Ebony Magazine is Coming Back

[Troy]

Word on the street is Ebony will resume publishing a print version of its iconic magazine.

 

 

 

 

[ProfD]

It would be nice to see Ebony back in print. 

 

Putting J. Hud on the cover is a great look.  That young lady can sang and she's a beautiful sista. 

[richardmurray]

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? 

From what I have read I see little that convinces me they will turn a profit or have a long term sustainable goal. But I can be wrong.

 

and I mentioned it, maybe I have more information than you know at the moment

https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=1606&type=status

 

 

 

[Troy]

Hi @richardmurray in your blog post questioning Ebony's viability you wrote, "...in the usa people, all races, are buying less and less books in any form."  I was wondering where you got that stat?

 

No, I do believe a print version of Ebony will be wrought with challenges. I just don't think a lack of potential readers will be their problem.  The need to publish substantive articles.  Celebrity fluff will not cut it -- at least not with me.

 

If they follow the mainstream media's lead, in the way Black people are covered, they will fail.  Ebony needs to elevate itself above the fray -- the way they did in the past.

[richardmurray]

@Troy thank you, I said all forms, I meant all forms of paper based books, pbooks:: magazines on the rack, newspapers, retail paper books similar. Audiobooks/ebooks are always upward. and libraries are in heavy or growing use. So I misspoke:) 

 

 

[richardmurray]

@Troy Can you name a financially successful paper magazine today, in the usa? 

[Troy]

Here is a list: https://aalbc.com/magazines I have not researched their financial status but they were in print the last time I checked.

[richardmurray]

@Troy yes troy, I know some of those magazines. Black enterprise is successful. It has many black people who buy it but it does cater to a specific tribe in the village. I repeat myself, Ebony need to do likewise. 

[ProfD]

Financial success is relative because  it's necessary for survival.

 

IMO, if Ebony magazine can restore the sense of pride in black beauty and excellence as it once did, that would be a another form of success.

 

I'd love to see black women get away from hair weaves, fake eyelashes and other Eurocentric versions of beauty. 

 

Black folks all over the planet are naturally beautiful, intelligent, creative and talented.  It needs to be highlighted through every medium.  

[Troy]

If I had to bet money I think Black Enterprise makes most of it money from their events.  The magazine comes across as promotional material for advertisers.  I wished they covered more of the stuff that Black people are doing on the web. I really don't know what they are covering nowadays, as I stopped reading the magazine years ago ... sad to admit.  I have always promoted their magazine and website.

 

I like magazines like Emerge and American Legacy; I would subscribe to a magazine like those in a heartbeat.

 

I just visited Black Enterprise's website, because I was going to subscribe to the magazine to support it and check it out again.  I could not find a place to subscribe.  After a bit more research I can find no evidence they are still in print... bit I could also not find anything saying that they are out of print.  This article suggests they were struggling to get issues delivered.

 

If anyone knows Black Enterprise's print publication status please share it here.

 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Troy said:

If anyone knows Black Enterprise's print publication status please share it here.

I'll check.  I believe the last issue I received was a commemorative edition for the founder Earl G. Graves.  

[richardmurray]

@ProfD so you want Ebony Magazine to be a torch bearer for a communal viewpoint. Ok. I don't know if the new owners have the financial power to sustain that but ok

 

@Troy  I asked black enterprise on twitter, I don't know if they will reply. It seems like they are all digital but may have a legacy paper print version that is closed to new folk. 

To Our Print Magazine Subscribers (blackenterprise.com)

[ProfD]

18 hours ago, richardmurray said:

@ProfD so you want Ebony Magazine to be a torch bearer for a communal viewpoint. Ok. I don't know if the new owners have the financial power to sustain...

There is enough money within the black community to keep Ebony magazine afloat financially.  Also, there is enough black wealth that the magazine could be FREE.  The major challenge is getting folks to sponsor, subscribe and read it.  

[richardmurray]

@ProfD  I quote myself 

Quote

how do you turn a profit and what is your goal? 

