A pioneer in Black print is changing its format to adapt with the times. Per a report from New York Times, JET magazine will cease their print publication in favor of an exclusively digital format.
Linda Johnson Rice, Chairwoman of Johnson publishing, explained her resolve to the Times. “Almost 63 years ago, my father, John Johnson, named the publication Jet because, as he said in the first issue, ‘In the world today, everything is moving faster. There is more news and far less time to read it,'” Rice explained. “He could not have spoken truer words. We are not saying goodbye to JET, we are embracing the future as my father did in 1951.”
To be fair, the print game has be finicky for publications since the Internet boom and more recently the increasing popularity of blogs. In recent years numerous outlets like VIBE and The Source have limited their physical copies to bi-monthly releases, while other popular choices like Honey are completely online.
Beginning in June, JET will have more to a largely digital format that will be available via its website and a paid subscription app. Avid readers can now expect an annual “best of JET” issue.
JET currently has the third-largest circulation in the African-American magazine market with 700,000, just behind Ebony and Essence. It’s be interesting to see how many of their readers convert to the new format. Give us your thoughts about the change in the comments.
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Photo: JET Magazine
