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From Black America Web:

Is Ebony magazine for sale? And is the legendary black-owned publication on the verge of being purchased by a white media company?

Business insiders say that Ebony, the 64-year-old black-oriented magazine founded by John H. Johnson in 1945, may be looking for a buyer – and soon.

RELATED: Report: Ebony Magazine Up For Sale

“Now it appears Johnson Publishing’s chairman and CEO, Linda Johnson Rice, has reached what must have been an agonizing decision: Johnson Publishing is seeking a buyer or investor for its flagship publication, Ebony, in an effort aimed at securing the survival of the nation’s oldest magazine devoted to African-American life,” Newsweek reported in last week’s edition.

Newsweek said that Rice has contacted Time Inc. and Viacom about a possible purchase of Ebony or a partnership. Time Inc. bought Essence magazine – a publication for black women – in 2000. Viacom purchased BET in 2000.

A source familiar with Ebony’s financial difficulties confirmed for BlackAmericaWeb.com that the magazine is being shopped to several potential buyers.

Executives with Ebony said the magazine is considering a myriad of possibilities.

RELATED: Vibe Magazine To Resume Publication

“As we’ve indicated previously, we are exploring a range of options to support our core media business. However, we are not in discussions with Time Inc. and Viacom,” Ebony said in a statement sent to BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Clem Richardson, a columnist with The New York Daily News, said he finds the prospect of Ebony and Jet no longer being black-owned both angering and frightening.

“I get angry because the company’s financial trouble is more testimony to the notion that African-Americans can’t be fiscally viable, despite our numbers, without white support,” Richardson told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday.

“And I get frightened because Ebony has long shown its readers black Americans at our best, and in showing that, helped us through our worse,” he said.

Click here to read more.

Tags: Magazines, Media
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  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Da_J_Rok/ Da_J_Rok

    One question should be asked… Where is the rich “Nigga’s” at when u need them?

  • http://www.blackinfo.net/?p=4185 Black Info.Net – African American News Hub | Black Info.Net

    [...] for a buyer – and soon. RELATED: Report: Ebony Magazine Up For Sale “Now [...] Read more here: Potential Sale Of Ebony Breeds Anger Related ArticleReport: Ebony Magazine Up For Sale Posted in Entertainment, The 411 Tags: black, [...]

  • http://www.jsmedia1.com/?p=2991 JS Media 1 » Blog Archive » Potential Sale Of Ebony Breeds Anger

    [...] Read more here:  Potential Sale Of Ebony Breeds Anger [...]

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/blkman6ft6_inla/ blkman6ft6_inla

    i wouldnt buy something that wont turn a profit thats why the rich stay rich they think with there money and not with there heart

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/TMAC_35000/ TMAC_35000

    Da_J_Rok, they’re somewhere trying to stay rich and get richer; and in doing that they aren’t going to buy a magazine that isn’t selling, which is why it’s up for sale in the first place.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/reddelta051/ reddelta051

    If Black people would support the magazine and the fashion show..they would not have a problem now

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Spongebobfiness09/ Spongebobfiness09

    Thats too bad, but such is life when colored folks wont support colored folks, smh, but quick to support everybody else, when those others dont even have a care for colored folks, i see that magazines quality going downhill too, oh welp, haha ‘colored’

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/1913Delta5/ 1913Delta5

    With all of THESE RICK BLACK STARS, selling a “BLACK OWNED ICON” like EBONY, JET etc. should NEVER be a up for DISCUSSION. I’m telling you,ONCE THE WHITES FOLKS GET THEIR HANDS ON OUR STUFF (Blacked owned Business, Our Ideas) They CHANCE OUR THEMES into THEIRS, and we are once again EXPLOITED FOR THE FINANCIAL GAIN OF WHITE PEOPLE. I think everyone that reads this should for attempt to forward this article to some rich person’s website or e-mail. I going to attempt to forward this article to Oprah. Thank you and God Bless

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Carmel-Queen1/ Carmel-Queen1

    My uncle, Hans Massaquoi, was the Managing Editor of Ebony Magazine until her retired, and won a Pulitzer for a book called Black in Nazi Germany. So for me, this is personal.

