Back in the U.S., Luce began working as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. He later moved to Baltimore to join his old college friend Britton Hadden as a reporter for The Baltimore News. But at 23 years old, both Luce and Hadden were growing restless with their jobs. They began to dream of running their own magazine. Soon, they realized it could be more than just a dream.
In 1922, Luce and Hadden both quit their jobs and decided to focus their energies full-time on developing plans for their own weekly news magazine. At first, it was to be called Facts, but they later decided on Time. Luce put together a prospectus, which outlined the magazine’s “prejudice against the rising cost of government; faith in the things which money cannot buy, a respect for the old, particularly in manners.” And, whereas other periodicals of the day claimed to portray news in an objective manner, Luce made sure to point out, “Time gives both sides, but clearly indicates which side it believes to have the stronger position.”
Luce and Hadden began selling stock in their publication-to-be. Their initial goal had been to raise $100,000, but after one year, 72 investors, and $86,000 raised, they decided to launch.
On March 3, 1923, the first issue of Time magazine was published. Its motto was “Curt, Clear and Complete.” The magazine had 22 departments of news spilled over 28 pages, and 18 staff members – 11 of them fellow Yale alumni. Luce appointed Hadden as the editor-in-chief, while he took on the business responsibilities. “When the Time came to decide who was editor, Brit Hadden just had to be it, so I took the business side,” recalled Luce. Each was given a weekly salary of $40.
That all changed in 1929, when Hadden died unexpectedly. Luce was forced to take on the additional responsibilities of his good friend. Despite the personal blow, Luce’s professional success continued to soar.
With the profit from Time, Luce began a series of new publications. Tide was a magazine for the advertising industry, which Luce sold in 1930. He then went on launch Fortune, which looked at business as “the greatest single denominator of interest among the active leading citizens of the USA.” The pages of Fortune looked luxurious, and at $1 per issue, had a high price tag to boot. Its stories concerning changing technologies and the corporate world were well-received.
In 1936, Luce launched Life, a picture magazine that would prove to be his most popular publication to date. Its purpose was “to see life; to see the world; to eyewitness great events; to watch the faces of the poor and the gestures of the proud.”
Luce followed up the success of Life with House & Home in 1952, and Sports Illustrated in 1954. Despite now knowing anything about what Luce called “the wonderful world of sport” outside of golf and swimming, the magazine proved a success. He also produced a radio show called The March of Time.
By the mid-1960s, Time Inc. was the largest and richest magazine publisher in the world, involved in everything from real estate to magazine exports to mail-order book publishing. Luce remained editor-in-chief of all his publications until 1964, when he retired and became the editorial chairman. At the time, his personal wealth was an estimated $100 million in Time Inc. stock, and his magazines had a 13 million worldwide distribution that was still going strong.
Luce died on September 8, 2005 of cardiac arrest, leaving most of his fortune behind to his charitable Henry Luce Foundation.
The Time Has Come: Luce Launches His First Magazine
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