The combined company will operate the Vibe, Uptown, and BlackBook media properties. These brands will serve as anchor properties for the Vibe Lifestyle Network (VLN) and BlackBook Media Network affiliates which serve over 18.5 million monthly visitors and will be complemented by VIBE magazine, UPTOWN magazine, and BlackBook magazine. The online and mobile properties across the network will leverage Access Networks’ AccessGeo local content management and distribution technology platform.

“We’re passionate believers in the future of technology-driven media companies and the ability to leverage online, mobile, print and local content through premier brands,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson. “We’re interested in consolidating great brands that reach a large and attractive audience – specifically those which index well in the online and mobile arena. The technology we acquired as part of the Access Network will serve as a very important piece to enable us to reach consumers.”

Magic Johnson, a partner at the Yucaipa Johnson Fund will continue to serve as Chairman of Vibe Holdings. The merged entity will operate under Vibe Media and Ari Horowitz will serve as CEO. Horowitz will also continue to serve as CEO of the Access Network. Len Burnett and Brett Wright will continue to serve Co-CEOs of the Vibe Lifestyle Network.

“Vibe and Uptown, combined with BlackBook, align strong brands that consumers can access online, via mobile applications, and in print.” noted Horowitz. “The Access Network technology platform provides the ability to reach this large and desirable audience through hyper-local digital applications for Vibe, Uptown, and our VLN partners.”

“The merger presents an exciting opportunity for Vibe and Uptown to provide advertisers a much needed voice across multicultural and multiracial platforms,” added Burnett.

Meghan McCain fascinatingly characterized the Republican primaries as akin to dating in that the electorate keeps having one fling after another in the hopes of avoiding the seemingly inevitable marriage to the boringly dependable Mitt Romney. Herman Cain has lasted too long to be called a fling, but the GOP’s ardor for him has blinded it to his obvious ineptness in almost every aspect on which you’d test a candidate (foreign policy, domestic affairs, likeliness to seduce voters outside the party, ability to deal with the media microscope, ability to cope with scandal). The only aspect that he does well is exude charisma, as if he’s the kid who doesn’t study but somehow charms the teacher into passing him.

The party’s love for him has not cooled despite a sexual harassment scandal he continues to handle poorly. (Justin Bieber is handling his nascent paternity scandal with more forthrightness, directness and crisis management wisdom than Cain did.) Cain seems to be surviving the scandal because the GOP truly likes him and because the party really has nowhere else to go but to Romney and because this is a rather tepid scandal compared to what we’ve grown used to from politicians (he abused power but there’s not even allegations of actual sex, so for most people it doesn’t really matter). But there’s also something else. The GOP’s relationship with Cain is more psychologically important than its relationship with any other candidate because Cain is that special thing: the party’s cool new Black friend.

Read more from Touré at Time Ideas

Will Smith

For years, Smith has been in talks to acquire the Philadelphia 76ers and has finally struck a deal. He, along with wife Jada Pinkett Smith and several other investors, were approved of the sale Tuesday morning at a press conference. The deal is reportedly for $280 million.

The ownership is led by multibillionaire Joshua Harris, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management which is a private equity group.

Smith’s acquisition only seems fitting as the actor was born and raised in West Philadelphia.

The NBA is currently under a lockout with the first two weeks of the season being cancelled.

Source

The series features billionaire investor Warren Buffett as he spreads the message  to children of  ”investing in yourself” and shares the basic principles of business in a fun and interactive way.

Jay-Z’s role, while small, teaches the children that success in business can help others (Insert: small plug about the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, followed by “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys).

The website, a part of AOL Kids, features the webisodes while also providing children with educational games, information on investing, saving money and even a live stream of stock numbers.

Check out the clip of Jay-Z below!

Source

Winfrey blew out the competition by bringing in $290 million last year alone– that’s $200 million more than her second place competitor, Lady Gaga. From the talk show to the magazine and television network, Winfrey has capitalized in a big way. It’s safe to say that her retirement is set.

