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2nd Year Anniversary Issue Swagga Digital Magazine Winter 2011

Mike Vick Talks Happiness, Comeback In Uptown Magazine

Fall Issue Swagga Digital Magazine 2011

Today's News Highlights 06.20.11

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
McIlroy captures history at Congressional
Rory McIlroy posts the lowest mark in tournament history, shooting a final-round 69 for a total of 16-under 268, as he runs away with the 111th U.S. Open.
(By Barry Svrluga)

CEO Pay: What the area’s executives make
Hefty stock awards and bonuses drove total compensation up over 20 percent for Washington’s highest-paid chief executives last year, reflecting a nationwide trend among the largest public companies.
(By Danielle Douglas)

With executive pay, rich pull away from America
A mounting body of economic research indicates that the rise in pay for company executives is a critical feature in the widening income gap.
(By Peter Whoriskey)

Rise in charitable giving may signal economic rebound
Charitable giving in the United States rose last year for the first time in two years, signaling a rebound in the economy.
(By Annie Gowen)

Hospitals courting primary-care doctors
The push is forcing doctors to make decisions about how to deliver care to patients.
(By Lena H. Sun)

POLITICS
PROMISES, PROMISES: No action yet from Obama on guns despite call for steps
WASHINGTON — More than five months after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, the White House has yet to take any new steps on gun violence, even though that’s what President Barack Obama called for in the wake of the shooting.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Black slaves, freedmen risked their lives to work as Union spies down South during Civil War
WASHINGTON — In the Confederate circles he navigated, John Scobell was considered just another Mississippi slave: singing, shuffling, illiterate and completely ignorant of the Civil War going on around him.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

PROMISES, PROMISES: No action yet from Obama on guns despite call for steps
WASHINGTON — More than five months after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, the White House has yet to take any new steps on gun violence, even though that’s what President Barack Obama called for in the wake of the shooting.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Michelle Obama aims to inspire youth leaders during upcoming visit to South Africa, Botswana
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama is fond of saying there’s no magic to her being first lady.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

First lady departs for trip to to Africa
First lady Michelle Obama, along with her two daughters, left for Africa on Sunday, her second official solo journey abroad.
(, The Washington Post)

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STYLE
Ask Amy: Words of love, uttered and ... forgotten?
During a weekend outing, her boyfriend told her he loved her, would marry her “in a week” and wanted her to have his baby. The next day, he couldn’t remember what he said. Yes, there was drinking involved.
(, Tribune Media Service)

Hints From Heloise: Special guest request
Heloise asks: Is it fair to ask for unusual, specialty or hard-to-find food items when you are a guest in someone’s home? Readers, what do you have to say?
(, King)

Why a mom may have stayed with an abusive husband
Mom didn’t leave her abusive husband and now a daughter won’t forgive her. Did Mom have a good reason for staying — such as loss of her children?
(, The Washington Post)

Calm by the green, crazed by the pitch
At the U.S. Open and the Gold Cup, vastly dissimilar cultures were on display — entirely different, yet very much the same.
( by Rick Maese , The Washington Post)

FTC vs. National Gallery
Republican lawmaker’s push to have the National Gallery take over the historic FTC building has sparked a turf battle in Washington.
( by Ned Martel , The Washington Post)

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SPORTS
Giants fan beating suspect up for parole revocation hearing at Los Angeles jail
LOS ANGELES — The main suspect in the brutal beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium in March faces a court hearing to determine whether he should remain in jail for violating terms of his parole.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Sunday's Sports In Brief
BETHESDA, Md. — On another brilliant day of golf, Rory McIlroy ran away with the U.S. Open title, winning by eight shots and breaking the tournament scoring record by a whopping four strokes.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Franchitti wins in Milwaukee, pulls even with Power in IndyCar points standings
WEST ALLIS, Wis. — With Sunday’s win in Milwaukee, Dario Franchitti pulled even with Will Power in the IndyCar Series points standings.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Even with White Sox, Cubs under .500, crosstown series could provide some drama
CHICAGO — Ozzie Guillen’s kidney stone just might be the perfect metaphor for this baseball season in Chicago.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Ticket to Augusta: Kevin Chappell's strong US Open comes to a Masters-ful conclusion
BETHESDA, Md. — The top eight finishers at the U.S. Open qualify for next year’s Masters, and that’s a big deal for someone like Kevin Chappell.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

