Who Will Tell Our Stories, The Internet?
The outlook for the Holy grail of black-owned publishing companies, Johnson Publishing, is bleak. Actually, beyond bleak.
Non-stop speculation has had Ebony and Jet magazines on the ropes for some time. Then the Ebony Fashion Fair traveling fashion show -- a flamboyant staple of black women's fund raising efforts since 1958 -- was canceled for the first time in its history.
And now comes word that the company synonymous with Black America is putting its flagship title, Ebony, up for sale.
According to Newsweek, Johnson Publishing's chairman and CEO, Linda Johnson Rice, is seeking a buyer or investor in an effort aimed at securing the survival of the nation's oldest African-American magazine. It's unclear whether the company's other properties, including Jet, would be part of a possible sale.
We here at 3BAAS Media Group have been addressing this issue for some time and even held an Urban New Media Conference in June to discuss what actions should be taken.
According to those familiar with the developments, Chicago-based Rice, the daughter of Ebony's legendary founder, the late John H. Johnson, has approached, among others, Time Inc., Viacom, and private investors that include buyout firms. Time Inc., the world's largest periodical publisher, already owns Essence, a monthly lifestyle, beauty, and fashion magazine for African-American women.
Viacom, meanwhile, owns BET (Black Entertainment Television). Nothing has yet resulted from any of Johnson Publishing's overtures, however. And it's unclear whether negotiations are underway between the publishing company and any of the identified parties or other potential rescuers.
It's a challenging time for print media in general, so Johnson Publishing's plight is not that unusual. Add to that the question of whether the brand can stay relevant with younger blacks, and prospects look even worse.
The fact that black-owned Johnson Publishing faces this juncture during the year when a black man -- one whose social circle the CEO belongs to -- took the White House, is tragically ironic.
Still, no magazine holds the place in the collective heart of African Americans that Ebony has had since its inception in 1945. At the same time, the level of superiority and arrogance the company has shown can not be ignored. On several occasions we have heard people express frustration over how they tried to take the company in a direction that embraced New Media and kept readers fully engaged.
Even as recent as a few months ago at the 2nd Annual Blogging While Brown conference, several attendees where mumbling about Eric Easter, Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing. For many, Mr. Easter was coming across like he had all the answers as opposed to engaging those in the audience that have demonstrated an ability to create an online presence.
Currently, Johnson Publishing only has one photographer, Valarie Garrett, to cover the entire country for both Ebony and Jet. So even the images they once prided themselves on now coming from the record companies, studios, the celebrities themselves, or companies like Wire Image.
So the million dollar question is, "What we gon' do now???"
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