Rogers was named CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., which owns Ebony monthly magazine and JET weekly periodical. Linda Johnson Rice, the daughter of the late, legendary founder, relinquishes the CEO title but remains on as chairman. Rogers told reporters she intends to expand Ebony and JET licensing and Web site presences as well as revive the popular Fashion Fair cosmetics line.
“I’ve been a generalist all of my career, focused on taking brands to the next level and integrating all of a company’s functional expertise under one roof to move forward,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Before she can do any of that, however, Rogers is being asked to help the publishing company stave off extinction — and do so with no publishing experience.
Johnson Publishing has been hemorrhaging customers and advertisers for the past few years. JET‘s circulation dropped 11.7 percent in 2009 from 2008, to 795,035, while Ebony‘s circulation declined 9.7 percent, to 1.17 million. For the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2009, revenues at JET dropped 29 percent, to $6.4 million, while Ebony‘s slid 24 percent, to $14.37 million, according to industry reports.
But if someone can do it, people believe Rogers can. Like Barack and Michelle Obama, she has an advanced degree from Harvard. She was also the former director of the Illinois Lottery and became the first female and African American president of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas.
Rogers, who was unceremoniously ousted from the White House early this year after two uninvited guests crashed a state dinner in November, had been working as a consultant to Johnson Publishing Co. since June 5.
Rogers said she also intends to expand Ebony and JET magazines’ popular features online and create communities around them: For example, to highlight JET magazine’s “Beauty of the Week” online, post a video, host an advertising sponsor, publish a question-and-answer column, ask readers to vote on whether this week’s beauty is more exciting than last week’s, and hold online contests around the theme.
“I think that Ebony can stand on its own, and JET can stand on its own,” she said. “People respond when they call.” –terry shropshire
