Black CEO Power List: Digital Magazine Founder Dianna Hobbs
CEO Dianna Hobbs founded EEW Magazine Online in 2007. (Source EEW)
By Wendi Rochester // Black Women // EEW Magazine Online
Our Black CEO Power List has one name: Dianna Hobbs.
The growth of EEW Magazine Online – a leading digital media brand for Black Christian women founded in 2007 – continues to explode under the 45-year-old’s leadership.
Over the past 15 years, Hobbs, a powerhouse entrepreneur, has worked her way onto the short list of Black-owned, Black-operated, independent media platforms with a steady readership and strong global brand recognition.
Deals, partnerships, and sponsorships inked with major players like Verizon, McDonald’s, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC, HarperCollins and more, have helped propel EEW to success.
For Hobbs, more important than the millions of page views, major brand deals, and name recognition gained over more than a decade, is the ability to make those in EEW’s niche market feel seen, heard, and valued.
“That has always been the goal, to represent what matters to our readers,” said Hobbs. “EEW readers are not one dimensional. No, not at all. They appreciate seeing the intersection of race, faith, and culture discussed and accurately depicted – with dignity not disdain,” added the award-winning blogger, author, public speaker, and philanthropist.
At a time when Christians are heavily criticized, mischaracterized, and drawn into exhausting debates surrounding issues such as abortion rights, homosexuality, feminism, and intersectionality, EEW Magazine highlights varying perspectives, as Christians are not a monolith.
“Black Christian women are not all the same, but we love the same God,” said Hobbs. “I try to see our common ground while always prioritizing love – as this is what Christ represents.”
Pew Research shows that two-thirds of Black Americans identify as Christian, making brands like Hobbs’ increasingly popular for their culturally and biblically contextual views that attract both conservative and liberal-leaning Black women of faith.
“We celebrate Black CEO, Dianna Hobbs, who launched a successful, Black- owned and operated, independent media brand that has been thriving since 2007. ”
“I think one of the secrets of EEW’s long-standing success is our ability to recognize and honor how important faith is to the Black community,” said Rutgers University graduate, Rebecca Johnson, Editorial Director of EEW Magazine.
Johnson, 38, leads a full-time staff of journalists, content creators, and experts and is intent on remaining true to EEW’s core subscriber base.
“We don’t try to mimic what’s popular or trending, but instead we stay focused on the needs of our faith-based community and create content with that in mind. I appreciate working under a visionary leader who allows us the flexibility to be diverse, innovative, and risk taking. EEW is a great place to work,” said Johnson.
The content created by EEW Magazine has won awards and accolades and is distributed and syndicated through mainstream networks.
As impressive as Hobbs’ media accomplishments are—and arguably any CEO would be pleased to see their hard work paying off big—the Buffalo, NY native, who has launched a successful “Feed Buffalo” campaign after a racially motivated mass shooting, lights up for very specific reasons.
“If there were no recognition and applause from others, do you know what brings me the most joy and peace and lights me up inside?” Hobbs asked her interviewer. “Knowing that I am touching lives through my nonprofit and uplifting my fellow comrades in faith by being obedient to the divine call on my life to media. That’s what does it for me.”