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WORLD
Reports: Japan's prime minister under pressure to resign next month
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, criticized for his handling of the tsunami disaster and the country’s sluggish economy, is under pressure to resign next month if budget bills are passed by parliament, reports said Monday.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Syria’s president: ‘Saboteurs’ are trying to exploit a movement seeking legitimate reforms
Syria’s embattled president says “saboteurs” are trying to exploit legitimate demands for reform in the country.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

British foreign secretary says Syrian leader Assad must reform or go, asks Turkey's help
LUXEMBOURG — Britain’s foreign secretary said Monday that Syria’s leader must reform or go, as the country’s regime continues a brutal crackdown on dissent.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Greek power company workers start strikes against privatization, potentially causing shortages
ATHENS, Greece — Greece faces potential power outages as employees at the main power utility strike to protest the company’s privatization, part of austerity plans essential for the country to avoid a default.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Handful of Melbourne-Sydney flights canceled as volcanic ash moves over southern Australia
SYDNEY — Qantas and Virgin Australia plan to cancel flights into and out of the southern city of Adelaide on Tuesday, when an ash cloud from a Chilean volcano is expected to again move into Australian airspace. Some service on a budget carrier between the country’s two largest cities was also suspended.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

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LIVE DISCUSSIONS

Outlook: Faux lesbians and anonymity online
Join Washington Post bloggers Melissa Bell and Elizabeth Flock as they discuss the quest to unmask the real blogger behind the "Gay Girl in Damascus" blog.
(, vForum)

D.C.'s biggest stories: Lunchline's Clinton Yates breaks them down (video)
Clinton Yates a news junkie and pop culture fanatic who scours The Washington Post and its partner sites every weekday to find the gems that you want to read but don't have time to search for.
(, vForum)

Outlook: Faux lesbians and anonymity online
Join Washington Post bloggers Melissa Bell and Elizabeth Flock as they discuss the quest to unmask the real blogger behind the "Gay Girl in Damascus" blog.
(, vForum)

From devoted, to deadbeat, to cannibal: How animal fathers survive in the wild
Join Dr. Stephen Vessey as he chats about the various ways animals choose to rear their young. How different are they from human dads?
(, vForum)

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TECHNOLOGY
‘Reminder: Call Dad,’ Another Notch In Google’s Belt Of Social Fail

( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

Adobe Software Updates To Help Devs Build iOS, PlayBook And Android Apps

( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

The Bitcoin Trials Continue: Mt. Gox Exchange Collapses Due To Compromised Account

( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

VillageVines Relaunches As Savored, Expands Discount Dining To 10 Cities

( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

Yup, YouTube Counts Video Ads As Regular Views

( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

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EDITORIAL
More questions about those erasures
D.C. school officials wonder why the popular Singapore math program hasn’t worked at an elementary school.
(, The Washington Post)

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BUSINESS
Athens will get loan to avoid default, but must act on spending, privatization laws
LUXEMBOURG — The markets were in jittery mood once again Monday after eurozone finance ministers failed to agree to release the next bailout loan installment to Greece — money that is needed to prevent a debt default that could trigger financial chaos.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Athens will get loan to avoid default, but must act on spending, privatization laws
LUXEMBOURG — European stocks and the euro slipped Monday after eurozone finance ministers came up short of a final deal to get Greece its next installment of bailout money that is needed to prevent a default that could cause financial chaos.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Airbus superjumbo A380 grounded at Paris Air Show after clipping a wing
LE BOURGET, France — Airbus’ star jet has been grounded after clipping a wing on a taxiway structure, the latest in an embarrassing string of incidents for the European jet maker at the aviation industry’s premier showcase.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Japanese exports drop 10.3 percent in May as impact from quake and tsunami lingers
TOKYO — Japan’s exports dropped for the third straight month in May, hit by massive production losses in the auto sector following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters, the government said Monday.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

