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 health, personal finance and addiction. In 2001, the magazine sold nearly 300,000 copies per week. Between 2007 and 2011, the circulation of "The Big Issue" declined from 167,000 to less than 125,000. Competition between vendors also increased at this time. In January 2012, the magazine was relaunched, with an increased focus on campaigning and political journalism. New columnists were added, including the Premier League footballer Joey Barton, Rachel Johnson, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Samira Ahmed. The cover price was increased. In 2016, The Big Issue celebrated surpassing 200 million magazine sales. To become a vendor, one must be