photo by steed media service

Publisher, Double Dutch Magazine

Remember when we were kids and how fun skipping rope was? If you knew how to double dutch, you were popular. This favored pastime brought together all of the girls in the neighborhood and we would sing rhymes and chant as we flexed our skills. Now we're living in an age when teen girls' are preoccupied by digital technology and aren't spending as much time playing outside. Jen Threat, publisher of Double Dutch, the online magazine, is turning this obsession into something positive.

"Technology is a big part of [teenager's] lives with cell phones, pagers and the like. I look forward to reaching out to [this] audience, to present a positive image, the confidence that they need, and let them know they can be whatever they want," Threat shares after inferring that current teen-based publications aren't addressing the needs of urbanites. "In addition to beauty, fashion and fitness, we talk about hard hitting issues like peer pressure, self-esteem and teen pregnancy, some of the things that we deal with."

Threat honed her skills at major publications like Good Housekeeping, Ebony and Essence, but finds that what is making her entrepreneurial venture steadfast is going out into the community to reach readers. "I visit schools, teen organizations, the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, and other community-based organizations that target teens," she offers. A Cleveland native, Threat first got the bug to go to the Big Apple while a student at Ohio University. She was in an advertising club and she visited New York. She later graduated with a master's in magazine publishing from New York University. - yvette caslin



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