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TV Guide (magazine)

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

TV Guide is a famous American magazine about television. It helps people know what to watch on their screens. The magazine provides lists of programs and news about TV stars. It also includes movie reviews and fun crossword puzzles. Some issues even have horoscopes for readers to enjoy. For many years, it was a very important tool for families.

Tv guide no1
Tv guide no1

Reading the magazine is like having a map for your TV. Most listings use a special "log" format. This is a text list that shows shows by their start time. You can see the channel number inside a small icon. These icons often look like tiny TV screens. The magazine also uses labels to show special things. For example, it uses icons for color shows or special programs. It even notes if a show has sign language on the screen.

Historic TV Guide logos
Historic TV Guide logos

A man named Lee Wagner helped create the first versions. He worked on local guides in New York City during the 1930s. In 1948, he released a local guide called The TeleVision Guide. Later, a man named Walter Annenberg bought these editions. The first big national issue came out on April 3, 1953. The cover showed Desi Arnaz Jr., the baby son of Lucille Ball. This first issue sold 1,560,000 copies in ten different cities.

TV Guide grew very fast and became very popular. By the 1960s, it was the most read magazine in the United States. It was small in size, a style called "digest size." The magazine kept this small size for 52 years. People could buy it easily at grocery store checkout lanes. The price used to be only 15 cents. Today, the magazine is owned by NTVB Media.

Tv guide no1
Tv guide no1

The look of the magazine has changed as TVs changed too. The logo used to have many different colors. By the 1960s, the red and white look became the standard. In 2003, the logo changed to look like a widescreen TV. In 2016, it changed again to look like a flatscreen. This shows how the magazine stays connected to how we watch shows. It links the history of old TVs to the ones we use today.

Historic TV Guide logos
Historic TV Guide logos
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File:Tv guide no1.jpg
Tv guide no1.jpg
File:Historic TV Guide logos.png
Historic TV Guide logos.png
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