‘Reminder: Call Dad,’ Another Notch In Google’s Belt Of Social Fail

Swagga Digital Magazine Summer Issue 2011

The Cap Weave

Anniversary Issue of Swagga Digital Magazine

5 Must-Have Nike Dunks For Summer

Summer is quickly approaching, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not the type of person that likes to look sloppy – especially when it comes to what I’m walking around in. So I’m planning on doing a little shopping, and just in case you’re planning to do the same, here are a few Nike Dunks that are worth dropping some cash on. Read More »

Behind the Scenes: Swagga Digital Magazine Making of Spring Issue

Arts & Culture: Eunice Walker Johnson

Eunice Walker Johnson
(April 4, 1916 - January 3, 2010)

By Margena A. Christian Mrs. Eunice Johnson, producer and director of the Ebony Fashion Fair and secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing Company, died of renal failure at her home in Chicago. She was 93. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will honor her work on January 11 as a philanthropist and fashion icon. The tribute, planned some time ago, was several months in the making.“Mrs. Johnson elevated the image of Black women being fashion conscious, fashion forward and affluent,” said Kenneth Owen, assistant producer of Ebony Fashion Fair, who was handpicked by the fashion pioneer 26 years ago to work alongside her.  Born on April 4, 1916 in Selma, Ala., Mrs. Johnson came from a prestigious family. Her sophistication and fashion sense wasn’t bought. She was born with it. Mrs. Johnson’s father, Dr. Nathaniel D. Walker, was a doctor who practiced medicine for five decades, while her mother, Ethel McAlpine Walker, taught education and art at Selma University. The institution was founded by Dr. William H. McAlpine, her maternal grandfather, who also founded the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. and was close friends with Booker T. Washington.Education was important in the Johnson household. She graduated from Talladega College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in art. A master’s degree was later earned in social work from Loyola University in Chicago. Mrs. Johnson was working as a social worker when she quit her job to support her husband John’s vision of starting a magazine that focused on Black life. When he was having trouble trying to find a name for a new magazine in 1945, he asked her for guidance since she had a degree in art. She chose Ebony because it means “fine black African wood.” The magazine would go on to define generations. To those on the outside looking in, Mrs. Johnson appeared to be living in the shadow of her late husband John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines. Those who really knew Eunice Walker Johnson understood that she was the wind beneath his wings. She stood by her husband in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, in good times and in bad until his death in 2005.

Mrs. Johnson dined with kings and queens, presidents and musical royalty, yet she remained down to earth. To hear her speak revealed a story. When she opened her mouth, her heavy, southern drawl would make people look twice. “She was a shy woman. She wasn’t somebody you could approach and talk to right away,” said Audrey Smaltz, the Ebony Fashion Fair commentator from 1970 to 1977. “She was an astute fashion person who had more than just fashion in her background. She was an interior designer. She was a lover of art. She had the greatest art collection you could imagine. Because of Eunice Johnson, I met Pablo Picasso and Giorgio de Curico. She introduced me to luxury, art and culture way beyond what I went to school for. I graduated with an art degree. She took me to a Ph.D.” Always impeccably dressed and wearing designer fashions herself, everything came back to fashion and education.

What started out as a charity benefit in 1958, turned into the birth of the Ebony Fashion Fair. As the show got underway, the models ran into problems with make-up, unable to find shades to match their skin. The solution? Fashion Fair Cosmetics. At the inception of the Ebony Fashion Fair, Mrs. Johnson would travel to Europe with her husband to buy clothes. They would “beg, persuade, and threaten to get the right to buy clothes,” Mr. Johnson once said. The resistance came, he recalled, because certain designers thought that White women wouldn’t value their designs if they were worn by Black women.

A few of the leading designers finally agreed to sell fashions to the Johnsons for the show. Among the first Blacks to buy from French haute couture fashion houses, they started out spending half a million dollars annually. “She was eventually known in fashion circles as the largest buyer of European haute couture,” said Owen. “As time progressed she would spend a million dollars each year on 200 complete ensembles featured in the hour and a half presentation.”

Mrs. Johnson bought creations from designers that others were afraid to take a chance on because they were unknown and just starting out. Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent were among the names.

“They were young and in their 20s, just starting out,” said Owen. “They were looking for people to buy their high-end couture. That started her personal relationship with them because she was there before they made a name for themselves.”

