Sooooo the dude who sold Shea Butter bought Essence, it's once again 100%! black owned and because of that we should rejoice?

Sooooo the dude who sold Shea Butter bought Essence, it’s once again 100%! black owned and because of that we should rejoice?

Sooooo the dude who sold Shea Butter bought Essence, it’s once again 100%! black owned and because of that we should rejoice? Nah. Essence lost it’s shine a long time ago, I don’t trust this. I think this is an attempt to jump out in front of the call for real black media in the aftermath of the cancellation of Roland’s show at TV One for financial reasons.

I believe Essence will become a mediawhorehouse for black feminists who write for black but white owned media.. a way to wrap them all together to push the same tired liberal rhetoric in black face during the 2018 election cycle and in the build up to the 2020 elections under the guise of ‘empowering black women’.

I give Essence a year, 2 tops before it files bankruptcy, cancels the print edition and goes digital or gets sold.

Financially this deal makes no sense. Time is selling Essence and other underperforming publications as a means to stop the bleeding. Time is a media conglomerate. They have years, decades of experience running print publications. If they couldn’t make Essence profitable in 20 years I seriously doubt he can.

Old media is dying. Print publications are struggling… notice they’re getting thinner… lack of advertising. Most are faced with a difficult choice: continue to get thinner, go digital or shut down all together. Black publications have struggled the most. Johnson Publishing sold Ebony and Jet magazines to Texas firm in 2016 and one year later cut 1/3 of it’s staff including editor Kyra Kyles.

As for content, Essence doesn’t offer anything that is not already available online. Free… the ONLY thing Essence brings to the table is a music fest and newfound ability to say it’s 100%!b(MISSING)lack owned… but that won’t be enough. It’s an old brand, it’s heyday is over. When is the last time you checked them online, let alone bought an actual magazine?

I think this is a desperate attempt to jump out in front of calls for black owned media. But here’s the thing… most of the people making those demands are referring to black media that speaks truth to power. Not black media that’s white liberal rhetoric in black face.

With Sale, Essence Is Once Again a Fully Black-Owned Magazine

Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Sundial Brands, said he bought the publication “to serve and empower women of color.”