 

Every comment I made in this post concerns the owners of Ebony magazine or the magazine itself.  I never said the black rich do not exist in the usa or black people in the usa do not have buying power. 

Why did you write 

Quote

There is enough money within the black community to keep Ebony magazine afloat financially.  Also, there is enough black wealth that the magazine could be FREE. 

 

I don't recall saying anything suggesting as such. now when you said 

Quote

The major challenge is getting folks to sponsor, subscribe and read it

That relates to my position in each comment in this entry. I think it isn't a major challenge. I think it is the challenge of any magazine. The new owners of ebony will display thier goal. if they are wise they choose a narrow goal.

[ProfD]

@richardmurray, this is a dicussion forum.  We provide our thoughts and opinions on topics often times tangentially.  No need take whatever I write as an affront. 

[richardmurray]

@ProfD I apologize if my words suggest I am affronted. 

[Troy]

On 2/9/2022 at 6:06 PM, richardmurray said:

  I asked black enterprise on twitter,

they won’t reply (that is my guess) they follow me, but never respond to my inquires or even acknowledge the support I’ve provided to them on Twitter.

 

 

[ProfD]

5 hours ago, richardmurray said:

@ProfD I apologize if my words suggest I am affronted. 

It's all good. Hang on to your hat as we go around the track of these topics.

[Stefan]

On 2/8/2022 at 1:55 PM, richardmurray said:

@Troy Can you name a financially successful paper magazine today, in the usa? 

RichardMurray,

Your question is disingenuous. 

And the reason why  is because I believe that you are not part of the magazine publishing industry.

Because if you were and had spent any appreciable time in it, you would know that since the advent of the Internet, most publications decided decades ago to eschew print subscriptions only and opt for a mixture of print and online editions.

The advantage of online is obvious - a worldwide reach and the editorial ability to update almost at will. A magazine publisher cannot dare to achieve this from just newsstand sales or mailed print editions.

So asking if there is a print-only magazine publication that is profitable has no bearing on today's reality.

But many magazines, such as People, are owned by conglomerate-corporations, whose many subsidiaries can absorb losses in a certain, but long-standing publications, until changes are made to stop hemorrhaging cash.

And a major attempt to stem the flow of red ink just happened to People Magazine's new owner, IAC/InterActive Corp., which is based in New York.

From the Feb. 9th edition of the Des Moines Register: 
 

"Two months after Dotdash acquired venerable Des Moines magazine publisher Meredith Corp., the shakeup is beginning.
 

"Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel told employees Wednesday morning that the company will end the print editions of six of the former company’s magazines: EatingWell, Entertainment Weekly, Health, InStyle, Parents and People en Español.
 

"The move, which resulted in 200 layoffs, is the first of the changes Vogel promised after his company, New York-based digital publisher Dotdash, bought Meredith for $2.7 billion. 

When the companies announced the merger in October, Vogel explained that the new business would blend Dotdash's approach, geared to online searches, with legacy Meredith's decades-old household names, such as Better Homes and Gardens."

END DES MOINES REGiSTER NEWS SNIPPET.

Dotdash Meredith is a subsidiary of IAC/Interactive Corp., which is owned by corporate (titan or investor or mogul) Barry Diller. The terms are interchangeable in financial publications.

(Part of my duties as a Senior News Editor, was fact-checking reporters' work, which included detailing the full corporate name of a business and its headquarter city. One cannot be error prone in financial reporting because of the intense competition and ever-present threat of lawsuits and worse, humiliation by rivals).

However, if you are searching for actual statistics on the U.S. magazine industry, one can find them here: 

Facts on the U.S. Magazine Industry

[richardmurray]

@Stefan one problem exists, the point of this post from @Troy is the return of ebony magazine who themselves said is going to have a print form. so, me asking if any print based magazines make money when a magazine is being rebooted with a print form by the admission of its owners is , in my view, common sense. I asked Troy as we were debating the strategies for Ebony to be successful, we were not debating whether anyone was ignorant or stating anyone was ignorant about the modern publishing industry.