Often criticized for not having more Black fashion designers, the Ebony Fashion Fair did showcase throughout the years the creations of Stephen Burrows, Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith and B. Michael. In later years it featured L’Amour, Quinton de Alexander, Kevan Hall, Fusha, Anthony Hankins, and even the Steve Harvey Collection.

Hands on until the end when her eyesight began to fail her, Mrs. Johnson made certain to see a complete run-through of each fashion show with the models before it hit the road. One year when she wasn’t excited about the show’s new direction using rap music, she made the models scrap everything and start all over. Committed to community service, Mrs. Johnson received many honors from the United Negro College Fund, The Boys & Girls Club of Chicago, Alabama A & M, Loyola University and many others. In 1988, Mrs. Johnson returned to her alma mater, Talladega, to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. She also had an honorary degree from Shaw University.

Fiercely independent, Mrs. Johnson could be seen driving around Chicago in her two-tone Rolls Royce. She let nothing stop her. Like Frank Sinatra, she did things her way. And she did it with style. To date, more than 4,000 shows have been performed in the United States, the Caribbean, London, England, and Kingston, Jamaica. Ebony Fashion Fair has raised more than $55 million for various scholarship groups.

From the Street to the Magazine

 

 

SwaggaDigital Magazine Winter 2009

 

SwaggaDigital Magazine Winter 2009

 

Tennis champ Serena Williams graces the cover of this month’s ESPN magazine

Tennis champ Serena Williams graces the cover of this month’s ESPN magazine — completely naked! The 28-year-old stripped off for the publication’s first ever ‘Body Issue’, which hits newsstands Friday. Serena is among six athletes who have been chosen to appear on six different covers of the magazine. The other five sport figures include mixed martial artist Gina Carano, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, triathlete Sarah Reinertsen, Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson, and Dwight Howard of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. Williams — who last month she made a furious outburst against a line judge at the US Open — has previously admitted she struggles to accept her body shape.“My thighs… I think they’re too big,” she has said. “And also my arms. I think they’re too muscular. They’re too thick.“Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and am, like, I want to lose my inner thigh. I’ve got to do an hour of cardio today, or whatever. I try not to do it, but the insecurity comes back sometimes.“I want women to know that it’s okay. You can be whatever size you are, and you can be beautiful both inside and out.”

SwaggaDigital Magazine Coming Soon

SwaggaDigital Magazine Coming Soon

SwaggaDigital Magazine

Interview: New Editor of Vibe Points the Way Forward

by Zeke Turner | 9:25 am, August 27th, 2009 ~ Earlier this week, the new owners of Vibe magazineintroduced their editor in chief, Jermaine Hall, the man who will be charged with transforming the title, which was shuttered in July, into a bimonthly with a ramped up online presence. But Hall, who got his start at Vibe as an intern during college and most recently held the top spot at King magazine, another recently closed magazine geared towards a black/urban audience, isn’t intimidated in the least. In fact he’s excited to ‘broaden the bin,’ and go after an ASME or two. We spoke with him on the day after his new job was announced. See a slideshow of Jermaine Hall’s favorite Vibe covers of all time here. Have you been intimidated at all by the task of reinventing, reimagining Vibe? As far as being intimidated … I’ve always been very confident about anything dealing with editorial, so I’m definitely not intimidated. 

Actually, as I said before, I’m very excited. I love all the eras of Vibe but one of my favorite eras is Alan Light’s tenure [1994-1997] — the book was at its broadest during that time. I’m looking to recapture that feel, but bring it up to date. Has it been of comfort to you that you’re working with other Vibe alumni like Len Burnett? It’s like having a Jedi to guide you through your travels — stories that they can tell, the mistakes that they’ve seen. The thing I love the most is to be able to throw an idea out there and have Len come back and say ‘maybe you should think about it this way.’ There’s a lot of back and forth, and eventually we get on the same page. I also want to bring Brett Wright into that conversation as well because he’s obviously a very important part of what’s going on right now.

Brett Wright told the Times that he hasn’t talked to Quincy Jones recently. Have you?

I have not talked to Quincy Jones.

Do you have any idea what he meant when he said, “They messed my magazine all up”?

I’m sorry, he said what?

Quincy Jones told EbonyJet.com that, “They messed my magazine all up.”

