Newsweek is reporting that the world's oldest publication for African Americans may be shopping for a buyer. Apparently, they have approached Time Inc. (which already owns Essence Magazine), Viacom (which already owns BET), and other private investors and buyout firms.Ebony Magazine was created in 1945 by the late John Johnson, who later formed Johnson Publishing which also owns Jet Magazine. His goal was to create publications that enticed African American readers, but also allowed advertisers to market to a consumer group that had long been ignored. Ebony grew, to at one point, having hundreds of millions in annual revenue, and a circulation of nearly two million readers.
As of late though, things have changed. Ad sales for the magazine have dived almost 35 percent, dragging revenues down almost 32 percent. In addition, this year's Ebony Fashion Fair - a glamorous traveling fashion show that has been put on for the past 55 years - was canceled due to lack of corporate sponsorship.
One publishing executive was quoted as saying: The company is "in big, big trouble."
For more details, visit:
www.newsweek.com/id/216176
It's sad to see our classics go down, but the winds of publishing, like the music industry, are changing. It's like a train that's leaving the station with technology in the driver's seat. You can get on board and get with the program, or you run the risk of being left in its wake. It's harsh, but it is the truth.
ReplyDeletei'm just really upset about this, but i truly think ebony's failure is because of its uninterest in its online community.
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