Jet departing newstands

Jet Magazine, a staple in the black media industry that came to prominence because of its reporting during the civil rights movement, is ceasing its print operations in June in favor of a digital-only publishing strategy, Jet’s parent company Johnson Publishing announced on Wednesday.

“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,’” said Linda Johnson Rice, chairman of JPC.

“He could not have spoken more relevant words today.  We are not saying goodbye to JET, we are embracing the future as my father did in 1951 and taking it to the next level.”          

Jet is just the latest black media outlet to cease its print operations, and it joins part of a growing trend in the print media world of opting for an all-digital strategy as the cost of printing has skyrocketed and print advertising dollars and circulation numbers have plummeted.

With a circulation of 700,000, Jet was the third largest black magazine in the market, behind competitors Ebony and Essence. With only 10,000 digital subscribers, it faces a major uphill battle transitioning its current subscribers from print to digital.

The magazine first hit newsstands in 1951, and for decades was published as a once-weekly digest-sized magazine. In recent years, the publication shifted from its weekly print cycle to around once every three weeks, and now it will only print an annual “best of JET” issue.

The new Jet will be a weekly digital magazine app with an accompanying website filled with more interactive graphics, videos and archival materials according to the press release.

While there are no layoffs expected as a result of the change, Jet’s plan to go all digital will leave Ebony and Essence as the only two mainstream black magazines still in print.

. . . .

Any views expressed on The Scrutineer are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera America's editorial policy.