New PC mag focuses on black newbies

By Charles E. Ramirez
Detroit News

Abner McWhorter has volumes to say about computers and technology to black Americans.

So the 31-year-old Detroit entrepreneur has launched OurPC — a glossy magazine intended to show black households how personal computers enhance everyday life.

An estimated 26 percent of black Americans have Internet access. That trails the 46 percent of white households and 56 percent of Asian American and Pacific islander households, figures from a 1998 Department of Commerce study.

McWhorter compares the look of his magazine to computer and technology publications like Wired, PC Magazine and Business 2.0 — but with less technospeak. It has news and feature articles on the latest gadgets, online shopping and listings for sites with information on education, entertainment, personal finance, health and travel.

Some of the magazine's articles can be found at BlackVoices.com, an online portal, and at the magazine's new Web site.

The magazine boasts 50,000 paid subscribers and it has already landed major advertisers, including Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz. An annual subscription costs $16.99.