Thursday, November 27, 2008

Can We Trust BET Founder/Obama-Hater?

According to a report on the Maynard Institute's "Journal-Isms" blog, penned by Richard Prince, BET's billionaire founder Bob Johnson _ a fervent Clinton supporter during the Presidential primaries _ wants back into the cable television game.


(VIDEO: YOUTUBE)

Reportedly, Johnson _ whose groundbreaking Black Entertainment Television network was chiefly responsible for propagating the imagery of pimps, hos, husters, dope dealers and menaces to society onto the mass market, according to some critics _ has applied for a license from the Federal Communications Commission to launch a new "urban" station under the auspices of Ion Media Networks, Inc. Ion's parent company, according to report, is best known for re-running such high quality programming as "Mama's Family" and "Baywatch".

What's Johnson's motivation? To undo the "set the race back a generation" hot mess that BET turned into? To ride the colorific coattails of Obama's ascent, even though Johnson backed the President-elect's main rival.

I love how Aaron McGruder parodied what Johnson and BET wrought so ruefully on his "Boondocks" series (click above). Do we want that man at the helm of another network? Will any programs that Johnson runs be any good for our kids?

Correct me if I'm wrong in thinking, "Not".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello my brotha......I feel the exact same way: NOT! No trust; no love for Johnson. I will, however, pray for the renewing of his mind. ;)

prpropam1@yahoo.com

A. Scott Walton said...

Thanks for responding. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. He still has friends in high places...