Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by John H. Johnson. Headquartered at 200 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Led by its flagship publication, Ebony, Johnson Publishing is the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States. It also publishes Jet magazine and operates a book division, which has published books such as The New Ebony Cookbook and the more controversial Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream.
Background
Johnson Publishing Company is privately held, and its chairman is founders daughter Linda Johnson-Rice. Desiree Rogers serves as the chief executive officer since 2010. In January 2011, the company sold it's headquarters of 39 years located at 820 S. Michigan Avenue to Columbia College Chicago. Completed in 1972, the building was the first African-American owned in downtown Chicago. In July 2011, it was announced that JPMorgan was to become a partner in the company. CEO Desiree Rogers stated that they hold a 'minority stake' and presence on the board.
Ebony/Jet Celebrity Showcase
The company produced Ebony/Jet Celebrity Showcase, a spinoff television show from the two magazines that debuted in August 1982. It was eventually pulled off the air because Johnson H. Johnson was dissatisfied with the quality of the guests. After a one-year hiatus, it returned to syndication with a shortened title and an expanded format with segments on diet, fashion and health. Ebony/Jet Showcase, a weekly, nationally syndicated TV show hosted by Greg Gumbel and Deborah Crable debuted in September 1985. By the show's third year in 1987, it became the only Black-syndicated program to reach 92 percent of Black U.S television households and 73 percent of U.S. television households, strengthening its position as the No. 1 Black-oriented interview and entertainment show.
Hair Care Cosmetics and Ebony Fashion Fair
In addition, Johnson Publishing produces a line of hair care products (Supreme Beauty) and cosmetics (Fashion Fair) marketed for African-American women. Each year it hosts the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show started in 1958 by Eunice W. Johnson that raises money for scholarships and charities in cities across the US and Canada.
Film
The company produced the 1954 film The Secret of Selling the Negro Market, which was designed to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African American media.
Publications
- Ebony - monthly general interest magazine, (November 1, 1945 - )
- Jet - weekly news magazine, (November 1, 1951 - )
- EbonyJet.com - branded web presence
Discontinued Publications
- Ebony Jr! (May 1973 - October 1985), resumed online in 2007
- Negro Digest (November 1942 - November 1951) resumed in June 1961, renamed Black World (May 1970 - April 1976)
- Tan Confessions (November 1950 - August 1952), renamed Tan (Sept. 1952 - Oct. 1971), renamed Black Stars
- Black Stars (November 1971 - July 1981)
- Hue (November 1953 - )
- Copper Romance (November 1953 - )
- Ebony Man: EM (November 1985 - January 1998)
- E Style (a catalog venture with Spiegel, September 1993 - )
- Ebony South Africa (November/December 1995 - 2000)
Divisions
- Fashion Fair, LLC â€" cosmetics line
- Ebony Fashion Fair â€" traveling fashion show
- JPC Book Division â€" book publishing
- JPC Consumer Products, LLC â€" Ebony lifestyle branding
- Ebony/Jet Entertainment Group, LLC â€" branded multimedia entertainment
Former Divisions
- Supreme Beauty Products (Duke/Raveen)
- WJPC Radio (now under different ownership as WNTD)
Notes
References
- "Company Overview". Johnson Publishing Company. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.Â
External links
- Johnson Publishing Company official website
- Ebony Fashion Fair official website
- Fashion Fair Cosmetics official website
- John H. Johnson's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project