Johnson Publishing Company was founded by John H. Johnson in Chicago and after a seventy one year run sold its Ebony and Jet magazines to a private equity firm from Austin, Texas. It was published weekly in a digest size until it was transitioned into a digital-only format in 2014. Johnson Publishing announced today (June 15) the long running, African-American skewed magazine’s EBONY and JET have been sold. As The Chicago Tribune noted, Johnson Publishing as a whole “shaped culture ever since, coming into its own as it reported from the front lines of the civil rights movement during the 1960s in powerful photos and prose”.
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“We made this purchase because this is an iconic brand – it’s the most-recognized brand in the African-American community”, said Michael Gibson of Clear View Group.
Following the sale, Ebony will remain in print for the foreseeable future. For Clear View, it is the first investment in a publishing business.
Ebony editor-in-chief Kierna Ali Mayo shared via Twitter Tuesday she had accepted a new position as Senior Vice President of Content and Brands for InteractiveOne.
The new company, to be known as Ebony Media Operations, is expected to be chaired by Gibson and have former Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Mayberry McKissack as the new CEO.
The new publishing entity, Ebony Media Operations, will maintain the magazine’s Chicago headquarters and its NY editorial office, together with much of the current staff, Gibson said.
Johnson Publishing Company will retain Fashion Fair Cosmetics, a make-up company aimed at people of color.
The sale of the two magazines coincides with the January 2016 announcement that the photo archives for Ebony are also for sale.
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“This deal allows JPC to reduce its debt associated with the media business and focus its attention on the archives- and continue to invest in it’s cosmetics business, Fashion Fair Cosmetics”, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
