Jet
27,178 articles
First published in 1951, JET magazine is a weekly publication written and produced for the African-American marketplace. Started by Ebony founder and publishing magnet John H. Johnson, JET magazine is currently owned and operated by Johnson Publishing Company Inc., located in Chicago, Ill. Its editorial offices also reside in Chicago, Ill. With a 2010 audience of over 9 million weekly readers, JET magazine provides news and information with an African-American perspective on...
topics related to entertainment, business, politics, religion and relationships. Originally titled The Weekly Negro News Magazine and produced in a mostly black and white format, the magazine underwent a change to full-color production in 1999, but continued to maintain the iconic small digest format, in which the publication is still produced today. Its region is the United States. On November 1, 1951, showcasing its roots in both the African-American marketplace and the entertainment community, the first cover of JET magazine featured Edna May Robinson--a famous Cotton Club dancer and former wife of Sugar Ray Robinson. In 1955, in an historic move that would bring the magazine into the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, JET published the first photographs from the funeral of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a young man brutally murdered after allegedly whistling at a white woman. The photographs brought national attention to the murder and offered the nation and the African-American community a closer look at the brutality and race issues associated with the slaying. In August of 2005, a major change in JET's history took place when the magazine's owner and founder, John H. Johnson, died at the age of 87. Johnson was the first African American named to the Forbes 400, his peers awarded him with the honor of Publisher of the Year in 1972 and, in 1996, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton. In July of 2006, approximately one year after Johnson's death, his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, appointed Johnson Publishing's first Editorial Director, Bryan Monroe, who became Vice President/Editorial Director of Ebony and JET magazines. In April of 2009, Mira Lowe, one of Monroe's first hires, became Editor-in-Chief of JET magazine. In February of 2010, under Lowe's leadership, JET announced the largest revamping of its branding strategy in the magazine's history. Changes included updates to the magazine's logo, layout and design, along with the introduction of new features, including JETPerspective, JET Buzz and JET Style. JET magazine's Editor-in-Chief is Mira Lowe, Candi Meriwether is Managing Editor and Linda Johnson Rice is Publisher.Read more