'JET' magazine's final print issue hits stands Monday
theGRIO REPORT - JET Magazine is shifting gears and has decided to transition to digital publishing, marking an end to an era as the last print issue hits stands on Monday (June 9).
JET magazine is shifting gears and has decided to transition to digital publishing, marking an end to an era as the last print issue hits stands on Monday (June 9).
Last month, the 63-year-old magazine announced that it will be ending all print publications and instead will shift to an all-digital format.
The magazine’s last print issue celebrates the publication’s most iconic covers since it was founded in 1951 as the only text visible reads: “An American Icon.”
“This is is something that we have been thinking about doing for a long time,” Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, COO of Johnson Publishing, previously told theGrio. “We really felt that [our readers] were looking for something that would be able to meet their needs more frequently.”
TheGrio | ‘JET’ Magazine ends print issues, will focus on digital
As part of its new initiative, the magazine plans to expand its coverage of issues and stories in the black community on a digital platform. Their new mission includes re-designing their online website to include videos, social media sharing ability, short documentaries and more.
A new paid subscription app is set to launch on June 30 and will allow users to download a weekly digital magazine filled with new and original content.
Lastly, Ebony — the sister publication to JET — will team up with the magazine to launch an e-commerce store where specific merchandise will be available for purchase.
“It will all be just bigger and better,” McKissack said. “We will just be doing more of what we’re already doing.”
Taking all these new changes into consideration, McKissack still assures readers that they will uphold the magazine’s popular catch phrase: “If it isn’t in JET, it didn’t happen.”
Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works
