Remember The Titans
By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Tuesday, August 9 2005, 9:54AM
The media has lost two hugely important public figures this week. First there was news that longtime ABC News anchor Peter Jennings had died of lung cancer at 67. Then the next day came news that Ebony and JET publisher John H. Johnson had passed away at 87. They will both be sorely missed.
For 60 years, John H. Johnson has provided news to, for and about black people. When the white media wouldn't tell our stories, Johnson did. In 1945, he started Ebony magazine. Six years later, he launched JET. The first magazine Johnson started in Chicago in November 1945 has since grown to 1.7 million circulation and its smaller weekly counterpart, JET, boasts a circulation of 927,000.
Ebony and JET played a profound role in my own childhood. My favorite aunt in St. Louis kept copies of JET magazine for years at a time and stored them in her bathroom like a library. When my family would visit my aunt, I would often sit in the bathroom reading old copies of JET and catching up on the latest black news or the top 10 R&B singles of the week. Even back then, I skipped over the "Beauty of the Week" page.
When I took my first job out of college on the Michael Dukakis for President campaign, I worked as a liaison to the black press and developed a relationship with some of the staff at Ebony and JET. Richette Haywood and Simeon Booker were my connections to the headquarters in Chicago. "I tried to get your story in but Chicago wouldn't let me do it," Booker would say to me.
A veteran of the civil rights movement era of journalism, Booker himself is a legend in black media. He has served as Washington Bureau Chief for Ebony and JET for decades and he writes the weekly whispers column that drops names of important black people in bold type. I can't remember John H. Johnson without thinking of Booker.
Over the years, I stopped reading Ebony and JET. A whole new crop of black magazines has since come and gone. CODE, Ebony Man, Suede, Emerge and others learned the hard lesson that magazines don't always make a profit. But other black magazines have grown and thrived. Essence, Black Enterprise, VIBE, XXL and The Source have filled in the gaps that Ebony and JET once filled.
Like some black readers, I became somewhat disappointed with the scope of Ebony and JET, but I always knew they served a valuable role for many in the community. Earlier this year, I tried unsuccessfully to get Ebony and JET to cover my new book, Beyond The Down Low, but despite all my contacts, neither of them did. I had to rely on VIBE instead.
As the black community has grown and evolved, so have our tastes and needs for magazines. But Ebony and JET are still guilty pleasures, even for those of us who no longer subscribe.
If there is one thing I have learned in my work with the media, it's that you cannot rely solely on one source. That applies to Ebony and JET as much as it does to network news, which explains why I have migrated from anchor to anchor over the years.
I began my news flirtation with Peter Jennings back in 1978, when Jennings became an anchor of World News Tonight with co-anchors Frank Reynolds and Max Robinson. Robinson was the first black anchor on network television, and I was always drawn to his reports out of Chicago, but Jennings was the memorable guy with the accent.
In the 1980s I switched allegiance to Dan Rather after his legendary 1988 on-air quarrel with Republican presidential candidate George Bush. In law school, I taped episodes of CBS Evening News every night so I could watch after class. But by this decade, I had switched once again, this time to NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
Now that Brokaw, Jennings and Rather are all gone from their posts, a new era of 24-hour news media is well underway. No longer do we rely on a single magazine or a single network anchor to bring us the news. Now we find it on our own on the Internet or generate it on our own blogs.
But for those of us who follow the media, we will always remember the titans who shaped the era before us. We will remember Peter Jennings and John H. Johnson.
Comments conceal
michaeliv
August 9 2005, 11:45AM
I haven't picked up a Jet or Ebony magazine in years.
Times have changed alot. Can anyone recommend a good gay black male publication, aside for online e-zines and adult?
Jazzi
August 9 2005, 4:04PM
I too have fond memories of visiting the homes of certain family members & friends & see stacks of Ebony & Jets magazines. I don't know if it was because I felt they weren't meeting my needs or just plain lost interest but I too stopped reading them. I turned to Vibe, The Source, Sister 2 Sister, & Essence. I also use to read Emerge. This magazine was not as entertainment oriented as the above but was more politically provocative & focused on African American issues & concerns. Then they changed the name of the mag to Savoy. A real disappointment as I see Savoy as one big fluff piece but I still subscribed for a while because at least it was about us. Venus was the first(?) gay magazine geared toward the African American community & I simply loved it. They only issued about six issues anually & I looked forward to every issue. The last issue I received was early last year. I don't know if Venus isn't being published anymore but it was a great read.
cmoney
August 10 2005, 12:20AM
I don't think African-Americans under the age of 35 can appreciate the significance of John Johnson and the publication empire he created. He began his venture during the time of segregation and endeavored to present a positive view of African-Americans to ourselves and to the world. This was revolutionary! He showed us that we were beautiful, had class, could run businesses and organizations, could own big houses and cars, could travel the world, could change laws and the world. This may seem routine today, but during the 40's through the 70's, this was amazing stuff. I had the pleasure of meeting John H. Johnson at his headquarters in Chicago when I was 15. It was the first time that I met a Black millionaire. He owned his own high rise office building on Chicago's Lakefront! He was the boss! I later learned that he was a major behind the scenes supporter of many civil rights organizations. A role he never blew his own horn about. He was also a very distinguished man who could hold his own with any of today's unethical, overpaid white CEO's who routinely run their corporations into the ground and fleece their investors. Many of today's corporate giants would do well to emulate the work ethic, civic mindedness and success of John H. Johnson. Ebony and Jet may not be the "go to" publications that they once were, but that is because they led the way for many others to come along and improve upon the formula that John H. Johnson created. To to some extent, they are victims of their own success.
Mike
August 10 2005, 2:41AM
The first time I read Ebony, I felt such a thrill because up to that moment I had no real sense of African-American life. It was like a door was opened to the world outside of my narrow-minded little town. I devoured that first issue I saw. I read it over and over. I stared at the photographs and felt such joy at how beautiful and positive our lives could be. I felt inspired to life and its possibilities. I felt less alone and adrift in the vast ocean of bigotry and ignorance that was America in the 1950s and 1960s. Jet Magazine had the same impact. Now, when I go to the magazine shop and I see the many and varied magazines devoted solely to African-Americans, I understand just how influential and pioneering Mr. Johnson was. John Johnson was a great man, a great African-American. I salute his vision, his courage, his leadership. May God give him rest.
DizYaBoy
August 10 2005, 9:14AM
I grew up reading Ebony and Jet magazines. May he rest in peace!
Ronald Wesby
August 12 2005, 1:51AM
Mr.Johnson was one of my heros.EBONY Magazine was the premiere vehicle in my mind that made me beleive,"Black Was Beautiful",and that anything was possible in America. He is and always will be a Giant in my Haert & Mind.The Johnson Family has my sympathies. Indeed"A GREAT ELEPHANT HAS PASSED".
Antwoine Williams
August 16 2005, 6:57PM
From my understanding the man as homophobic. Maybe I am wrong, but I never read anything in Ebony that spoke, truthfully and honestly about Black Gay Life and the men and women that live it everyday. If I am wrong, some one please provide with the edition.
Nevertheless, I am sure he was a good man and I take nothing away from his accomplishments. I remember reading his book, and I enjoyed it. It was definitely inspiring. But, I have never been a fan of Ebony Magazine. There wasn't anything in it, that really spoke to me; as a young, Gay, Black African-American Male, at least not on a regular bases. And I do pray his soul rest in peace and that his family be strengthen in such a time like this.
Peace!