| Author | Message | ||
     Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 14154 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
This article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. October 7, 2009 BY SANDRA GUY Sidmel Estes, a media strategist and the first woman president of the National Association of Black Journalists, confirmed Tuesday she and four other journalists are seeking venture capital to remake the ailing Ebony and Jet magazines into dominant African-American presences online. The group, which would apparently take control of Ebony and Jet from Chicago's Johnson Publishing Co., would continue the print editions of the magazines but focus on writing stories in the "tradition of the black experience and the civil rights movement" online and via podcasts, Webcasts and other new media, Estes said. "We want to maintain [Ebony founder] John H. Johnson's dream that the control and ownership continue to be in African-American hands," said Estes, who worked at the Chicago Defender and the Chicago Daily News, is an award-winning television producer, and who serves on the board of advisers of her alma mater, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Besides Estes, who is the founder and CEO of media consulting firm Breakthrough Inc., in Atlanta, the would-be investors include an unnamed insider at Johnson Publishing; an unnamed journalist at media company Hearst Corp.; Neil Foote, chairman of the National Association of Multicultural Media Executives, and William "Willie" Chriesman, a former NBC-TV news director and television-news veteran who is a media consultant. Experts say the group's efforts will require $10 million to $20 million in financing. Estes said the group believes that Ebony lost its way within the last two years when it started publishing hip-hop and entertainment stories rather than keeping to its tradition of insightful journalism for upwardly mobile professional African-Americans. "Ebony started to publish articles that you could read anywhere else," Estes said. "Ebony [used to be] the publication where you could read stories that were too controversial or that people were afraid to talk about in the general media." Estes said the investors have stepped up their efforts to get venture funding, but are at a standstill until the economy improves and financing becomes more readily available. Johnson Publishing, which had no comment late Tuesday, hasn't denied a report in Newsweek magazine that the Chicago-based company is seeking a buyer or investor for its storied flagship publication. Johnson, the world's largest African-American owned and operated publishing company based at 820 S. Michigan, is facing the same dilemma as much of the print-media world -- sharply declining advertising revenue. The Media Industry Newsletter reported last week that Ebony's advertising pages were down 40 percent this year through October compared with the same period last year. | ||
| Yvettep AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 3668 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
This sounds like an exciting development! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 10413 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Unless the current and future owners of Ebony/Jet (E/J) can devise a business model that will QUICKLY establish a potent and profitable presense on the INTERNET (including webcasting, chatting, twittering, tweeting, etc.) pouring money into E/J is tantamount to attempting to row a sinking boat. | ||
| Yvettep AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 3675 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Did you all read where Conde Nast lost, like, a billion in ad revenues? The whole mag/newspaper industry needs a new business model. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 10415 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Yvettep, Yes. I am aware of how dire things have gotten in the print media business. Here in Chicago, we have gotten THIS close to losing our second biggest newpaper, Chicago Sun-Times. And it is being sold at probably a quarter of what I might have gone for 10 years ago. I agree the ENTIRE media sector is crumbling. And in the wake of that, I am pessimistic of the chances of Ebony & Jet surviving. | ||
| Ntfs_encryption "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Ntfs_encryption Post Number: 3691 Registered: 10-2005 Rating: N/A |
"Estes said the group believes that Ebony lost its way within the last two years when it started publishing hip-hop and entertainment stories rather than keeping to its tradition of insightful journalism for upwardly mobile professional African-Americans." No surprise here. In fact, I'm glad....No....let me rephrase that. I hope they learned a lesson from that pathetic and insulting venture of appealing to a mindless hip-hop crowd. The people who have supported this magazine for decades had no interest in clown culture reporting and felt slighted and ignored by those who made this disastrous discussion (I did). There is fierce competition in the media industry. Long gone are the days of picking up a newspaper or magazine to learn about current events and trends. That collective tradition is no more. But I'm hoping they survive. As I said, I was personally very disappointed at the direction Ebony had taken. Same goes for Jet. In fact, I have a collection of the old Jet magazines when they were very small and printed in black and white. I was able to secure copies that my parents collected and from EBay. It’s a walk through history reading those vintage Jet magazines. Ebony and Jet used to be at the forefront of black news and ongoing updates of the human and civil rights movement. No more. Sorry folks, but I just can't get on board with the hip hop/ rap/entertainment thing. But I am willing to support both magazines (I do have subscription to Jet and was considering Ebony but I couldn’t justify it) ) if they discontinue their pandering to the doofy culture.... | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 8217 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Ebony and Jet are doomed. You see better articles on blacks in white magazines because the owners and editors are so scared of offending white advertisers and retailers. And so it goes. |