Beyonce also scored a spot on the coveted list, bringing in $35 million last year. The singer kept busy with the release of her latest CD 4, clothing line and endorsements. With a baby on the way, she’ll have just enough money to keep him/her in Huggies and onesies.

Forbes Top 10 list includes:

1. Oprah Winfrey, $290 million.
2. Lady Gaga, $90 million.
3. Bethenny Frankel, $55 million.
4. Gisele Bundchen, $45 million.
5. Ellen DeGeneres, $45 million.
6. Judge Judy Sheindlin, $45 million.
7. Taylor Swift, $45 million.
8. Katy Perry, $44 million.
9. Beyonce, $35 million.
10. Danielle Steel, $35 million.

There are a multitude of interpretations regarding what exactly the President meant or who exactly he was targeting at the end of a combative, knuckle-up speech at a recent CBC Annual Legislative Conference dinner.  What was apparent that night was the image of a President not feeling the adulation of his surroundings or the company of the dinner crowd.  Few smiles were found as he worked through his maturation moment: the tone since a fiery “You Should Pass It” jobs bill joint before Congress a few weeks earlier had been angry and exasperated.  There is indication that the President has, perhaps, grown up – not in any way that assumes he was childish beforehand.  But, a sense that the reality of his predicament has set in hard, that desperate times require the aggressive management style of desperate measures.  Forgotten by many swimming in the euphoria of 2008 is that then-Candidate Obama had little, if any, executive background before settling into Oval Office chair.  To a degree, the learning curve has worn rough on the former Senator.

Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy recently penned an opinion piece for CNN entitled “Why Obama’s Black Critics Are Wrong.” He contends that President Obama’s African-American critics have focused on his “racial bona fides” and that “throughout President Barack Obama’s political career, he has been dogged by … accusations that he is not ‘black enough.’ ” I respect Kennedy and appreciate his contributions to scholarship, but in this instance his analysis is unsupported by the data.

There is a very troubling pattern developing within certain segments of the African-American community, a concerted effort to silence those who are offering honest, valid and well-thought-out criticism of the Obama administration. Kennedy has joined a growing number of African Americans, such as radio hosts Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey and professor Melissa Harris-Perry, who are more focused on personal sentiment than policy.

African Americans can ill afford to base their analysis of President Obama on the politics of sentiment…

Read the full article at The Root

The beauty of studying successful entrepreneurs is that you can learn what took them 30, 40 and sometimes 50 years to learn in a matter of hours. And no matter what industry you’re focused on, you can always find that common thread that links everyone together.

So even when you think business owners like Tiffani Bell, Daymond John, Jacqueline Nwobu and Damone Roberts are worlds apart in terms of experience in the game, you’ll find that they all share at least one or more of the following attributes.

1. Passionately curious
Most entrepreneurs have an insatiable appetite for information about their field and related industries because they are always searching for that tiny nuance or lingering question that could lead to their next big break.

Photography by Hannan Saleh

Family has always been the focal point of Tina Wells’ life. The daughter of a pastor and eldest of six children, Wells, 31, had a steady upbringing that helped prepare her for the fast-paced— and unexpected—life of a marketing master. As a teenager, she began writing and submitting reviews of her favorite products, eventually recruiting her friends to do the same, and—voilà!— her career as a trend spotter and arbiter of cool began. Today, the South Jersey girl runs Buzz Marketing Group, a multimillion dollar company with more than 9,000 “buzzSpotters” around the globe; sits on the boards of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Franklin Institute; promotes her book, the latest industry bible, Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right (Wiley); and studies in a post-baccalaureate program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, all while managing to squeeze in some R&R whenever possible.

PG-RATED

Wells’ parents encouraged—and expected—all their children to go to college. “I wasn’t allowed to watch TV shows like Married with Children or The Simpsons or R-rated movies until I was 18,” she says. “One of my parents was home at all times.” This parental policy helped shape young Wells’ identity. “I once read that girls are as smart and powerful as they’ll ever be at 9 years old. I’m completely consumed with helping them stay that way.”

