[2] frankie was launched in October 2004[3] by editor Louise Bannister and creative director Lara Burke.

This was a difficult period for magazines targeted to young women; Dolly, Cleo, Girlfriend and Total Girl all saw their circulations slump.

[14] By February 2017, when fewer than 20 circulation-audited magazine titles remained in Australia, frankie's circulation had slid by 5.4% to 50,167.

[15] frankie has significant social media impact: in 2015 it had a strong online component and steadily increased its popularity on Facebook, Instagram and its dedicated iPad app.

[18] Its senior contributors have included broadcaster and writer Marieke Hardy, and author Benjamin Law.

[21] Smith Journal was part of the sale of Morrison Media to Nextmedia but ceased publication in December 2019.