People (magazine) members regularly slept on the floor of their offices two or three nights each week and severely limited all non-essential outside engagements. The premier edition for the week ending March 4, 1974 featured actress Mia Farrow, then starring in the film "The Great Gatsby", on the cover. That issue also featured stories on Gloria Vanderbilt, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and the wives of U.S. Vietnam veterans who were Missing In Action. The magazine was, apart from its cover, printed in black-and-white. The initial cover price was 35 cents (). The core of the small founding editorial team included other editors, writers, photographers
The Big Issue homeless or almost homeless, vulnerably housed or marginalised in some way. "The Big Issue" recognises, however, that for many people, being housed is only the first stage in getting off the streets; therefore, The Big Issue Foundation exists to support vendors in gaining control of their lives by tackling the various issues which lead to homelessness. There are five localised editions of the magazine sold throughout the United Kingdom and vendors buy "The Big Issue" for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50. The magazine is also produced and sold in Australia, Ireland, South Korea, South Africa, Japan, Namibia, Kenya, Malawi