richardmurray
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THIS MILLENNIAL BOUGHT EBONY AND JET FOR $14M WITH PLANS TO BRING THE MAGAZINES INTO THE DIGITAL ERA
by Dawn OnleyAugust 11, 2021
Founded in 1945 by John Johnson, Ebony struggled under declining advertisements, financial troubles, and controversy a few years ago. It was quite a shift from the magazine’s heyday, when Ebony and sister magazine, Jet, were the go-to publications for people interested in reading about Black culture, notable Black leaders, and issues impacting Black people.The company eventually filed for bankruptcy, and by 2019, both Ebony and Jet had stopped printing. This was an opportunity for Bridgeman and her father, former NBA player and entrepreneur Ulysses Junior Bridgeman, to discuss the magazine with the family to gauge interest in purchasing.
Bridgeman told Business Insider she jumped at the opportunity. The family purchased the legendary pubs for $14 million — and Bridgeman began talking with Michelle Ghee, a former executive at CNN and BET, about serving as CEO. Together, they relaunched Ebony on March 1 and are planning a relaunch of Jet later this year.
Ebony’s new mission is to be bold, brilliant, and beloved. Both magazines are now fully digital with no plans on reprinting physical copies.
According to Business Insider, Ebony has at least a dozen people on staff. Bridgeman’s role has been all-encompassing — from calls with advertisers to meetings with potential partners and magazine contributors.
“You have to understand every aspect within the business,” Bridgeman told BI. “You show up in a way that people feel they can approach you. They feel that they can work with you, not only just for you.”
Bridgeman’s strategy has seen her touting the power of the Black dollar to potential advertisers. “You are going to want to tap into that power,” she tells them, according to Business Insider.
https://www.blackenterprise.com/this-millennial-owner-bought-ebony-and-jet-for-14m-with-plans-to-bring-the-magazines-into-the-digital-era/
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Two questions to any print magazine or emagazine are equal to each other while primary, how do you turn a profit and what is your goal?
to profit... they have a challenge, in the usa people, all races, are buying less and less books in any form. They are being raised absent books in increasing number.
So, how can a magazine long term make financial profit. They will need an internet mirror.
But who will their customer base be?
In my view, I only see one option. Financially wealthy blacks.
Ebony need to steer itself as a status symbol. An expensive magazine that caters to the black financial elite. I will expand my idea and say, they need to become multilingual. Black people who are rich, exists in india/indonesia/phillipines/germany/italy/brasil not just the USA or not just africa.
Now what is the goal of the magazine?
The wall street journal originally, didn't cover any non financial news.
What will ebony cover? I think ebony need to become a financial magazine for fiscally wealthy black people. I think a global community of fiscally wealthy blacks, who are not interested in the slightest in financially poor black folks, will welcome and embrace a magazine for thier financial desires/needs.
Ebony trying to be a communal magazine will fail. The market isn't there. White magazines that have never been rebooted are financially losing money quarter by quarter. And, moreover, the modern black community in the usa has a larger internal racial multivision than when ebony first came out, which goes against the magazine having success if it tries to be pan black so to speak.
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