Robert E. Johnson; Longtime Executive at Jet Magazine

Robert E. Johnson, 78, whose 42-year career at Jet magazine took him from managing editor to executive editor and associate publisher. Born in Montgomery, Ala., Johnson started out selling black weekly newspapers on street corners and later founded his high school newspaper. He went to Morehouse College with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and was one of the first journalists to chronicle King’s crusading marches. Johnson also wrote “Bill Cosby: In Words and Pictures,” a biography of the superstar. On Wednesday in Chicago.