Jamie Foster Brown

Jamie Foster Brown (ca. June 26, 1946) is the former owner and publisher of Sister 2 Sister magazine, which ran from 1988 to 2014. Newsweek called it the "African-American version of People magazine."[1] As an entertainment journalist, Brown wrote a regular column in her magazine, called "Meow", and through it and her interviews with celebrities, she became the first nationally known black female gossip columnist.[2]

Jamie Foster Brown
Born
Jamie Foster

ca. (1946-06-26) June 26, 1946
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
EducationCalumet High School (Chicago)
Alma materStockholm University
Occupation(s)Magazine owner and publisher, entertainment columnist and journalist, former TV producer
Years activePublisher, 1988-present
Known forAs a pioneering publisher in the U.S. African American community
TitleDr. (Bennett College, honorary doctoral degree, 2008)
SpouseDr. Lorenzo Brown (m. 1970)
Children2 sons

Personal

Jamie Foster Brown's hometown is Chicago, Illinois. Brown and her sister Stella Foster were raised in an Englewood, Chicago neighborhood.[3] Her parents were Peter James and Mamie Lee Foster and they were neighborhood storekeepers.[4] She was educated at Calumet High School, started college in Chicago, and later transferred and then graduated with a B.A. from Stockholm University.[5] Her sister Stella Foster also wrote for Sister 2 Sister magazine, worked with Irv Kupcinet, an entertainment journalist at the Chicago Sun-Times, and after his death wrote her own column and retired in 2012.[2][6]

She was married to Dr. Lorenzo Brown, a former economist, from 1970 until his death in 2015.[7][8][9][10] The family made Stockholm, Sweden their home for nine years while the couple had two sons, Randy and Russell, and Foster attended university.[10] Her son Randy was wounded by gunfire in 1992 when he was 17 years old, and Foster appeared on NBC's America the Violent with Tom Brokaw to discuss the issue of violence from a parent's perspective.[11][12] Her husband and two sons worked for the magazine.[10]

Career

Jamie Foster Brown once worked with the Chicago-based Zenith Radio Company.[5][13]

In 1979, Brown started a ticket company, Washington Theater Group.[5][13] She then worked for Robert Johnson's Black Entertainment Television (BET), first in advertising as a secretary and then later was promoted to a TV producer for Video Soul and Video LP programs until leaving in 1987.[2][5][9][13][14] As a TV producer, Brown had met musical talent, such as Whitney Houston and others, and would later use her contacts for her entertainment reporting.[15] Brown has said in interviews that she is not a writer but an interviewer and storyteller, and she wanted to write stories about how celebrities were made.[16] Brown formed the idea for her own magazine while writing for Impact magazine and other publications.[2][10]

Jamie Foster Brown has owned and published Sister 2 Sister magazine since its launch in 1988.[10] Her magazine was published from Lanham, Maryland and later from Takoma Park, Maryland.[9] Expanding on the brand, Brown created and serves as an entertainment journalist for the syndicated radio program Sister 2 Sister Celebrity Update[5][13] While at Sister 2 Sister, Brown was a regular guest on the Joan Rivers Show[2] and on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.[10]

Notable works of journalism

Jamie Foster Brown is known for interviewing her subjects in-depth and not presenting black celebrities as superficial.[9][16]

Interview with Marion Barry

Milli Vanilli
  • She is known for her reporting about the musical group Milli Vanilli's lip syncing recordings and performances.[2][21]

DMX interview

In 2008, a judge ordered rap artist DMX to pay 1.5 million to Monique Wayne because of a comment he had made to Jamie Foster Brown in a 2006 interview for Sister 2 Sister magazine alleging that a woman had raped him and given birth to his child. Her original suit was for "defamation, false statements and 'unreasonable publicity' about her private life".[22][23][24]

Michael Jackson
  • Jamie Foster Brown was interviewed about Michael Jackson and she said that his children were well adjusted and that Jackson seemed like a good father to her.[25][26][27]

Jamie Foster Brown appeared on the cover of the November 2013 issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine as it celebrated its 25th anniversary, and was interviewed.[28][29]

Awards
  • Midwest Radio and Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, 1998[13]
  • National Association of Black Female Executives in Music & Entertainment, Shero Hall of Fame, 2002 inductee[30]
  • Golden Scissors (black hair style), Lifetime Achievement Award, 2002[31]
  • Association for Women in Communications, Matrix Award for Professional Achievement, 2004[32][33]
  • Bennett College, honorary doctorate, 2008[14]
  • Ford Motor Co., Freedom Sisters Award, 2009[34]