    I do not agree with the sale of the magazine, because of I am concerned about the integrity of the journalism. However, they did mention a partnership – and that could be defined in many ways.

    I wish they would go to Oprah and others for help instead of these other large constituents, but the truth is the decision may be because they tried to come to ‘us” for help or the expand or do whatever it is that they are trying to do and perhaps it was “us” that prompted this.

    I think we need more information and perhaps then we could come up with a solution to leave the magazine in the hands of our own and resolve or satisfy the issues or desires that prompted this in the first place.

    Andrea.firstglobal@gmail.com

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/THE_PRODUCER/ THE_PRODUCER

    John H. Johnson’s daughter ran the magazine in the hole with her editorial decisions. I use to buy Ebony faithfully every month (newstand sales are the most profitable) until she took over and turned it into a woman’s mag. Count how many covers had woman on them. I couldn’t relate to the mag any more. Her father maintained more of a balance, at least for me.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/_A_/ _A_

    Is Ebony and Jet magazine even relevant anymore? Like so many of our Black owned enterprises, we start trying to cross over to the point where you can’t even recognize them anymore. BET should come to mind real quick!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/masculine31/ masculine31

    I better pick up da article with Whitney Houston on it lol

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Sub-Negro/ Sub-Negro

    Even some of these white owned magazines are going under so really times are changing and people dont even mess with print magazines know more.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Tried-N-True/ Tried-N-True

    Several things can avert this tragedy. 1) Many of our “super rich” athletes, corporate types, companies etc can all gather together to invest and save an institution. 2) The mag itself can sell shares directly to the public i.e. those who are subscribers or wish to be subscribers. 3) Up the magazine price and subscription costs. Or 4) Possibly a worst case scenario (I don’t mean this in a demeaning way so back off already); Expand to include other people of color besides Black Americans (that’s right, I did not say African Americans)…. So as the beat up cliché goes…”It’s time to think outside of the box.” I am sure, if they think about it, there are many avenues available rather then “selling out.”

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/TOTALBODYIMAGE/ TOTALBODYIMAGE

    THIS IS SUCH A WELL LAYED OUT PLAN. THE RICH WHITE ELITE HAVE TO CONTROL ALL THE INFORMATION THAT IS AIMED AT THE BLACK SOCIETY. OMG! WHERE DOES IT END?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Culture/ Culture

    THE QUESTION IS, HOW MANY OF YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/ebonyblazer251/ ebonyblazer251

    Save the day, Earl Graves!

    (that’s the founder/publisher of Black Enterprise, for ya’ll that don’t know)

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/2koolT/ 2koolT

    This is F’d Up. I blame that idiot Sheila Rice Johnson. She ran her Dad’s publication in the ground. Stupid ass.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/B_A_A_P/ B_A_A_P

    I remember growing up and waiting impatiently for the weekly Jet and monthly publication of Ebony and Essence to arrive at my parents house. Although these publication were important to the african and carribean communities in the past , because the periodicals around the country were not reporting the achivements and travesties that were happening nationally or internationally to people of color. With the introduction of computers and the internet these publications are no longer needed. As far as Viacom or any other white owned media company acquiring these publication I would rather see them fold. No one can publish these magazine on behalf of people of color than people of color. That is why these magazines were created in the first place because there was a need for them . That need is still true today , when you look at the cover’s of our local newspapers and magazine , they rarely print anything positive about the achivements of african americans unless it sports. I’m not angry more disappointed that the legacy of John H. Johnson has detoriated to such a state. Mr Johnson was a trailblazer and a visionary and unfortunately those whom he left behind can not substain the torch without selling out. I recently looked at the Jet , Ebony and Essence magazine and it a very poor second to what these magazine represented in the past. So let them go.. I know it sounds like I’m contradicting myself , but the truth of the matter is these magazine today are not representing us as accurately as they did in the past so maybe instead of turning them over to a media company that doesn’t have our best interested, achivements or advancement at the head of there agenda why support it.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Splash_Waters253/ Splash_Waters253

    Oprah buy the magazine please!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Euqinimod21/ Euqinimod21

    that’s f**ked up, that’s all I gotta say!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/misslyricist/ misslyricist

