Former Essence Editor Launches Entertainment Site

Following her (very) brief stint at the Huffington Post, former Essence editor in chief Angela Burt-Murray is launching a celebrity news and style website aimed at young women of color. The site, called CocoaFab.com, is part of Cocoa Media Group, which Burt-Murray co-founded with former Essence Communications executive producer Shelly Jones Jennings.

CocoaFab will produce six original Web series per week (like the shopping-focused Fab Five and news round-up Mouthing Off) as well as original and aggregated content, including street style look books, live-streamed “viewing parties,” and photo galleries.

Burt-Murray, who edited Essence from 2005 until 2010, sparked controversy when she hired a white fashion director, Ellianna Placas. In January 2011, she was hired by HuffPo to assist in the launch of its GlobalBlack vertical, but left the following month. Burt-Murray also was executive editor of Teen Vogue from 2003 to 2005.