Tampabay: Longtime publisher dies at 73

Longtime publisher dies at 73

By CRAIG BASSE

ST. PETERSBURG -- Cleveland Johnson, a musician forced into journalism by hard economic times, built a newspaper for African-American readers with the power of positive news.

A crusader for equality, he wrote editorials over the years on the need for social change. He warned of the devastating effects of drugs on the black community and preached the virtues of black economic power.

But his approach to reporting emphasized the positive.

"You'll never see anything bad about the black community in our newspaper," Mr. Johnson said in a 1992 interview. "We show positive role models instead. Our mission is to uplift the black community."

Mr. Johnson, 73, editor and publisher of the Weekly Challenger for more than 30 years, died Sunday (July 29, 2001) at Bayfront Medical Center. He had been a patient there since June 3.

The cause was lung cancer, his wife said Monday.

With a paid circulation estimated by Editor & Publisher magazine at 43,618, the paper circulates in Clearwater, Largo, Tampa, Palmetto, Tarpon Springs, Plant City, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Gainesville, Ocala, Bartow and St. Petersburg.

A St. Petersburg native and Gibbs High School graduate, Mr. Johnson got into publishing by accident. His first love was music, the former student of the Juilliard School and the Boston Conservatory once said. But in the mid-1960s, he found himself living in Miami and operating a jewelry and dress store. It was a struggle.

"With the influx of Cubans," he said, "many blacks lost their jobs and businesses started to fail." His store was one of those to fail and he returned to St. Petersburg.

To make ends meet, he worked as a pest control technician. While working at a new black newspaper, the Weekly Challenger, he discovered that he had a talent for selling advertising.

The paper's founder, M. C. Fountain, dreamed of having a quality publication for his black community. But just months after the paper's inception, Fountain died.

Mr. Johnson, who said frankly that he "needed the money," also wanted to keep the paper going. With $40 in his pocket and an old printing press, he put out his first edition in 1967.

With the new career for Mr. Johnson came a new name for the newspaper. He added an "R," and the Weekly Challenger was born.

Things were tough, but he managed to keep the paper alive. He sold $5, $10 and $15 ads for what was at first a four-page tabloid. A turning point came when the J. M. Fields department store bought a back-page ad for $125.

The next decade "was a marvelous time" for his newspaper, he said. "The community stuck by me. And I gave back to the community."

Yet he never stopped pushing for a bigger piece of the advertising pie for his black newspaper. He frequently complained about the lack of parity in attracting advertising dollars and in 1986 said he was starting a campaign to urge African-Americans to spend their money in their own community.

"I'm not saying spend it with me," he told a reporter, "but just put some of it back. And then you won't have any ghetto, you'll have something to lift them up."

Heavily involved in the community, Mr. Johnson received a number of plaques and certificates of appreciation for his work on behalf of the Pinellas County school system, the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and various senior and youth groups, including Little League baseball.

Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Ethel; three daughters, Wanda M., Varee L. and Sakia Johnson, all of St. Petersburg; and two sons, Bennie Johnson, Tallahassee, and Cyrille M. Johnson, Punta Gorda.

Zion Hill Mortuary is in charge of arrangements, which were not complete Monday.

-- Information from Times files was used in this obituary.