    It would be sad to see something that started that long ago representing black culture in print be gone. ALOT of magazines and newspapers will be extinct very shortly unfortunately due to the internet and economics. Does seem like alot of the BLACK entertainment has plenty of money to keep certain things alive in the community. Instead of buying “fiddy” million cars and houses. However, who am i to say what others should do with their money. I certainly don’t want the public to dictate what i should do with mine. I do agree with another post about having more black men on the cover to get men to buy as well. I really am tired of seeing the same select gaces gracing Ebony and Essence, Mary, Beyonce, Will & Jada, Gabrielle. I mean there are so may people’s lives to profile in the community. How about featuring local heros/inspirations in the everyday community so kids in particular don’t feel like they have to have celebrity status to be important.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/armandx99/ armandx99

    It’s sad to see businesses like these go through such hard times, but it doesn’t excuse bad or poorly thought out business practices. There could be many other alternatives to save ebony, including scaling back pubications, the amount it pays for celebs on the covers, and aggressively targeting alternative adverstising markets just to name a few. Then again, who knows? Maybe they’ve allowed too much time to implement such changes. It happens, but I hope they can recover without having to resort to such measures. Perhaps it time for a more gritty re-invention of Ebony to emerge, focusing less on celebs and more on random people with problems we can better relate to. You know–get back to like how Oprah’s show was in the late eighties.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/streetdaze/ streetdaze

    trust me i dont think the white folks are lining up to buy ebony magazine, lets keep it real most people not buying magazines when you can get all the juice on the internet . times are changing, need a E magaZine ?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/_A_/ _A_

    @Tried-n-True…You kill me with your 4 point plan, as if the owners haven’t thought about those 4, and actually ideas that might work…

    1) Why do we always want rich athletes to bail out these failing companies? They are failing for a reason, so why should anyone throw their money away like that?

    2) Selling shares to a magazine??? Like Sub_Negro said, with the emergence of the internet, and the millions of blogs etc. information shared via a weekly, monthly even a daily publication is TOO SLOW.

    3) Raising the subscription price is actually too silly to address!

    4) see the response for #3

    People have to realize, in business, you have to stay ahead of the trends. You can’t wait until your company is in trouble, then start “thinking out of the box”..Trying to come up with innovative ideas when your company is insolvent, IS NOT thinking outside the box!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/maldlq2/ maldlq2

    JUST TO BE BRIEF, ***BLACKS DO NOT READ AS SUCH FROM THE EARLY 90S’ AND BACK*** LESS WE ARE OMISS ABOUT B.E.T.; AS DR. C. BROWN ONCE SAID,
    “OUR LEVEL OF EDUCATION GOES AS FAR AS READING, MATHAMATICS AND COMPREHINSION IS THE EQUIVIALENT LOOKING AT A PRICE TAG ON NEW SHOES.. WE RATHER PERCHASE THAN BECOME ENTREPRENEURIORS.”

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Charmed2Def/ Charmed2Def

    Kinda similar to BP being Asian owned -correct me if I’m wrong. But like Streetdaze said, physical media has been in its death throes for some time now and regardless of what kinda news I seek, I don’t pay for a subscription or go to the store 2 get some mag half filled with ads when I can simply get online and have the world at my fingertips.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Robert967/ Robert967

    I have to agree with Streetdaze on this.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/jazzwatch/ jazzwatch

    If Ebony goes for sale, maybe a rich celebrity (like Cosby, Oprah. Jordon) should buy it…….

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/missstrings43/ missstrings43

    It’s pretty interesting how everything else in the US can change but a black womans magazine such as Ebony can not go through the same motions and emotions. I say this with an attitude because society today is dating every day and at an increasing rate out of our own races and yet a buy out of a magazine (yes I know the stature of it)becomes what we as a society are trying to portray as not as or in this case, more important. Hence, black men are dating out of their race (white and other than black)woman and white men are dating (black woman and other than white) woman and so with that…why is it that our mental attitudes and aptitude is any different here. If a white or other race owns a black magazine, all we are going to upgrade to (laughing) is what we as a society has put out here..and that being a mixed, bi-racial magazine with woman of all creeds, colors and walks of life in it. It’s quite funny right now because that IS where I society has taken it.

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