POP GOES THE CULTURE

Wells is also the author of books for tween girls. The Mackenzie Blue series (HarperCollins) is “good, clean fun with a message.” Wells believes that teen girls are often bombarded with the opposite: “What makes America so powerful isn’t our military or money. It’s our pop culture. [In general], we’re selling girls an oversexualized culture.”

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

Wells culls information from her young trend spotters and translates the teen talk for mega brands like Nike, Steve Madden, Aveda, and M.A.C Cosmetics. Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right examines the Millennials (those born between 1984 and 2002), their obsession with “instanity” and technology, and how to reach (read: market to) them where they live, work, and play. “This book is a conversation between me and the reader,” Wells says. Further proof that she is indeed the teen whisperer? “I wrote the book in a week.”

X MARCS THE SPOT

According to Wells, some companies absolutely get it right when it comes to making the Millennials top priority. “Marc Jacobs is so youthful. He connects so well with the young audience when it comes to fashion,” she says of the designer and owner of the eponymous label. “He’s done a really good job of extending the brand.”

“Young people crave luxury, and technology is the new luxury,” Wells says. Millennials “treat their technology as a fashion accessory.” Almost 40 percent of their money goes to items such as textured, colorful covers and cases for iPods and iPads—a 20 percent increase in recent years. “We can learn a lot from teens and tweens,” she notes.

Jump over to UptownSocial for a few of Wells’ off-the-cuff favorites.

Photography by Taylor Castle

When husband-and-wife design duo Brian Merritt, 30, and Autumn Dennard-Merritt, 28, decided to open their first boutique, Solemates…Chicago, in 2007, they were determined to etch their mark on the city’s fashion scene with vintage sneakers and indie clothing brands. Two years later, the couple launched their own private label, Sir & Madame, and in 2010, they moved to Ukrainian Village and rebranded their boutique under the same moniker. The smart line of 1930s- to 1950s-inspired separates, accessories, and home goods is a refreshingly classic yet contemporary approach to street fashion. We caught up with the hip parents of two—Ari, an ever bouncing toddler, and Milo, born last May—to find out the secret of successful spousal entrepreneurship.

A HAIRY SITUATION

While the two have always been self-described style hounds, the turning point in Autumn’s retail career came while managing and buying for the now closed shop Essex 5 in Wicker Park. While there, she started networking with the “bearded man,” Ouigi, of the famed New York–based Brooklyn Circus. “After I built a relationship and served as a brand ambassador for the Brooklyn Circus line, conversations between Ouigi, Brian, and I began to arise about opening a store in Chicago,” says Autumn. “Solemates served as the Chicago concept shop for The Brooklyn Circus and was a great way for us to gain exposure to the label’s worldwide consumer base.”

LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND WORK

With the young couple approaching their fifth anniversary in December, both admit it’s not always easy being in business with your spouse. “When it comes to leaving work at work, I have no problem with that,” says Brian. “We’ve learned to pick our battles and have become increasingly better at listening and realizing the strengths and weaknesses of the other,” shares Autumn. “All this helps when it comes to us actually being able to get work done, especially with two kids in the mix.”

BEYOND THE SKYLINE

With a buzzing blog on life and style, the recent pickup of Sir & Madame at the popular shop Nubian in Tokyo, and hopes to open another store stateside within the next couple of years, Brian and Autumn show no signs of slowing down. “One of my bigger goals is to have Sir & Madame restaurants, hotels, and lounges,” says Brian. You can also expect to see a children’s line in the near future, promises Autumn: “However, you won’t see us with any more kids—two is enough!” Sir & Madame. 938 N. Damen Ave. 773.489.6660. sirandmadame.com

OFF-THE-CUFF

Favorite store: Barneys. Fabric: Lambskin. Restaurant: Caffe De Luca in Bucktown. Autumn’s designers: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler. Brian’s designers: Nigel Cabourn, Ralph Lauren, and Daiki Suzuki. Anything vintage is a go for both. What they do to relax: “Take a trip. But if I’m not so lucky, drink a glass of wine…or three,” says Autumn. What keeps them up at night? Anxiety about a new project or a sick baby.