@ProfD  I have on a helmet with a  strap

[Stefan]

I believe I covered that when I authored these two sentences in a previous comment:

 

On 2/11/2022 at 1:25 AM, Stefan said:

... most publications decided decades ago to eschew print subscriptions only and opt for a mixture of print and online editions.

The advantage of online is obvious - a worldwide reach and the editorial ability to update almost at will. A magazine publisher cannot dare to achieve this from just newsstand sales or mailed print editions.

No one is handicapping whether the new Ebony magazine will be a financial success. At least I'm not. I hope it succeeds. I also wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't admit that I cannot wait to read a copy of the new and improved publication.

I simply offered folks on here a short treatise on the modern U.S. magazine industry.

 

[Troy]

From @Stefan's source, Statista.  You have to purchase a subscription to learn where, Statista get their information, but they seem reputable. These figures are rather encouraging, for the industry.  But I'd be willing to bet the figures for Black magazine like the old Emerge are dismal.

 

NUMBER OF PRINT MAGAZINES IN THE U.S.: 7,416
ESTIMATED AGGREGATE REVENUE OF U.S. PERIODICAL PUBLISHERS: 23.92bn USD
ESTIMATED EXPENSES OF U.S. PERIODICAL PUBLISHERS: 18.9bn USD

 

 

Number of print consumer magazines in the United States from 2002 to 2020

 

 

[Stefan]

Troy,

That is the problem with all stats and very often, news. One has to pay for it now. But then, one had to pay to receive Dow Jones financial data and the Wall Street Journal is not free. Bloomberg financial data is also not free. 

My financial publication was not free. 

Statista is considered a solid source of economic statistics. The only other source for U.S. facts that is readily available and free is the U.S. Census Bureau. However, with Trump being in office during the last census and insisting collection of data be terminated early, I did not feel comfortable using it for certain blogs.

[Pioneer1]

On 2/7/2022 at 6:58 PM, ProfD said:

It would be nice to see Ebony back in print. 

 

Putting J. Hud on the cover is a great look.  That young lady can sang and she's a beautiful sista. 

ANYTHING with Jennifer Hudson on the cover of it is a great look....lol.

Sister is as fine as wine.
 

[Stefan]

Black Enterprise magazine is still in business. However, as I've mentioned with many magazines, it has gone to the Internet and bills itself today at "The Black Digital Brand."

It still promotes wealth building, business and investment strategies for Blacks.

A good friend and former colleague of mine worked at BE for many years before he moved his family to Florida. 

Black Enterprise Digital Brand

[Troy]

@Stefan I followed the link you posted above

 

It illustrates the problem with the web and how it adversely effects Black Enterprise.

 

The article, "If your credit score ever falls under 700..." is embedded placed in BE's site just like any other article.  I clicked the link. which send me here: https://partners.thepennyhoarder.com/700-credit-score-prt/ The article included the text:

 

"James Cooper. He didn’t know anything about credit, but Credit Sesame showed him the exact steps he needed to take to improve his score — from a 524 to 801.*"

 

On it's face this is highly unlikely extreme, only then did I question what I was reading.  I trusted Black Enterprise.  The article sends people to Credit Sesame. The asterisk at the end of the statement provided the following disclaimer (assuming the reader noticed and bothered scroll to the end of the page).

 

"Credit Sesame does not guarantee any of these results, and some may even see a decrease in their credit score."

 

The also indicate that less than 50% will see an increase of 10 points (which is a negligible increase for someone to pay to achieve). Black Enterprise was paid to link to The Penny Horder and the Penny Horder was paid to link to Credit Sesame.  All of this is done through deceptive tactics and the reader is just misled and ultimately ripped off.

 

This is what Black Enterprise has become. 

 

[Stefan]

Yup. That's easy to see. But this is also a sponsored advertisement and I rarely click on those.

And there is the problem. I avoid online ads as I try to avoid the unvaccinated. I am sure many others do as well. 

I don't know how the new Ebony business model will work.

Ever since the Internet began destroying print only publications, it is proving difficult to generate sufficient revenue for many online publications unless they are part of a large corporation.