Black TV News


Is America ready for a 24-hour black cable news network?
By George Alexander

April 25, 2008 -- Cable and network television news programs have often been chided for their lack of adequate coverage of issues and topics most important to African Americans. That could soon change. Last week, Black Television News Channel (BTNC) announced plans to launch the nation’s first all-news cable network dedicated to the African American community. Based in Washington, D.C., BTNC is the creation of J.C. Watts, the former Republican congressman from Oklahoma. The launch is part of a multi-year carriage agreement with Comcast Cable. Distribution is expected to begin in early 2009 in Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Baltimore.

A black cable news network will be a welcome addition to the media world. This is particularly the case given that BET cancelled BET Nightly News in 2005, replacing it with news briefs throughout the day. At the time, network brass cited a desire to meet the demands of its mostly 18- to 34-year-old demographic audience as the reason for the cancellation. Black-owned TV One also only offers news briefs throughout its programming schedule.

Steve Pruitt, a senior partner at BTNC, told Multichannel News, the industry trade, that BTNC will be formatted very much like CNN and the Fox News Channel as it relates to news and special programming. The difference, of course, will all be in the perspective. BTNC will bring news from an African American point of view. That means black people will not only be on-air talent but will be making the important behind-the scenes editorial decisions on what stories actually get covered.
With serious issues still facing black America—from unemployment to poverty to inadequate education to HIV and AIDS—and the prospect of an African American in the White House, a network solely focused on daily news content from a black perspective is a welcome reprieve from a black television landscape largely dedicated to entertainment.

African Americans watch more television than other ethnic groups, however according to Nielsen, TV is the only arena where solid, broad news representation of the black community has not been achieved in any meaningful way. Watts hopes to change that. "Our unique and vast content partnerships with African American newsmakers will provide our viewers live access to the stories and people in whom our viewers have a special interest," he said in a statement.

But notwithstanding the nearly nonexistence of black television news, black people heavily engage in news matters of most interest to them. The presidential campaign and the Jena 6 controversy are two such examples. Last week’s debate between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton broadcast on ABC ranked third in black households for the period running from April 14-20, ranking only behind American Idol and Dancing With The Stars.

Further, the poignant and conscience-raising discussions on popular black radio shows like The Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Michael Baisden Show suggest that African Americans clearly want to hear about critical issues affecting their lives.

But is there an appetite for 24/7 television news? I’d bet my money there is. "Absolutely there’s an audience," argues Alesia Powell, a former CBS News senior producer who worked on BET Nightly News (both owned by Viacom). "There are people who want to know how what’s going on in the world affects them as a black person. How does it affect the lives of the people in their world, in their neighborhood?" adds Powell, who is currently a producer for the cable outlet Voom HDNews, the nation’s only news channel that broadcasts strictly in hi-definition.

Experts contend that essential for BTNC’s success will be the necessary resources to deliver quality programming. One key resource will be on-air talent. While the company has not released any financial data or possible commentators with regard to its launch, for some perspective on costs, Will J. Wright, the general manager of Voom HDNews, estimates that it can cost approximately $7 million to $8 million annually to produce a quality one-hour news show. With regard to key on-air talent, radio personality Michael Baisden said in an interview this week that he is definitely interested in BTNC.

Powell stresses that the network must secure people experienced in putting together news programming. "General business experience is not enough," she says. She attributes the failure of BET Nightly News, in part, to those in charge lacking the experience necessary to run a news operation.

In an ever competitive and crowded media and entertainment marketplace where the stakes are always riding high on the launch of any new television channel, for the sake of the black community and the sake of BTNC, we must all hope that the network has what it takes to keep us watching.

blackenterprise.com

Black TV News Channel set to laucnh in 2009



Black Television News Channel, LLC | BTNC

Whoa.. I cant belive I havent heard about this. This is exactly what we need. Im even more glad that J.C. Watts is behind all of this..

Fantastic!!...this is truly going to be ground breaking

if its successful i hop a uk one will pop up too

the power of the word in our own hands at long last.

an idea like this on the continent could work wonders for Africans on the continent, if it remained free from hijacking, bringing reality of and about Africans everywhere, culture, history, policy... rivaling the power of the mindless brain numbing monopoly the BBC and CNN has on African perceptions.

I hope they broadcast in the UK and in AFRICA too!!

BLACK NEWS NET
CHANNEL SET FOR EARLY '09 WITH EX-REP. AT HELM

By DON KAPLAN

May 27, 2008 -- FORMER congressman J.C. Watts is behind a major push to launch an all-news channel for black people.

The network, tentatively called Black Television News Channel and slated to launch in early 2009, already has an agreement with Comcast cable to be carried in several cities with large black populations including Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore.

As yet, there is no deal to carry the channel in New York.

"I'm not so sure that you see anything on CNN or Fox News that specifically targets the African American community," Watts told The Post.

According to recent U.S. census figures, nearly 81 percent of Detroit's population is black, while Baltimore is 64 percent, Atlanta is 61 percent, D.C. is 57 percent, Philly is 46 percent and Chicago is 37 percent. That means each city is a major potential market for the new channel and advertisers.

At least one news report on the new channel called Watts the "black Ted Turner," after the founder of CNN.

There has been a gap in black-targeted news on TV since Black Entertainment Television cancelled its "BET Nightly News" in 2005.


Watts says his goal is to push the news coverage beyond the usual crime stories.

"Our community features millions of people with all kinds of backgrounds. There's a much broader segment of the population than what we see in mainstream news," he says.

Watts is, so far, not giving any details about who is backing the channel, how much the initial financing will be or who will run it.

"Certainly [this channel] could cover issues from a different perspective," says Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism and one of the authors of its respected annual report, State of the Media.

There has been no shortage of major news stories directly related to the black community, he says, including the public falling out between Presidential hopeful Barack Obama and his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and the recent civil rights flash point, the Jena Six case.

"The question is, could it work on a regular basis?" asks Jurkowitz.

Tom Dolan, a news industry staffing expert, believes it will take Watts at least six months to staff a new channel, under the best circumstances.

"And that doesn't include anchors and reporters who you may target," he says. "Many times, they are still under contract with someone else."


Cable news is a big money proposition. The rule of thumb is that each hour of original programming costs about $7 million annually, once everything else is in place.

Industry sources believe starting a cable news network would cost at least $100 million.

Watts said only that he and "two cable industry vets" whom he declined to identify are bankrolling most of the start up. A list of private equity partners will be "released at a later time," he says.

Watts, the lone African American Republican in Congress until 2003 when he quit to start his own business, is a frequent commentator on both Fox News Channel and CNN. He is also on the board of radio giant Clear Channel.

BLACK NEWS NET - New York Post