Johnson Publishing Company announced Wednesday the end of printed JET Magazines, reporting the switch to a digital format beginning in June. The Chicago based magazine, who began as a weekly publication, changed to releasing every three weeks in recent years. It currently boasts a circulation of roughly 700,000. The new app will be available on all tablets and mobile devices, with weekly updates, breaking news and videos.
“We were not able to deliver and to print a weekly magazine that was cost-effective,” said Johnson Publishing Company CEO and former White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. “Over the past few years we tried to figure out how do we get back to the Jet that everyone had growing up, where they got information more readily. We made the decision that this was a great opportunity to move JET to a digital platform.”
JET, who was popular for its “Beauty of the Week” feature and wedding and anniversary announcements, began in 1951 by Johnson H. Johnson as The Weekly Negro News Magazine. In what could be considered foreshadowing, Johnson switched to the name JET as a nod to how fast things were changing, explaining in the first issue: “In the world today everything is moving along at a faster clip.” During the Civil Rights movement, the publication gained prominence for its coverage of the murder of Emmitt Till, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery bus boycott.
Current subscribers pay $20 each year for the print edition. Those subscribers will receive instructions on how to get the new app and to continue receiving JET. Print subscribers who opt out of the digital version are granted the option to convert their subscriptions to sister publication, Ebony magazine. Ebony, the largest circulation magazine for African Americans, has an average circulation of 1.29 million.