[laughs] Quincy’s an icon — you have to respect that he had the vision to create a product like that. As far as messing up the product, I think that Vibe has done a good job of documenting the culture for the last 16 years. I wouldn’t say that the product has been messed up.

Have you heard any rumors saying that Vibe went astray becuase there were so many white people involved on the corporate level?

I haven’t heard that.

You were the webmaster at Vibe from 1997 to 1999. How much did you feel like you knew what you were doing, preparing content for readers online?

Here’s the thing that we did know back then: We knew that we had the capability to provide immediate information. You can get things up on the web every minute of every day. Back then that was a problem for a lot of magazines and their web properties. A lot of editors didn’t really understand the value of online yet. The thinking was that if you give it to them online, then they won’t want to read it in print, rather than using online to push the magazine.

How hard do you think it’s going to be to get Vibe readers to come to a property that’s primarily online? Or will you (the magazine) really be the ones catching up with them (the readers)?

The previous regime did a very good job of trying to acclimate the reader online — they put a lot of emphasis in book, trying to get people to read stories in the book and also relay them to the website. And also you have to keep in mind that the magazine is not going away. It will come out once this year and probably six times next year. It’s not like that part of it is totally going away.

How does it feel going from the top spot at King, one magazine that just closed, to another magazine that just closed and is now relaunching? Do you feel like you’re in no-man’s land?

No, I feel really great. I feel really, really inspired. I started as an intern at Vibe my last year at grad school. My first job in the industry was at Vibe.com, so this is a coming-home story for me. I’m also very excited. We’re going to broaden the scope of the magazine — inject some Hollywood coverage, expand the music scope, cover sports — really make a conscious effort to broaden the bin and not have it be so music-slash–hip-hop specific.

It seems like the thinking is — between Uptown and Vibe —  that you all want to create lifestlye titles, not vertical-niche, music titles. It’s anchored by the music, but there’s so many different tentacles to urban culture and urban lifestlye so we want to make sure that we’re covering all of that for the reader. Another thing that’s going to be bigger for us is that we’re going to provide service pieces to the reader. I feel like everybody likes to be told what to do these days. Magazine and online properties are really good places to teach people how to do stuff. CONTINUE READING...

Ouch! Another mag, KING, bites the dust?

This week won't go down as a good one in the history of print journalism. First Blender magazine folded, then the Chicago Sun-Times filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Now KING, the men's magazine geared towards African-Americans, looks like it has pulled the plug, at least according to the Smoking Section blog. OK, so maybe you're above men's mags and don't care. But keep in mind that KING was innovative in an important way -- it bucked today's trend of emaciated women and favored boxum babes with real curves. The only curve it seems to be on now, though, is a downward one.

Beyoncé to grace April cover of Vogue

Houston native Beyoncé Knowles has landed in a coveted spot: on the cover of Vogue. Gracing the April issue, the pop superstar is one of a handful of black celebrities to appear on the cover of the storied fashion magazine in its 117-year history. She is wearing a blue off-the-shoulder gown by Nicolas Ghesquière and De Beers diamond earrings. Her hair is slicked back, and she appears to have on minimal makeup. She joins a short list that includes Oprah Winfrey (1998), Halle Berry (2002), Jennifer Hudson (2007), first lady Michelle Obama, who graced the current March cover, and LeBron James, who appeared in a controversial pose on the cover with supermodel Gisele Bundchen last April. Though it’s a landmark for Vogue, Knowles is no stranger to fashion magazines. She most recently appeared on the January cover of Elle. University of Mississippi journalism professor Samir Husni, author of Samir Husni’s Guide to Magazines, believes that skin color had little to do with the choice of Obama or Knowles for the Vogue cover. “If you really think about it they all have one color: green, as in rich and famous, or just famous,” he wrote in an e-mail from Belgium. Vogue spokesman Patrick O’Connell said both women were chosen for their accomplishments. “It’s our annual shape issue, and Beyonce has arguably the best shape in the business. We’re thrilled to have her on the cover,” he said. Knowles will kick off her world tour in Edmonton, Canada, on March 26. She is also promoting a movie, Obsessed, due for release April 24. SOURCE:CHRON.COM