The talks reached an advanced stage, the former Lakers star says in a statement, "but unfortunately we were unable to reach a definitive agreement.” Ebony and Jet are both owned by Chicago-based Johnson Publishing, which calls itself " the number one African-American-owned publishing company in the world." Magic Johnson, the chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises, sounds as if he still intends to add media to his L.A. business empire: “We will continue to look for opportunities to invest in African-American media."