CHICAGO—From the mailboxes of African-American homes and company waiting room tables to underneath the dryers in beauty shops, Jet magazine has been a pillar in the black community for 62 years, and hits newsstands July 22nd with a refreshed design and rejuvenated mission that reaches to grab the attention of new audiences.
“It’s always been my goal to get here and rebrand Jet, and to make it a part of the current cultural conversation,” said Jet Editor-in-Chief Mitzi Miller, who started tweaking the magazine a little over two years ago, a post she describes as her “dream job.”
Growing up with Jet
“As a black woman who grew up on Jet and as a journalist, I truly believe that our community deserves to have Jet, so it’s an honor to be the person put at the helm of spearheading the turnaround, bringing it back to where it’s not just your parent’s magazine, but this is the magazine that’s for you to check out what’s going on as well,” she told theGrio.
Miller, who worked independently as a journalist, author and editor, and has held posts at Honey andJane magazines, said readers were adamant about keeping the design compact, but by aggregating less content and addressing the growing needs of new audiences, “Now we’re not just a quick read, we are a quick, engaging, smart read.”
Click here to read more about the new JET and to see historic covers on TheGrio.com.