EBONY and JET magazines, perhaps the most respected publications in history geared toward African-American readers, are on the auction block, Newsweek.com is reporting.

Johnson Publishing has been facing economic hard times, and it was announced earlier this month that the Chicago-based firm was nixing its Ebony Fashion Fair traveling fashion show, which has been a mainstay of Black women's fund raising efforts since 1958.  “Johnson Publishing is seeking a buyer or investor for its flagship publication, Ebony, in an effort aimed at securing the survival of the nation's oldest magazine devoted to African-American life,” Newsweek.com reports. 

Ebony was established in 1945.