Seventeen (American magazine)

Seventeen Magazine

Demi Lovato on the cover of the August 2014 issue
Editor	Michele Promaulayko
Categories	Teenagers
Frequency	Monthly
Publisher	Hearst Corporation
Total circulation (2013)	2,010,619
First issue	September 1944
Country	United States
Based in	New York City
Language	English
Website	www.seventeen.com
ISSN	0037-301X

Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. The magazine's reader base is 10-to-21-year-old females. It began as a publication geared towards inspiring teen girls to become model workers and citizens. Soon after its debut, Seventeen took a more fashion and romance-oriented approach in presenting its material while promoting self-confidence in young women. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications.

The first editor of Seventeen, Helen Valentine, provided teenage girls with working woman role models and information about their development. Seventeen enhanced the role of teenagers as consumers of popular culture. The concept of "teenager" as a distinct demographic originated in that era. In July 1944, King Features Syndicate began running the comic strip Teena, created by cartoonist Hilda Terry, in which a typical teenager's life was examined. Teena ran internationally in newspapers for twenty years.

After Seventeen was launched in September 1944, Estelle Ellis Rubenstein, the magazine's promotion director, introduced advertisers to the life of teenage girls through Teena, selling advertising in Seventeen at the same time. From 1945 to 1946, the magazine surveyed teen girls in order to better understand the magazine's audience. The magazine became an important source of information to manufacturers seeking guidance on how to satisfy consumer demand among teenagers. Today, the magazine entertains as well as promotes self-confidence in young women.

Sylvia Plath submitted nearly fifty pieces to Seventeen before her first short story, "And Summer Will Not Come Again", was accepted and published in the August 1950 issue.

Joyce Walker became the first black model to be featured on the cover of Seventeen magazine in July 1971. In the early 1980s, Whitney Houston was also featured on the cover of the magazine.

News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988 and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications (later Primedia) in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. Seventeen remains popular on newsstands today despite greater competition.