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The end of an almost 70-year legacy is upon us as the black-owned Johnson Publishing Company, owner of Ebony and Jet magazines, will now only be partly black-owned.

Johnson Publishing announced last week that JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s special investments group has acquired a “substantial” minority stake in the company. It is the first time in the company’s history that it will not be fully family-owned.

It’s not really a big surprised due to the fact that Johnson Publishing has been struggling in recent years with declining circulation and advertising sales.  At one time Ebony and Jet averaged respectively, 1,294,824 and 900,000 in circulation. But by the end of 2010 the circulation numbers dropped to 997,173 and 703,944. Moreover, Johnson has seen a substantial revenue-drop from more than $472 million to $120 million.

Likewise, most black readers who continue to subscribe, do so out of loyalty or some sort of sentiment of what they believed the publications stands for. 

Be honest, when was the last time you quoted or referenced an article in Ebony?  When was the last time, you actually read Jet?  The reality is that the modern day black family hasn’t been supporting either publication the way that we should. 

Source: The Atlanta Post

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