Publications
Publications
- December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
- HBS Case Collection
Ebony Magazine
By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Jackson
Abstract
For nearly 75 years, the Johnson Publishing Company has been the most successful African American magazine publisher. Its flagship Ebony magazine was an iconic coffee table fixture for decades in black households of all classes, making founder John H. Johnson the first African American to make the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. But the privately held company was now in the hands of his daughter, and it faced the bracing, debilitating winds besetting the entire magazine and newspaper industry. Linda Johnson Rice now had to decide what to do with the company’s publications and brands.
Keywords
Business Restructuring; Media; Race Characteristics; Social History; Contemporary History; Fairness; Race; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Adaptation; Consolidation; Culture; Brands and Branding; Journals and Magazines; Decisions; Business History; Restructuring; Innovation and Management; Crisis Management; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry; Chicago
Citation
Rogers, Steven, and Derrick Jackson. "Ebony Magazine." Harvard Business School Case 317-043, December 2016. (Revised May 2018.)