Former editors |
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Categories | Lifestyle magazine |
Frequency | Monthly |
Total circulation (2017) | 1,333,421 [1] |
Founder | John H. Johnson |
First issue | November 1, 1945 [2] |
Company | Ebony Media Operations, LLC (2016–present) Johnson Publishing Company (1945–2016) |
Country | United States |
Based in | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. (2020-Present) Los Angeles, California, U.S. [3] (2017–2020) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (1945–2017) |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 0012-9011 |
Ebony is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, and politics. [4] [5]
Ebony magazine was founded in Chicago in 1945 by John H. Johnson, for his Johnson Publishing Company. He sought to address African-American issues, personalities and interests in a positive and self-affirming manner. [6] Its cover photography typically showcases African-American public figures, including entertainers and politicians, such as Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Tyrese Gibson, and Tyler Perry. Each year, Ebony selects the "100 Most Influential Blacks in America". [7]
After 71 years, in June 2016, Johnson Publishing sold both Ebony and Jet , another Johnson publication, to a private equity firm called Clear View Group. The new publisher is known as Ebony Media Corporation. [8] [9] After the publication went bankrupt in July 2020, it was purchased for $14 million by Junior Bridgeman in December 2020.
Ebony was founded by John H. Johnson in 1945. The magazine was named by Johnson's wife, Eunice Walker Johnson, thinking of the dark wood. [10] The magazine was patterned after the format of Life magazine. [11] Ebony published its first issue on November 1, 1945, with an initial press run of 25,000 copies that sold out completely. [12] Ebony's earlier content focused on African-American sports and entertainment figures, but eventually began including black achievers and celebrities of many different professions. [13]
Editors stated in the first issue:
We like to look at the zesty side of life. Sure, you can get all hot and bothered about the race question (and don't think we don't), but not enough is said about all the swell things we Negroes can do and will accomplish. Ebony will try to mirror the happier side of Negro life – the positive, everyday achievements from Harlem to Hollywood. But when we talk about race as the No. 1 problem of America, we'll talk turkey. [14]
During the 1960s, the magazine increasingly covered the civil rights movement. Articles were published about political events happening all over the U.S. where activists protested racial violence and advocated for increasing social mobility for African Americans across the diaspora. Also published was content about the Black Power movement. In 1965, executive editor Lerone Bennett Jr. wrote a recurring column entitled "Black Power", which featured an in-depth profile of Stokely Carmichael in 1966. [15] Ebony also commemorated historical events that contributed to black citizenship and freedom such as the September 1963 issue that honored the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. [16]
Ebony's design and content began to shift in the late–1960s and early–1970s. A new level of competition for subscribers and readers began during the 1970s. Due to the emergence of new African-American oriented magazines such as Essence,Ebony began to cover more political activism and achievements in the 1970s. The magazine's February 1971 cover featured 13 black congressmen and women. Ebony highlighted the black professionals serving in Jimmy Carter's administration in the March 1977 issue. [17]
The magazine reached unprecedented levels of popularity, with marketers estimating that Ebony reached over 40% of the African-American adults in the United States during the 1980s, a feat unmatched by any other general–interest magazine at the time. [18] Beginning in the mid-1970s, advertisers created customized ads for the magazine which featured African-American models using their products. [19] In 1985, Ebony Man, a monthly men's magazine was created, printing the first issue in September 1985. [5] By Ebony's 40th anniversary in November 1985, it had a circulation of 1.7 million. [14]
In December 2008, Google announced that it was scanning back issues for Google Book Search. As of that date, all issues from November 1959 to December 2008 were made available for free. [20]
In 2010, the Johnson Publishing Company sold its historic building at 820 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago's South Loop to Columbia College Chicago. The same year, Ebony was redesigned to update its longtime brand. In the past, the magazine was persistently upbeat, much like its postwar contemporary Life magazine. However, in the 21st century, Ebony featured more controversial content.
The November 2011 cover featured a pregnant Nia Long, reminiscent of the iconic image of actress Demi Moore portrayed naked while pregnant on a major magazine cover two decades before. Some of Ebony′s more conservative readers objected to the cover, stating it was inappropriate to feature an unwed, pregnant woman on the cover. The cover made national headlines in US Weekly and in a five-minute segment on CNN. More recent issues questioned whether President Obama was still right for black America and whether biracial Americans need more acknowledgment in today's society.
