Preserving the Legacy: Johnson Publishing Company CEO, Linda Johnson Rice - Part 2

<p><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-johnson-rice-a886aa1a9/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Linda Johnson Rice</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is a former magazine owner who was born of John and Eunice Johnson. Linda's father in 1942, founded Johnson Publishing Company, which published Ebony and Jet magazines. And as a result, was the largest black-owned magazine publisher in the United States. In 1982, Johnson became the first African-American to appear on the Forbes 400.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Linda wanted to be an integral part of her father’s and mother’s business. She began training in the fashion department at age seven, and took notes during business meetings and reviewing her parents' incoming and outgoing mail.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Linda attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a BA in journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication. She received an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in 1987. Immediately after graduation, Linda became President and COO of Johnson Publishing until her promotion to CEO in 2002, becoming the first African-American female among the 100 largest black-owned companies in the United States.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this second part of our conversation, Linda relives those dark days where she had to prepare the business for bankruptcy, and how a nurturing family and a loyal circle of friends helped her get through tough times.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We also talked about:</span></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">How the digital age affected Johnson’s Publishing Company</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Overcoming self-doubt and the feeling of failure</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Reinventing a business af