ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 1995 TAG: 9512280059
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Robert E. Johnson, associate publisher and executive editor of Jet magazine, died at home Wednesday after a long illness. He was 73.
``He was the web that connected music, culture, religion, history and social developments,'' civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said in a statement issued by Johnson Publishing Co., which publishes Jet. ``He was one of the great communicators of our times.''
Jet was founded in 1951 as a weekly news magazine for blacks. Today, it has a paid circulation of 964,000 and claims readership of 7.8 million.
In addition to serving as a top editor for Jet, he traveled the world to cover stories for the magazine. He also was author of the book ``Bill Cosby: In Words and Pictures.''
``The company has lost a great editor, and I have lost a dear friend,'' said John H. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing. ``During his 42-year career as Jet managing editor and executive editor, he helped change the color of American journalism.'' Robert Johnson was not related to the family that gave its name to the publishing company.
Johnson was active in many civic and charitable organizations, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Chicago's DuSable Museum of African American History and the National Urban League.
He is survived by his wife, Naomi Cole Johnson; three children, Bobbye Johnson, Janet Johnson-Vinion and Robert Johnson III; two grandchildren, three brothers and a sister.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB