LIBR 155

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SPOTLIGHT ON

• LIBR 155
• Fall 2005
• N. Mathieson

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• Prompted by the death of John H. Johnson, and
  news stories about him, I decided to research and
  describe for you the magazine EBONY.
• I have discovered Johnson was a man of vision,
  and his magazine, EBONY, a profound influence for
  good in peoples lives.

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John H. Johnson1918-2005

• The visionary John H. Johnson began publishing
  EBONY in November 1945.
• His goal was to present positive images of
  African Americans in a world still plagued by
  segregation and racial barriers.

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Recommendations

• Magazines for Libraries, 10th ed.
• Ebony remains the most widely read Black
  publication. It is a required title for all
  school, public, and academic libraries. For
  nearly 55 years, Ebony has provided the most
  complete portrait of the Black experience, both
  domestic and international. The profiles of
  accomplished individuals inspires as it teaches.
  Highly recommended for all libraries.

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EBONY Officers and Editors

• Founder John H. Johnson (1918-2005)
• President and Chief Executive Officer - Linda
  Johnson Rice
• Secretary-Treasure and Director of Ebony Fashion
  Fair - Eunice W. Johnson
• Executive Editor Emeritus - Lerone Bennett Jr.
• Managing Editors - Walter Leavy, Lynn Norment
• Senior Editors - Kevin Chappell, Joy Bennett
  Kinnon

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Subscriptions (12 issues a year)

• Newsstand cover price
• 3.50 a month / 42 a year
• Mailed subscription
• 22 a year
• 42 for two years
• 52 for three years
• Subscription insert card
• 16.97 for one year
• 22 for two years
• Price listed online
• 12.97 for one year

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Advertising and Circulation

• EBONY advertising rates (effective January 2005)
  are based on a guaranteed paid circulation of
  over
• 1,600,000.
• From the beginning, Johnson encouraged major
  white companies to advertise in EBONY. In
  fact,
• EBONY solicited advertising sales over 10 years
  before an auto manufacturer bought advertising.
  His
• success in presenting his market (African
  Americans) to companies who would buy
  advertising,
• ensured the success of EBONY. Some magazines
  that started around the same time as EBONY did
• not enjoy the same success because of the lack of
  advertising.
• Johnson broke new ground by bringing positive
  portrayals of blacks into a mass-market
  publication
• and encouraging corporations to use black models
  in advertising aimed at black consumers.
• from the article John H. Johnson made corporate
  America recognize black consumer market at
  http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8874194/
• Publishers Statement - excerpts regarding
  advertising

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EBONY Features - October

• Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John H.
  Johnson, 1918-2005 a photo spread and coverage
  of Johnsons funeral
• Succeeding Against the Odds a biography of John
  H. Johnson
• Homage to The Beginner Lists the highlights
  of Johnsons life and career
• Finding the Right Pediatrician
• Black Architects Embracing and Defining Culture
• Love at First Byte The Virtual World of Dating
  Online
• Spreading The Word on Campus African-American
  Chaplains Take the Lead in the Ivy League
• The Gospel According to Donnie McClurkin
• Annual Womens Health section
• Steve McNair On a Mission Back to the Super Bowl
• Shonda Rhimes The Force Behind Greys Anatomy
  (TV show)
• A Wild Ride with Ludacris

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EBONY Departments - October

• On The Scene photos of Black Americans in the
  public eye
• Letters to the Editor
• Center Stage one page profile of Ramsey Lewis
• 5 Questions forDr. Lorraine Cole
• Ebony Bookshelf profile of Tom Joyner, author
  of Im just a DJ butit makes sense to me.
  Includes brief summaries of eight other titles.
• For Brothers Only essay on self value
• House Call Expert advice on health and fitness.
• Money Talks Tips to help you start your own
  business
• Sisterspeak an editors tribute to John
  Johnson

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EBONY Departments 2 October

• Ebony Travel Guide alphabetical listing of
  locations, events, and dates
• Ebony Essentials briefly features new and
  special products
• Sounding Off features artists in black music
• Beauty Style Back-to-school fashion guide
• Strictly for Laughs
• Date with a Dish The versatility of beans 10
  great recipes
• Fashion Fair The classic trench
• Body Talk Fantastic abs
• Ebony Advisor a question and answer column
  intended to help readers with their problems

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Monthly Preview Available Online
Noted at the bottom of the EBONY article
previews, For the complete story and more
exclusive photos pick up the October issue of
EBONY on newsstands today!!! http//www.ebony.com
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Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.

