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Black News Channel, the sole African American-led news
network in the US has arrived
GUEST BLOG / By Scottie Andrew, CNN BUSINESS--Black News Channel a week ago today made its debut to
fill what its founders called a void in representation in national news. The
network began broadcasting in select markets on Monday.
The 24-7 cable channel
features black anchors "dedicated to the unique perspective of African
American communities," according to a statement from its co-founders J.C.
Watts and Bob Brillante, and will debut in "majority African American
markets" first, according to its website, including Atlanta and Los
Angeles.
It's available to select
Spectrum and Xfinity X-1 customers and will premiere on Sling and Roku at a
later, unspecified date.
It aims to reach 100 million
households at the end of its rollout.
In addition to Watts, a
former Republican congressman and current Black News Channel chair, the
channel's leadership team and anchor lineup are almost exclusively African
Americans.
Programming will include a
health series focused on medical issues that impact African Americans as well
as traditional morning and primetime news programs.
In an appearance on NPR's All
Things Considered, Watts said that while major news outlets feature black hosts
and guests, they're rarely focused on uniquely African-American experiences.
"I think there needs to
be a more comprehensive story told about the African American community, and
we'll have a venue to do that," he told NPR.
The channel won't take sides,
but it's got bipartisan support
Black News Channel will
tackle politicized topics but won't take a side, Watts said.
"We're not looking to be
liberal or conservative," he told NPR. "We want to provide a venue
for African Americans to have a voice, to be a part of the dialogue that's
going on in the country, be it incarceration reform or impeachment."
"I can't tell you how
excited I am that there is going to be a 24 hour, seven day a week Black News
Channel," California Rep. Karen Bass, Chairwoman of the Congressional
Black Caucus, said at the launch event. "I was thrilled from day
one."
"We've been really
pushing for diversity and inclusion in the broadcast space and cable space and
it's because we live in a multi-racial civil society," said New York Rep.
Yvette D. Clarke. "For far too long, our media didn't speak to that and
today still doesn't speak to that diversity. The Black News Channel will fill a
void in many spaces."
While the network's
availability is limited, Watts plans to grow its reach.
The company already employs
over 60 people at its headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida, and has goals to
build bureaus in Washington, New York and Atlanta, too.
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