[citation needed] In 1985, Nicholson entered into a co-publishing agreement with Anthony Gittens, director of the Black Film Institute of the University of the District of Columbia.
With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the magazine was published in a redesigned format on glossy paper with photographs.
Under Jones, the publication expanded its coverage of Panafrican film and filmmakers, gaining significant acclaim.
Contributors included film scholars Donald Bogle, Phyllis Klotman, Pat Aufderheide, Manthia Diawara, and Clyde Taylor.
[2] During its last two years of publication, BFR was co-published by Eric Easter, and edited by historian Leasa Farrar Frazer.