reach their full potential. The section named "Tanisha's Tips", written by the magazine's senior editor of personal finance and careers, gives tips on workplace conduct and how to handle a rough job.