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Although they had long existed, elite magazines gained popularity as magazines began specializing. Elite magazines are characterized by their combination of literature, criticism, humor, and journalism and by their appeal to highly educated audiences, often living in urban areas. The most widely circulated elite magazine is the New Yorker. Launched in 1925 by Harold Ross, the New Yorker became the first city magazine aimed at a national upscale audience. Over the years, it featured many prominent biographers, writers, reporters, and humorists and introduced some of the finest literary journalism of the century. By the mid-1960s, the New Yorker’s circulation hovered around 500,000; by 2010, it stood at 1 million.²