Post date: Aug 18, 2013 7:52:11 PM
We at MaGaZiNe yEtU® are sorry to inform you that we have now closed. No more services will be provided to the community or the public. This is due to an ongoing lack in financial support from advertisers. Our readers have always supported our efforts, and those who have already been made aware of our closing have expressed deep regret. This means that our staff lost work also. Since our closing, Investigative Staff Writer Ms. Alecia Brooks has gained employment elsewhere, but our Kenyan Correspondent Mr. Iddi Ganguma is without work. From the work over the course of the past 2 years, I believe that local Black owned businesses grew to love MaGaZiNe yEtU®, but many saw it as not a publication or news source for them, but a personal magazine for myself. This is due to the fact that many local Black businesses didn’t bother taking a look at what their own customers were reading “MaGaZiNe yEtU®”. I have faithfully lobbied local government, corporations and organizations in support of the local Black owned businesses in spite of the lack of financial support. However, the burden of the community must be shared. Working together to rebuild and to gain success. Therefore we’re regrettably closing. There are those who will be happy that we are closing, they seek to gain from not having any media attention or investigation into exploiting Black men, women and children. There are those who are unhappy, they see this as a sign of moving in the wrong direction. The financial support needed was actually not so great that local businesses could not help. The funding came almost exclusively from my own personal money and/or savings. And most of the local Black owned business owners each individually made 50% more to 200% more than I. We could have easily come up with a couple hundred dollars a month to print. Printed media is crucial to our people because that is the preferred was to receive their news and updates on events for a great amount of us. However, even as I stated in our August 2011 issue’s article Black Excellence, people don’t believe that goods and services from non-Caucasians has much value. I have been told I need to take $10 to $15 and offer a full page space for example. For all the informational pamphlets, applications for various government and private sector services, and other printed material which I provided, delivered and explained for free, and for all the free printed and online ads provided, that is a slap in the face. For me to sit back and watch as the same Black business owners who complained that an advertisement in MaGaZiNe yEtU® is too costly, paying double or more to advertise in media that do not support our community or our businesses, or our cause at all. In fact most of them even paint a negative image of Blacks in their publications or websites. It is even more sad that some of the Black customers of these businesses walk to their stores to patronize them, and the owners drive descent vehicles SUV’s, etc. How can they scrape the pennies out of the pockets of the people and not give back? One businessman in particular always claims that he gets most of his business from Caucasians so he doesn’t want to “offend them” by being seen in a Black owned magazine. But, after investigation, he actually has many Black clients who contribute to his finances. Now, many of the local Black businesses did other things such as tell people about MaGaZiNe yEtU®, refer us to others, sell the magazine at their store, etc. Some even came to government meetings and other events in support of our cause. Our websites document these wonderful deeds. But without a couple hundred dollars a month, we cannot print regularly. Pitiful? So this chapter is now closed. Thank you for all your support.
Mr. Kenneth Longdon, publisher