The Making of the MJ Commemorative Edition
How Do You Create A Book in a Week? Very Carefully.
2009-07-22
By Harriette Cole
It now seems like a lifetime ago the day that Michael Jackson died. Like most people, the Ebony staff was busy at work. We were in the midst of completing our September issue. We were ahead and very proud of it. We could see a moment of breathing room just ahead. So we were motoring forward with intense focus. The team had just left an editorial meeting during which a newsflash had indicated that 80s icon Farrah Fawcett had died. Some of us were saddened. We all remembered Charlie’s Angels, and more recently the documentary Fawcett had made detailing the last three years of her life. Her death was expected.
A couple hours later I was calling a colleague to talk to her post-editorial meeting about some story ideas that needed fleshing out. When she picked up the phone, she sounded strange. She tried to focus on our conversation, but had to ask if I had heard the news. What news?
She had just seen that TMZ had reported that Michael Jackson was dead. My knee jerk: no way. Though in the back of my mind I knew that TMZ had cleverly been accurate with many of its breaking news stories, I didn’t want to believe this.
We had just spent time with the King of Pop. Well, sure it had been two years prior, but it also was the last time MJ had engaged in any public forum. When we spent time with him last he seemed fine: fit, fashionable, focused, fearless. Happy, even. Certainly not near death. We had enjoyed one of the all-time great experiences in publishing, landing a coup with the biggest celebrity of all time when he refused to talk to anybody else. That memory was great. But it was just that.
Within an hour or so—that felt like the most elongated 60-plus minutes--TMZ’s claim was confirmed. Michael Joseph Jackson was dead. For a few moments the Ebony staff was rendered speechless and then we had to take action.
The leadership assembled our small team to talk MJ in the context of Johnson Publishing Company. While many publishing companies and others can lay claim to MJ, few can lay as broad a claim as our company. Some 40 covers over the years between Ebony and Jet, Michael Jackson solo and with his family has long been a friend to us. Indeed, he considered founder John H. Johnson a personal mentor and spoke often of their relationship over the years.
As we talked about how to honor this cultural icon’s memory, the news media had already started beating the drum of controversy. The man had only been dead for a few minutes when the rumor and innuendo, the oddity and absurdity of the MJ story took over the airwaves.
We wanted to tell the triumphant story of MJ’s life and career. And we had the ammo to do so. Our research department started looking in old files of dusty magazines an dour digital records and unearthed many treasures, including articles sharing Michael Jackson’s views about just about everything—from the creative process, to prejudice, family, children and spirituality.
We engaged our editors in quote gathering, first calling upon a broad range of celebrities who might be thinking about MJ while also contacting key individuals who had played a significant role in MJ’s evolution. Some were grieving yet eager to talk to us, like Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson and Quincy Jones. Others, like Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and Chris Tucker, were too broken up to speak.
We combed the annals of MJ’s life ever thinking about what our readers would want to have and hold to remember him by. That included going through our extensive photo archives – about 10 million photographs or more. From 1969 to 2007 Ebony has documented MJ’s movements, and we wanted to be sure to show our readers how he lived as best we could through our own images.
There were all kinds of considerations. Which photos to use? Which Michael periods of Michael’s life and career to focus on? What to put on the cover that would make us different from every other memorial edition that was being planned at other publications? How do pick one picture that attempt to capture the breadth of such an incredible life?
While EbonyJet.com was covering the immediate, the clock was ticking on those of us trying to put together a broader historical record. We knew we were making a special Jet, a refreshed September 2009 issue of Ebony and a commemorative book to come in between representing all things MJ. We needed a timetable to follow to get it all done.
Our production department ran dates and numbers by a variety of printers, finally settling on different companies to fulfill different parts of the multi-layered projects. And our editorial team had to meet every deadline.
Hard doesn’t even begin to describe the challenges before us. We were already a super-lean team trying our best to catch up. Now we had to go into overdrive to even attempt to meet the accelerated deadlines. To say it went seamlessly would be a lie. It was tough. We went back and forth about how to execute the as well as how to market and promote it, and of course sell it.
We engaged virtually every member of our JPC family to help out in one way or another. It became a true team effort. Even when folks started wearing out, even when we were sitting at our desks in the wee hours of the morning, no matter what, we were unified in our effort to celebrate the life and brilliance of this great, if troubled man.
Now, as the media continue to rake MJ’s reputation and life story over the coals, our commemorative book comes out. We decided to let Michael speak for himself. While many speculate as to what kind of person he was, what was on his mind, and how he lived, we went back to his transcripts to reveal how he talked about life. In our book, Michael: In His Own Words and Notes from Those who Loved Him, we share insights through word and image of who this 50-year-old timeless legend was.
Much like his memorial service where so many stood up and helped to redeem this man’s broken reputation, this book serves to showcase MJ in tribute fashion. It is a celebration of his brilliance and creativity.
Yes, the Ebony team got pretty worn out in the process of making it. Yes, the JPC family put our all into creating each of the products that represents our respect for Michael Jackson. And yes, it was worth it. In the world of Black publishing, if you cannot rise to the occasion to honor someone who meant so much to the whole world but who belonged to us first, are you really worth your salt? We surely intend to be. You let us know. We took the slightest pause after closing the final MJ celebratory products before jumping into the next issue. There is no time to slow down now. There are still many more stories to tell about Black people’s lives. It is our job to tell them to you.
Harriette Cole is the acting Editor in Chief of EBONY Magazine.
The Michael Jackson Commemorative Edition is now available on newsstands.
