Adweek was founded in June 1978 by a trio of former magazine executives—Jack Thomas, publisher of New York magazine; Ken Fadner, a former vice president of finance at New York and Esquire; and Pen Tudor, a sales executive at Life.
In 1981, Thomas, Fadner and Tudor brought in the designer Walter Bernard to revamp the publications—which by then included editions in Atlanta and Dallas—under a single banner, which Bernard dubbed Adweek. The following year, Clay Felker, the storied magazine editor, founder of New York and father of “New Journalism,” joined Adweek and became editor in chief, a post he held until 1986. Felker’s tenure established Adweek as a hipper, more mainstream version of the standard trade publication and ushered in the era of modern advertising criticism.
In October 2010, Michael Wolff, a longtime columnist at Vanity Fair, was named editorial director of AdweekMedia. Wolff reunited and relaunched its three divisions under the Adweek name in 2011. In October 2011, Wolff left the magazine, passing editorial oversight to executive editor James Cooper. Cooper and his editorial team of seasoned professionals have continued to produce a re-energized magazine and website that delivers insightful, forward-thinking content that appeals to the advertising, media and marketing professionals that have always been the brands’ core readers.
Adweek current owner is Prometheus Global Media, in 2009.
Company Updates
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Adweek has a new Intern
Wesley Kaminsky is now Intern, was Writer at Sports Studio
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Adweek has a new Staff Writer
Christopher Heine is now Staff Writer
