JET Covers & Coverage
I was the newsroom point-person on Election Night 2008 when Sen. Barack Obama won his historic bid for the presidency and gave his victory speech in Grant Park across the street from our offices. I also was a part of the editorial team covering his inauguration in Washington, D.C.. Both issues of JET were popular special collector's editions.
One of my biggest accomplishments as editor in chief was directing the coverage of the commemorative Michael Jackson issue in July 2009. Jackson had appeared on 40 JET covers throughout the years, the most of any celebrity. This issue was the highest-selling in the magazine's history. In October 2009, the iconic Whitney Houston graced the cover in an exclusive interview with her and her mother about Houston's personal woes and her return to the
music industry. Another crowd favorite.
R&B chart-topper Trey Songz was the fresh face of the "new" JET, which debuted in February 2010 with a creative redesign, contemporary logo and expanded editorial features. The revamped magazine set the stage for JET's new website that launched three months later. I was proud to oversee the coverage of another historic moment: JET's exclusive story of MoNique's Oscar-winning weekend in March 2010. We were given special access to the actress-comedian and her home, chronicling her experiences leading to the Academy Awards ceremony, where she won the Best Supporting Actress honor for "Precious."
Interview with LeToya Luckett
Often celebrities and newsmakers stopped by Johnson Publishing Co., the famed headquarters of JET magazine. On this day, R&B singer LeToya Luckett paid JET a visit after a day full of activities in Chicago. The former Destiny's Child member talked about her upcoming music and TV projects.
Interview with Shirley Sherrod
During the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in San Diego in July 2010, I had an one-on-one conversation with Shirley Sherrod. The former USDA Georgia rural development director addressed conventioneers during a plenary discussion. I met with her later in a more private setting. Sherrod had recently been forced to resign from her government post after a blogger posted out-of-context excerpts of her address to a March 2010 NAACP event onto his website.
EBONY Covers & Coverage
As assistant managing editor at EBONY magazine, I had the opportunity to work on four ground-breaking issues. The July 2007 Who You Callin'? issue took a hard look at the use of offense language and the culture of disrespect in the Black community and beyond. The December 2007 issue capped the year with an exclusive story and photo shoot with Michael Jackson at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Michael: 25 Years After Thriller was the singer's last extensive printed interview. The Black Cool issue featuring The 25 Coolest Brothers of All Time in July 2008 was a critically acclaimed hit with the publishing for the first time of eight separate covers showcasing eight different men. In a major coup, EBONY secured the first sit-down printed interview with President-elect Barack Obama after his November election and prior to his inauguration for its January 2009 edition.