Johnson Publishing Company facts for kids
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| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | November 1942 |
| Founder | |
| Defunct | April 2019 |
| Headquarters | 200 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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Key people
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(chief executive officer) |
| Products |
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| Revenue | US$90 million (c. 2013) |
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an important American publishing company. It was founded in November 1942 by John H. Johnson, an African-American businessman. The company was based in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was owned and run by the Johnson family until John H. Johnson's death in 2005.
JPC's magazines changed how African Americans were shown in popular media. They showed African Americans as they saw themselves. The company's photographs also made history. JPC was once the largest African-American-owned publishing company in the United States. Its most famous magazine was Ebony. JPC also published Jet, a weekly news magazine, from 1951 until 2014. In its later years, the company also got involved in film and television.
The founder's daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, was the last leader of the company. In its final years, Johnson Publishing Company sold off its assets. This included its famous Chicago headquarters in 2011. It also sold its magazines in 2016. In April 2019, JPC closed down after 76 years. The historic Ebony and Jet photo archives were sold in July 2019. They were bought by a group of foundations for $30 million. This was done to make the photos available to everyone.
Contents
Company History
Johnson Publishing Company was started in 1942 by John Harold Johnson. He was working as an office clerk at an insurance company in Chicago. Johnson got a $500 loan using his mother's furniture as a guarantee. With this money, he mailed out offers for subscriptions. He received over 3,000 orders. With that money, he printed his first magazine, Negro Digest, in November 1942. By mid-1943, Negro Digest was printing 50,000 copies each month.
Company Headquarters
The building at 820 S. Michigan Avenue was built especially for Johnson Publishing Company. It was designed by John Moutoussamy. This was the first building in downtown Chicago owned by an African American. It is still the only high-rise building in Chicago designed by an African American.
Johnson Publishing had several locations over the years. From 1942 to 1943, its first office was in the Supreme Life Building. As the company grew, Johnson bought a building at 5619 S. State Street in 1943. Six years later, in 1949, it moved to 1820 South Michigan Avenue. In December 1971, the company moved to its famous 820 S. Michigan building.
In 2017, the City of Chicago made the Johnson Building a city landmark. Later, a company called 3L Real Estate bought the building. They turned the office spaces into 150 rental apartments.
The famous Ebony Test Kitchen was used by the magazine's food editors. It was given to Landmarks Illinois. They then gave it to New York's Museum of Food and Drink. The original Ebony/Jet sign on top of the building was kept. It now welcomes people from the air and is part of a rooftop deck. This deck has great views of Grant Park, Lake Michigan, and Chicago's Museum Campus.
Company Staff
In the early 1970s, the company had 300 employees. 175 of them worked at the Chicago headquarters. Others worked in offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. By the end of 1980, the company had grown to 1400 employees.
Members of John H. Johnson's family also worked for the company. His wife, Eunice W. Johnson, helped start the company. She was also the director of the Ebony Fashion Fair. Their son, John H. Johnson Jr., was a photographer for Ebony and Jet magazines. Their daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, became the company's CEO in 2003.
Company's Impact
John H. Johnson once said he was trying to make money, not history. But he did both. His magazines filled a need in the market. They also "forever changed the popular representation of African Americans." The publications showed African Americans as they saw themselves. Their photographs for photojournalism made history.
Film and Television Work
The company made a film called The Secret of Selling the Negro Market in 1954. This film was made to encourage advertisers. It wanted them to promote their products in African-American media.
Ebony/Jet TV Shows
The company also produced Ebony/Jet Celebrity Showcase. This TV show was based on the two magazines. It started on August 1, 1982. The show was later taken off the air. John H. Johnson was not happy with the quality of the guests.
Ebony/Jet Showcase, a weekly TV show, started in September 1985. It was hosted by Greg Gumbel and Deborah Crable. By 1987, this show reached 92 percent of Black TV homes in the U.S. It was the top Black-oriented interview and entertainment show. The last episode aired in October 1993.
Other Business Ventures
Ebony Fashion Fair and Cosmetics
For over 40 years, starting in 1958, the company hosted the Ebony Fashion Fair. This was a traveling fashion show started by Eunice W. Johnson. The show raised money for scholarships and charities. It traveled to cities across the United States and Canada. The last show was held in 2009.
Johnson Publishing also made a line of cosmetics. These were for women of color. The line was called Fashion Fair Cosmetics. It started in 1973. It was once sold in over 2,500 stores worldwide. In 2022, Fashion Fair Cosmetics was relaunched. It is now available in over 250 Sephora stores and online.
WJPC Radio Station
Johnson Publishing Company bought the WGRT radio station in May 1973. They paid $1.8 million for it. The company later renamed the station WJPC. It began broadcasting on November 1, 1973. WJPC was the first Black-owned radio station in Chicago. WJPC-FM played mostly R&B and soul music. It operated from November 1973 until it was sold in December 1994.
Company Decline
In May 2009, the company that printed Ebony and Jet magazines took a mortgage against JPC's headquarters. This was because JPC owed nearly $12 million for printing bills. In July 2011, JPMorgan became a partner in the company.
Sale of Headquarters and Publications
In January 2011, the company sold its headquarters at 820 S. Michigan Avenue. It had been there for almost 40 years. Columbia College Chicago bought the building. In November 2017, the building was sold again to 3L Real Estate for $10 million. They turned it into luxury apartments. The real estate company said the Johnson Publishing Company sign would stay on top of the building.
In March 2015, the company offered the Ebony/Jet photo archives for sale. These archives covered more than 70 years of history. This was done to help reduce the company's debt. In June 2016, the company announced the sale of Ebony and Jet magazines. A company called Clear View Group bought them. Johnson Publishing kept its cosmetics business and fashion publications.
Bankruptcy and Photo Archives Sale
On April 9, 2019, the company officially closed down. This was a difficult decision. Johnson Publishing Company stated that it was an important part of American and African American history. Its impact on society was huge.
On April 22, 2019, Mellody Hobson and her husband, filmmaker George Lucas, wanted to take possession of the Ebony photo archives. They said the collection was used as a guarantee for a $12 million loan JPC received in 2015. In July 2019, the more than 4 million items in the Ebony and Jet archives were sold. A group of foundations won the auction with a $30 million bid. This group included the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The archives will go to the Getty Research Institute and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. They will be made available to the public online.
In January 2020, Johnson Publishing Company sold its art collection. This was the last of its major assets. The collection had 87 pieces of art. The auction earned almost three million dollars.
Legacy and Tributes
In 2010, a public high school in Chicago was named Johnson College Prep. It was named in honor of John H. and Eunice Johnson.
The Chicago History Museum created an exhibition called Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years Of Ebony Fashion Fair. It was on display from March 2013 to May 2014. The exhibition also traveled to other museums.
The Rebuild Foundation held an exhibition called A Johnson Publishing Story. It showed paintings, books, sculptures, and furniture from the 820 S. Michigan Avenue headquarters. In 2018, an exhibition called The Black Image Corporation showed photos from the company's archives.
In 2020, the group of charities that bought the photo archives created a committee. This committee will help organize the archives and make them available to the public.
Divisions
- Fashion Fair, LLC – a cosmetics line
- JPC Book Division – published books
- JPC Consumer Products, LLC – managed Ebony lifestyle brands
- Ebony/Jet Entertainment Group, LLC – handled multimedia entertainment
Former Divisions
- Supreme Beauty Products – (Duke/Raveen hair products)
- WJPC Radio (now under different ownership as WNTD)
- Ebony Fashion Fair – a traveling fashion show
See also
- African-American book publishers in the United States, 1960–80
