Cooper High School graduate Jess Cagle, currently editor-in-chief of People magazine, became the 84th inductee into the school’s Hall of Fame during 2018 Homecoming activities Oct. 19.
The 1983 graduate of CHS was introduced at the morning pep rally in Cougar Gym and then attended a ceremony in the CHS Auditorium. Following the inductee’s remarks, he joined the audience to enjoy performances by musical ensembles Red Rythm & Blues and Revolution Strings.
Cagle also serves as editorial director for Meredith Corporation’s Entertainment Group, which includes People, Entertainment Weekly and People en Espanol magazines. He oversees editorial content across all platforms—print, digital, social and video— that reaches a combined audience of more than 150 million. He is the host of “The Jess Cagle Interview,” a video series featuring his interviews with major stars, which airs on all platforms of People and Entertainment Weekly. Cagle also can been seen regularly as co-host on ABC’s Academy Awards red-carpet pre-show, and makes frequent appearances on “Good Morning America,” “Today” and many entertainment news programs.
With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Russian from Baylor University, Cagle’s day-to-day focus is People, the iconic multi-media brand that remains the world’s most popular celebrity weekly and was ranked Hottest Celebrity/Entertainment Magazine for six consecutive years by Adweek’s Hot List. Since Cagle assumed the role of editor-in-chief in 2014, People has seen dramatic growth in digital traffic, video streams and social reach, and the magazine has reached 34 percent newsstand market share, its highest since 2003 and the largest in its category.
Under Cagle’s leadership, People has moved aggressively into television programming, which includes “People Magazine Investigates” on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network and “The Story of the Royals,” a two-night special airing on ABC in 2018. Digital and video brand extensions include the PeopleTV Network, a streaming network with original programming based on the brands’ features and franchises; “People Now,” a daily live half-hour show on people.com that also streams live on Twitter and Facebook Live; and “Red Carpet Live,” a series of live-streaming specials during awards season.
From 2009-2014, Cagle served as editor-in-chief of Entertainment Weekly. As editorial director since 2014, he has overseen EW’s expansion into television, video and consumer events. Cagle joined Time Inc. in 1987 as a reporter for People. In 1990, he helped launch Entertainment Weekly and then returned to People to oversee showbiz coverage from 2002-2009. He currently lives in New York City.
