 The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati , Ohio , on November 1 , 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan . Initially , it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising . At the time , billboards , posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the primary means of advertising . Donaldson handled editorial and advertising , while Hennegan , who owned Hennegan Printing Co . , managed magazine production . The first issues were just eight pages long . The paper had columns like " The Bill Room Gossip " and " The Indefatigable and Tireless Industry of the Bill Poster . " A department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896 . It was shortened to The Billboard in 1897 . 
