*Ebony Magazine allegedly owes thousands of dollars to writers for work done last year!!
On April 19, freelance journalist Cat Distasio tweeted, “Still waiting for $2000 from @EbonyMag months after my work. Per my contract w @thekylesfiles it’s 150+ days PAST DUE.”
Distasio went on to tweet, “I am not the only one who is owed thousands by @ebonymag. I have spoken to at least a half a dozen writers who have not been paid for 2016 work.”
As a direct result of her tweet, several freelance writers have anonymously come forward to say they have not been paid for work dating back as far as 2013, despite the fact that they were promised payment within 45 days of publication.
“The fact that one of the most prominent magazines for black writers is exploiting their work — and that these writers are by and large afraid to speak out — says a lot about the current state of freelance writing for young writers of color,” Jagger Blaec wrote for theestablishment.co.
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Blaec also noted, “Several of the black writers I spoke with are still awaiting compensation from Ebony. Many of them have threatened legal action. Others have sent countless emails to several departments and still not seen a dime (I reached out to Ebony editors last Friday, and have yet to receive a response).
“Many I spoke with referenced receiving a generic response from the accounts payable department stating their hands were tied to provide payment. Cat also alluded to not knowing who was in charge of payment because the same person who said they could not pay her issued the same-day payment she received only after going public on Twitter. . . .”
Last year, Johnson Publishing Co. sold Ebony and its now digital-only sister publication Jet to Clear View Group, an African American-owned private equity firm based in Austin, Texas.
In February, Ebony Media named Tracey M. Ferguson, founder and editor-in-chief of Jones magazine, which targets the lifestyles of black women, editor-in-chief of a revived Jet magazine.
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