• The Johnson Publishing Company, is the largest
  African American owned and operated publishing
  company. It has diversified from just publishing
  its successful magazines, Ebony and Jet, into
  cosmetics, fashion, and books.
• MAGAZINES Current
• EBONY - Monthly general interest magazine,
  founded November 1945
• JET- Newsweekly, founded November 1951
• MAGAZINES Titles formerly published
• Negro Digest superseded by Black World
• Ebony Man
• Ebony Jr.
• FASHION FAIR COSMETICS
• Makeup and skincare line of cosmetics for women
  of color.
• EBONY FASHION FAIR
• A traveling fashion show that has been presented
  in many cities, sponsored by non-
• profit groups, and has raised over 51 million
  for education scholarships.
• BOOK DIVISION

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Negro Digest Timeline

• 1942 - Johnson published his first magazine,
  Negro Digest, comparable to Reader's Digest. The
  magazine reprinted articles and included features
  of interest to the Black audience.
• Johnson pledged that Negro Digest would be "a
  complete survey of current Negro life and
  thought....dedicated to the development of
  interracial understanding and the promotion of
  national unity. It stands unqualifiedly
  for....the integration of all citizens into the
  democratic process."
• Eleanor Roosevelt was a contributor to Negro
  Digest.
• 1951 - Jet, a weekly news magazine, replaced
  Negro Digest.
• 1961 Negro Digest was reintroduced.
• 1970 Negro Digest was renamed Black World, and
  ceased publication in 1976.
• 1976 - EBONY incorporates Black World.

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EBONY Mission

• In 1945 Johnson began publishing EBONY, a
  magazine inspired by Life magazine. EBONY
  sought to eradicate negative stereotypes and
  replace them with positive black images.
  (Notable Black American Men)
• Johnson was quoted in The EBONY Story as saying
  of its founding
• We wanted to give Blacks a new sense of
  somebodiness, a new sense of self-respect. We
  wanted to tell them who they were and what they
  could do. We believed then--and we believe
  now--that Blacks needed positive images to
  fulfill their potentialities.

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Other Johnson PublicationsSome No Longer in Print

• Tan Confessions, a true-confessions magazine
• Proper Romance
• Jet, a pocket-size weekly news magazine
• Hue, a publication similar to Jet offering
  feature stories
• Beauty Salon
• Ebony Jr., designed for children between the ages
  of 6 and 12
• Ebony Man, featuring grooming, appearance, and
  lifestyle issues for young black men
• Ebony South Africa, being the company's venture
  into international publishing

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Maya Angelou on EBONY

• excerpt from an essay by Maya Angelou entitled
  Then EBONY arrived.
• Marian Anderson had been denied the opportunity
  to sing at Constitution Hall.
• Then EBONY arrived in 1945...to tell Black women
  that our voices were wonderful, textured and
  melodic, and
• wherever we used them we were in our rightful
  places.
• Bessie Smith had died after an automobile
  accident because she could find no hospital which
  would accept her as a
• patient.
• Then EBONY arrived in 1945...to tell Black women
  that despite the killing neglect of a larger
  society, our lives
• were precious in the main and imperative in the
  particular.
• The talented Lena Horne was declared one of the
  most beautiful women in the world, yet, her roles
  in movies were
• written so they could be edited out when the
  films were shown in Southern states.
• Then EBONY arrived in 1945...to inform us and
  assure us that our lives were so important, they
  could never be
• edited out of the history of our people.

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Sources of Information

• "John H. Johnson." American Decades. Gale
  Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource
  Center. Farmington Hills, Mich. Thomson Gale.
  2005. http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
• "John H. Johnson." Notable Black American Men.
  Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography
  Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich. Thomson
  Gale. 2005. http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/B
  ioRC
• Succeeding against the odds. (2005) Ebony,
  60(12), 74-80.
• The Ebony Story. (1995) Ebony, 51(1), 79-86.
• Johnson Publishing Company, (2005). Ebony
  magazine. Retrieved Oct. 6, 2005, from
  http//www.ebony.com
• Angelou, M. Then Ebony Arrived Ebony, 51(1), 42.
  Retrieved Oct 6, 2005, from Proquest database.
• Hughes, L. (2000). Ebony's nativity. Ebony,
  56(1), 36B-39. Retrieved Oct 6, 2005, from
  Proquest database.
• Katz, B., Katz, L. (Eds.). (2000). Magazines
  for libraries. 10 ed. Providence, NJ Bowker.
• Kinnon, J. B. (2005). Celebrating the Life and
  Legacy of John H. Johnson, 1918-2005. Ebony,
  60(12), 53-71.
• Miller, L., Brennen, B., Edgerton-Webster B.
  (2005). The Construction of Readership in EBONY,
  Essence and O, the Oprah Magazine. Media Report
  to Women, 33(1), 5-13. Retrieved Oct 6, 2005,
  from Proquest database.

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Happy Anniversary EBONY !