Tag-Archive for » Magic Johnson «
Magic Johnson is the new owner of Soul Train. The former Lakers star says Soul Train is a great brand, and he has big plans for it. Johnson has been riding a big wave of success in his business ventures. Soul Train debuted in syndication 40 years ago this month with Host and Creator Don Cornelius. Over its more than 35-years on TV, Soul Train showcased Jazz, Blues, Motown, The Sound Of Philly, Chicago Soul, Disco, Hip Hop, New Jack Swing and all the stars that came with trends. A few years ago, Cornelius sold the rights to Soul Train to an independent group. Besides DVD releases, there’s been the Soul Train Awards on BET in recent years. Now, Johnson has acquired the rights to the ground breaking music show, and he plans to bring it back to television.
Magic Johnson is the new owner of Soul Train. The former Lakers star says Soul Train is a great brand, and he has big plans for it. Johnson has been riding a big wave of success in his business ventures. Soul Train debuted in syndication 40 years ago this month with Host and Creator Don Cornelius. Over its more than 35-years on TV, Soul Train showcased Jazz, Blues, Motown, The Sound Of Philly, Chicago Soul, Disco, Hip Hop, New Jack Swing and all the stars that came with trends. A few years ago, Cornelius sold the rights to Soul Train to an independent group. Besides DVD releases, there’s been the Soul Train Awards on BET in recent years. Now, Johnson has acquired the rights to the ground breaking music show, and he plans to bring it back to television.
No Deal for Magic and Johnson Publishing. It looks like the likelihood of Earvin Magic Johnson buying Johnson Publishing is no longer in the offing. In a statement, Johnson admitted an affiliate of his company held “advanced discussions” to buy Johnson Publishing Co., the owner of Ebony and Jet, but was unable to reach an agreement. Johnson says he remains interested in African-American media, but currently isn’t disclosing whether he is looking at other properties: “I would like to salute Linda Johnson Rice and the Johnson family for pioneering the iconic brand of the Johnson Publishing Company, which we have all come to love and respect. Ebony and Jet have been permanent fixtures on coffee tables in African-American homes for many years. Recently, an affiliate of Magic Johnson Enterprises and Johnson Publishing Company were in advanced discussions to do business together, but unfortunately we were unable to reach a definitive agreement. We will continue to look for opportunities to invest in African-American media.”
Meanwhile, Wendy E. Parks, Johnson Publishing Co. spokeswoman, issued this statement to Journal-isms: “Our team of advisers have continued to explore a wide range of options to leverage our iconic Ebony and Jet brands and sustain our leadership position in the marketplace as the No. 1 African-American-owned publishing company in the world. As a privately held company, we are unable to discuss specifics of our discussions with potential partners.” Ad revenue at Johnson Publishing’s Ebony magazine declined 38 percent to $35.5 million last year on a 39 percent drop in ad pages, according to Publishers Information Bureau. Los Angeles-based Magic Johnson Enterprises, has partnerships with several companies including Starbucks Corp., 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. and T.G.I. Friday’s Inc.
It’s happened to every great team. The Yankees had their dry spell in the 1980s, the Celtics in the 1990s, the 49ers in the mid-2000s, the Montreal Canadiens right now. Bad drafting, bad trades, bad signings, bad ownership … one or more of them will come back and bite every team sometime.
For Los Angeles Dodgers fans, the last few years must have seemed like an endless parade of eye-gougings. Lost in the wilderness? They were on a different planet. Owner Frank McCourt’s very public, very messy imploding marriage bankrupted the team and crippled their baseball activities (despite having Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and shoulda-been MVP Matt Kemp, L.A. finished third in their division last year); if that weren’t enough, a Giants fan was nearly beaten to death at Dodger stadium. The damage to one of baseball’s most historic franchises was catastrophic – and it proved to be a real black eye for baseball. America’s second-biggest market deserves better.
The good thing is they got better, real quick. What better person to turn the Dodgers around than the man who absolutely epitomizes Los Angeles sports – the architect of the “Showtime” Lakers and one of the towering figures of 20th century sports, Magic Johnson. Johnson and his partners paid an astonishing two billion dollars for the Dodgers, the highest price for any sports franchise. Ever.
It’s a lot of money, but we all suspect that Magic will get his money’s worth out of that cash. Of course, he can’t fill out the rotation, bat cleanup or bring back James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to run the fast break from the owner’s box and distract the opposing team – but what he will bring to the Dodgers is his astonishing business acumen and a sense of credibility that the franchise had been lacking. Check out this Times article; the man’s been a creative, brilliant businessman since he left the game in the 1990s. He’ll back make all the bucks he laid out for the franchise soon enough.
More important than that, though, is the credibility factor. The first image of Magic’s smiling, jovial face at Chavez Ravine will wipe away all those ugly memories of McCourt and the team’s off-the-field mess. It’s something that Los Angeles deserves, and it’s something that baseball fans everywhere should feel good about; a strong franchise in the City of Angels helps the game immensely.