The magazine which was founded in 1945 and is credited as the first dedicated to the African American lifestyle is currently in the same slump the rest of the magazine industry is in – facing dwindling sales and younger readers who think history is something that should stay in the past. Linda Johnson Rice who’s CEO of Johnson Publishing Co. which owns Ebony and Jet has reportedly already met with Time Inc. and Viacom in hopes of getting some much needed funding – Time Inc. currently owns Essence.
We’re sure they’ll find an investor and keep the ship afloat. The readers probably won’t even notice the difference, the magazine just won’t be under African American ownership any longer.
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so will the new name be “ivory”?
dWn
IF THEY WOULD RE-VAMP THEIR ARCHAIC IMAGE, AND WRITE DECENT ARTICLES, PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY BUY THE MAGAZINE AND THEY WOULDN’T HAVE TO SELL OUT.
I agree Shan!
Co-sign Shan too. Why are you so sure they’ll find funding? I know they have a massive legacy but I bet the #’s from advertising to subscribers have been going nothing but down in the last few years because they have not modernized their product. Ebony is no doubt a mainstay of Black culture but they may have done this to themselves if they end up going out of business.