In May 2016, Johnson Publishing, the family business that founded Ebony and Jet, sold both publications to Texas-based private equity firm CVG Group for an undisclosed price. [21] Under CVG's ownership, Ebony struggled to find its footing, culminating in its 2017 move to lay off a third of its staff and move editorial operations to Los Angeles. [21]
In 2018, Ebony's publishing schedule was changed from being published monthly to a double issue published once each month.
On May 24, 2019, CVG suspended the print edition of the magazine, with the Spring 2019 issue the last to be printed. [22] Johnson Publishing filed for bankruptcy protections that same year. [23]
In December 2020, Milwaukee Bucks alum and Black businessman Junior Bridgeman bought Ebony and Jet for $14 million from CVG. [23] Under Bridgeman, the publication stated its intention to pivot toward themes of financial literacy and building Black wealth. [23]
In March 2021, the magazine relaunched in a digital format. [24] [25]
In June 2024, it returned to Chicago for its Juneteenth celebration at Soho House. [26]
One of the most famous aspects of the magazine was its list of "100 Most Influential Blacks". This list—which began in 1963, took a hiatus until 1971, and has continued on ever since—lists those who have made the greatest impact in the African-American community during the year. Most of those listed were well-educated, with 55 percent having completed a graduate degree. [27] However, some researchers have noted that black scholars, teachers, and higher-education administrators are rarely, if ever, included on the list. [28] [29] The list exclusively focuses on entertainment figures, politicians, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs. [30]
The May 2001 "100+ Most Influential Black Americans" issue did not include a number of influential African Americans such as Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, Walter Williams and, most notably, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Economist described the exclusion of Justice Thomas from the list as spiteful. [31]
In 2018, the magazine published a series highlighting Black families from across the United States with the intention of showcasing Black family dynamics. [32]
In August 2008, the magazine had published a special eight-cover edition featuring the "25 Coolest Brothers of All Time". The lineup featured popular figures like Jay-Z, Barack Obama, Prince, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Marvin Gaye, Muhammad Ali and Billy Dee Williams. [33]
In November 2010, the magazine featured a special 65th-anniversary edition cover featuring Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson, Usher and Mary J. Blige. The issue included eight cover recreations from historic and iconic previous covers of Ebony. Blair Underwood posed inside, as did Omar Epps and Jurnee Smollett. National Public Radio marked this anniversary edition as the beginning of redesign of Ebony. Former White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, of the Obama administration, had become the chief executive officer of the magazine. [34]
In 2016, Johnson Publishing Company sold the magazine along with Jet to private equity firm Clear View Group. [35] [36] [37] In May 2017, the editorial staff for the magazine moved from Chicago to Los Angeles along with the editorial staff for Jet magazine. [38] In December 2020, the magazine and its sister publication Jet [39] were purchased for $14 million by Junior Bridgeman. [40]
In July 2019, three months after Johnson Publishing Company filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy liquidation, it sold its historic photo archives including the prints and negatives to a consortium of foundations to be made available to the public. [41] [42] After suspending the print edition of the magazine in May 2019, Clear View Group and Ebony Media Operations laid off the majority of the editing staff in June 2019. [43] [44]
In 2017, 50 freelance writers created a social media campaign #EbonyOwes due to not being paid by the magazines' current owner, Clear View Group. In response to the campaign, Clear View Group made an effort to pay 11 of the 50 writers $18,000, ending with only three being paid in full. In late 2017, the remaining writers with the help of The National Writers Union filed suit against Clear View Group and Ebony Media Operations. [22]
The remaining writers settled their lawsuit with the company in February 2018. The magazine owners were ordered to pay $80,000 [45] Ebony Media Operations, Clear View Group and the National Writers Union agreed that all unpaid invoices would be paid over four quarterly installments by the end of 2018. [45] In October 2018, the magazines' owner missed its third quarter payment and another lawsuit was filed in November 2018. Clear View Group made the final payment to the writers in December 2018. [22]
Thomas Joyner is an American radio personality, host, philanthropist and former musician. Joyner is the former host of the nationally syndicated The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com.
John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. Johnson was the founder in 1942 of the Johnson Publishing Company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson's company, with its Ebony (1945) and Jet (1951) magazines, was among the most influential African-American business in media in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1982, Johnson became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. In 1987, Johnson was named Black Enterprise Entrepreneur of the year. in 1996, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Jet is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded by Johnson in November 1951 of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazine was billed as "The Weekly Negro News Magazine". Publisher John H. Johnson created Jet magazine to offer Black Americans proper representation after noting the under-representation of African Americans in the media. Jet chronicled the civil rights movement from its earliest years, including the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the activities of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Era Bell Thompson was an American writer and editor.