Selected writings
  • Shabazz, Betty, and Jamie Foster Brown. 1998. Betty Shabazz: a sisterfriends' tribute in words and pictures. New York: Simon & Schuster.[35]

References
  1. Newsweek, July 27, 1998.
  2. Jones IV, James T. (October 17, 1991). "The 'Sister' with the scoop on black celebs". USA Today.
  3. Hope, Leah (July 18, 2007). "New billboards tout Englewood neighborhood's success stories". ABC7 News (WLS-TV/DT). Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
  4. "Chicago Sun-Times' Stella Foster is ready for a break". Wbez.org. 2012-07-31. Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  5. Moseley-Braun, Carol (July 16, 1998). "Honoring Ms. Jamie Foster Brown (Senate - July 16, 1998)". Congressional Record, Senate. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  6. Foster, Stella (October 17, 2011). "Stella Foster recognized for journalism career". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  7. "Lorenzo Brown, Husband of Sister-2-Sister Publisher Jamie Brown, Dies of Cancer". 29 August 2015.
  8. "Sister 2 Sister co-founder Lorenzo Brown dead at 73". Chicago Sun-Times. 24 June 2016.
  9. Hopkinson, Natalie (July 5, 2001). "This Publisher Knows What's in a Name: Magazine Trades on Founder's Visibility". Washington Post.
  10. Johnson, Gary (September 2003). "Jamie Foster Brown: Sister 2 Sister and Family Too!". Black Men in America. Archived from the original on 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  11. Trescott, Jacqueline (June 21, 1992). "The Night the Shots Hit Home". Washington Post.
  12. Donahue, Deirdre (June 5, 1992). "'Sister' raises voice against violence". USA Today. p. Life, 5D.
  13. Search Occupation Category: MediaMakers (2007-02-05). "Jamie Foster Brown". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  14. "Magazine publisher speaks at Livingstone College". Salisbury Post. February 16, 2012. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  15. Willis, Laurie D. (February 20, 2012). "Media pioneers' advice: Find your own strengths". The Charlotte Post. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  16. King, Aliya S. (2010-05-05). "So What Do You Do, Jamie Foster Brown, Publisher, Sister 2 Sister?". Mediabistro. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  17. Barron, James (April 3, 1991). "Barry offers insight on destructive lifestyle". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  18. Morello, Carol (July 7, 2009). "Many Women in Marion Barry's Life". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  19. Trescott, Jacqueline (April 4, 1991). "Barry And The Addictions Of Power: Tells Magazine About Womanizing, Drugs". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  20. "A 'new' Barry is seeking his 'self-worth'". The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Chronicle. April 6, 1991. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  21. "Sister 2 Sister Celebrates 22 Years in the Magazine Business". Hip Hop Enquirer Magazine. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  22. Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (October 13, 2006). "Reliable source". Washington Post. p. Style C3.
  23. "DMX Ordered to Pay $1.5 Million". Washington Post. January 12, 2008. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  24. Watkins, Greg (January 12, 2008). "DMX Loses $1.5 Mil Over Rape Comments". Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  25. Foster, Stella (March 13, 2007). "Jamie Foster Brown in Japan with MJ". MJ News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  26. Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna Rush; Huguenin, Patrick; Kinon, Cristina (April 16, 2007). "Tinsley's Fashion Makes Good Copy". Daily News (New York). p. Gossip, 20.
  27. "Michael Jackson is a Good Father?". Socialite Life. April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  28. "Jamie Foster Brown Covers Sister 2 Sister Magazine's 25th Anniversary Issue". FreddyO.com. 2013-10-23. Archived from the original on 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  29. Farmer, Al-Lateef (2013-10-21). "Founder Jamie Foster Brown is Sister 2 Sister Magazine's Cover Story". EURweb. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  30. "2002 Inductees". Nabfeme. 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  31. Hopkinson, Natalie (December 3, 2002). "The Braided Bunch Comes to Town". Washington Post.
  32. "Matrix Professional Achievement Award | Assoc Women in Communications - DC". Awcdc.net. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  33. "Jamie Foster Brown and Maria Rodriguez Honored at 2004 Matrix Awards Luncheon". Business Wire. 2004-05-17. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  34. Alcindor, Yamiche (October 1, 2009). "20 D.C. Women Receive Ford Motor Awards". Washington Post.
  35. Jamie Foster Brown, ed. (1998). Betty Shabazz : a sisterfriends' tribute in words and pictures. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684852942.
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