[5][6] Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who served as publisher until October 1996,[7] the magazine's original television advertising soliciting pre-publication subscribers portrayed it as a consumer guide to popular culture, including movies, music, and book reviews, sometimes with video game and stage reviews, too.

[10] Bruce Gersh, president of the Meredith entertainment division, which includes both EW and People, said that the cutback in print would be accompanied by deeper 24/7 digital coverage.

[11] Though still profitable before the switch to being monthly, EW was squeezed in recent years as celebrity coverage exploded across all platforms, and print advertising shrank.

Meredith, after completing its $2.8 billion acquisition of Time Inc., considered selling the title, along with several others, but was convinced to keep EW in part because it was so intertwined with top money-maker People.

[14] The magazine features celebrities on the cover and addresses topics such as television ratings, movie grosses, production costs, concert ticket sales, advertising budgets, and in-depth articles about scheduling, producers, showrunners, etc.

By the time print publication ceased, the magazine was published once per month, although the legacy name Entertainment "Weekly" is still used.

While many advertisements are unrelated to the entertainment industry, most ads are typically related to up-and-coming television, film, or music events.

[citation needed] These beginning articles open the magazine and as a rule focus on current events in pop culture.

For example, the May 22, 2009, edition featured Justin Timberlake hosting Saturday Night Live in the center, while the then-drama between Eminem and Mariah Carey missed the target completely for being "very 2002".

As of its 1,001st issue, EW drastically revamped the look, feel, and content of the publication—increasing font and picture sizes and making all columns' word count shorter.