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held and run by Johnson until his death in 2005. His publications "forever changed the popular representation of African Americans." The writing portrayed African Americans as they saw themselves and its photojournalism made history. Led by its flagship publication, Ebony, Johnson Publishing was at one time the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States. JPC also published Jet, a weekly news magazine, from November 1951 until June 2014, when it became digital only. In the 1980s, the company branched into film and television.
Sepia was a photojournalistic magazine featuring articles based primarily on achievements of African Americans. The magazine was founded in 1946 as Negro Achievements by Horace J. Blackwell, an African-American clothing merchant of Fort Worth, Texas. He had already founded The World's Messenger in 1942.
Lerone Bennett Jr. was an African-American scholar, author and social historian who analyzed race relations in the United States. His works included Before the Mayflower (1962) and Forced into Glory (2000), a book about U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Moneta J. Sleet Jr. was an American press photographer best known for his work as a staff photographer for Ebony magazine. In 1969 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his photograph of Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, at her husband's funeral. Sleet was the first African-American man to win the Pulitzer, and the first African American to win the award for journalism. He died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 70.
Eunice Walker Johnson was an American businesswoman. Johnson was the wife of publisher John H. Johnson and an executive at Johnson Publishing Company. Johnson was the founder and director of the Ebony Fashion Fair, which began in 1958 as a hospital fundraiser and became an annual worldwide fashion tour that highlighted fashion for African-American women, running until a year before her death.
The Negro Digest, later renamed Black World, was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, Negro Digest was first published locally in Chicago, Illinois. The magazine was similar to the Reader's Digest but aimed to cover positive stories about the African-American community. The Negro Digest ceased publication in 1951 but returned in 1961. In 1970, Negro Digest was renamed Black World and continued to appear until April 1976.
Andrew Spurgeon "Doc" Young was an American sports journalist and author. He was also one of the first African American publicists working in Hollywood. Throughout his career he received numerous honors from the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Pamela Lynn Carter is an American lawyer, politician, and business executive. She was the first black woman to serve as a state's attorney general. She served as Indiana Attorney General from 1993 to 1997.
Bryan Monroe was an American journalist and educator, who was the editor of CNNPolitics.com (2011–15). He was previously the vice president and editorial director of Ebony and Jet magazines at Johnson Publishing Co, and assistant vice president of news at Knight Ridder, where he helped to lead the team of journalists that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. During his career, Monroe also had academic positions at Harvard University and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and from 2015, held the Verizon Chair at Temple University's Klein School of Media and Communication.
Ebony Fashion Fair was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co–founder of the Chicago, Illinois–based Johnson Publishing Company. The show ran across the United States and other countries from 1958 until 2009. In addition to the fashion fair, the company also created a cosmetic line named Fashion Fair Cosmetics, in 1973. As of 2017, Fashion Fair Cosmetics are still available for purchase.
The Call and Post is an African-American weekly newspaper, based in Cleveland, Ohio and is owned by boxing promoter Don King.
Duke was a short-lived men's magazine formed by ex-employees of the Johnson Publishing Company. It is notable as an early attempt at an upscale adult periodical for African-American audiences.
It was primarily a black and white publication, although the cover and centerfold were color printed.
Players was an American monthly softcore men's magazine. It was often nicknamed "the black Playboy" for its attempt at providing the African-American public with a racy, yet elegant reading choice. Once new black-centric magazines came in to the fold, publications such as The Messenger, Opportunity, and The Crisis would regularly show and portray photographs and short descriptions of Black life in America, specifically Women, to enlighten the masses as both moral and aspirational figures. These images were originally to challenge racist stereotypes, but would turn it on its head to create a vision of empowerment. Players Magazine would come along, as it would take this narrative and flip it to a sexualized state, which would change the world of snuff magazines. Players Magazine, amongst the others before it, attempted to end the narrative of ignorance towards Black life or the everyday representation of Black people.
John Warren Moutoussamy was an American architect, best known for designing the headquarters building of the Johnson Publishing Company in downtown Chicago, Illinois. He was the first African-American architect to design a high-rise building in Chicago.
Lincoln T. Hudson was a U.S. Army Air Force officer, World War II fighter pilot, Prisoner of War in Nazi Germany, and a corporate executive. During World War II, Hudson served in the all-African-American 332nd Fighter Group's 301st Fighter Squadron, best known as the all-African American combat fighter pilot group, the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or among enemy German pilots, “Schwartze Vogelmenschen”.
Herbert Temple Jr. was an American art director and illustrator. He worked for Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago for 54 years, first as an illustrator hired in 1953, and then art director starting in 1967.
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