Articles Feature

Black News Channel Closes After Two Years

by richard03135

‘Unable to Meet Financial Goals’

BNC host Aisha Mills, left, host Del Walters, BNC President and Chief Executive Princell Hair and “BNC Prime” host Charles Blow. (Credit: Black News Channel)

‘Unable to Meet Financial Goals’

Black News Channel announced Friday that it is ceasing operations immediately, with CEO Princell Hair telling employees that, “Unfortunately, due to challenging market conditions and global financial pressures, we have been unable to meet our financial goals, and the timeline afforded to us has run out.

“It’s with a broken heart that I am letting you all know that, effective immediately, BNC will cease live production and file for bankruptcy. We are saddened and disappointed by this reality and recognize the stress that this puts on you and your families.”

The Friday afternoon announcement followed reports throughout the morning that the network’s demise was imminent. It was the latest attempt at a cable news network targeting Black people, undertaken as Black Entertainment Television and TV One all but abdicated their news obligations, save for an occasional news special.

Live programming “will end at 2 p.m. PDT/5 p.m. EDT. The channel will air repeats for the rest of the month,” Stephen Battaglio wrote for the Los Angeles Times.

He also wrote, “The announcement means BNC’s staff of 230 — a vast majority of whom are people of color — are out of work. They have been told benefits will last through next week and there will be no severance, according to one person briefed on the plans.”

Antoinette Siu reported for The Wrap, “The network, whose majority stakeholder is Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan, has struggled to draw viewers or generate buzz. (Last November, the Los Angeles Times reported that Khan invested $50 million dollars in the channel.) In December, just days before Christmas, the channel laid off at least 80 staffers. More cuts followed and remaining employees who were not under contract began to bolt. Insiders have told TheWrap the network has shed more than 120 staffers since Christmas. . . .

“A Nielsen ratings analysis compiled by TheWrap in 2021, found of 124 cable news channels, BNC came in 123rd with an average of 4,000 viewers on any given show. Fox News was No. 1 with an average 2.361 million primetime viewers each evening.”

The National Association of Black Journalists issued a statement, “NABJ is exploring ways to assist our members impacted by the closing. We encourage members to explore job opportunities across the industry through our NABJ Career Center at NABJCareers.org and sign up for our specialty databases,” providing separate links for producers, editors and freelancers.

In the Wall Street Journal, Lillian Rizzo wrote that “Under Mr. Hair’s leadership, BNC landed distribution deals with most pay-TV providers, including Comcast Corp.’s Xfinity, Dish Network Corp. and DirecTV. The network said it reached roughly 50 million households.

“BNC didn’t receive fees from distributors for carrying its channel, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Instead, the network relied on advertising revenue and funding from its backer — a practice that is commonplace for most upstart cable channels.”

“The network’s viewership hit a peak of 80,000 this week, according to Nielsen data, as it aired wall-to-wall coverage of confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. . . . .”

Roland Martin, who produces his own digital show, told Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The cash outflow was too large combined with a lack of ratings. It’s highly unfortunate. You have a lot of Black journalists committed to this concept but at the end of the day, business is business.”

“BNC focused on a linear cable network in a day and age where streaming, YouTube, podcasts and social media are ascendant. Martin said it would have been smarter if they had started as a digital channel and invested in a handful of big names instead of running news throughout the day. The model they chose was simply too expensive, he said,” Ho wrote.

Hair’s note to colleagues reads:

“A little more than two years ago, the lights on BNC’s cameras flipped on for the first time. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, we launched a groundbreaking mission to inject positive change into a news landscape that, for far too long, had underserved and overlooked Black and Brown people.

“During the past few months, we have endured very painful workforce reductions at all levels of the network as we worked to achieve our financial goal of a break-even business. This has forced all of you to do more with less, and your contributions have been remarkable.

“Unfortunately, due to challenging market conditions and global financial pressures, we have been unable to meet our financial goals, and the timeline afforded to us has run out.

“It’s with a broken heart that I am letting you all know that, effective immediately, BNC will cease live production and file for bankruptcy. We are saddened and disappointed by this reality and recognize the stress that this puts on you and your families. (Photo: Two years ago at the channel’s debut.)

“With the nation on the verge of a social justice reckoning not seen in this country since the Civil Rights era, we’ve been hard at work building our presence in the marketplace with unprecedented speed. Through a continuous run of distribution agreements on both linear and streaming platforms, BNC’s accessibility has grown to reach more than 250 million touchpoints.

“Since rebranding and relaunching the network a year ago, we have developed a 17-hour daily block of live programming and a lineup of shows that are outstanding. Every day we present stories, context and viewpoints that illuminate and celebrate the Black experience in a way that no other network has since the dawn of television.

“We have hired more than 250 Black journalists and Black production personnel, and all your hard work and dedication has lifted this network to incredible heights. There have been countless wins along the way, including gavel-to-gavel coverage of several trials that gripped our community, A-list guests throughout our dayparts and exclusive coverage of The Congressional Black Caucus’ first-ever response to the President’s State of the Union address. Just this week we set an all-time viewership record for the network during wall-to-wall coverage of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

“I understand that this surprising and unfortunate news will naturally generate a lot of questions surrounding next steps. Our leadership team and human resources will be in touch to address them over the coming days and weeks.

“Please know that I am very thankful for all of your hard work and deep commitment to our mission. We have differentiated ourselves, and your achievements over these last two years should be an immense source of pride that you will carry throughout the rest of your careers.

“In the meantime, please take care of yourselves and each other, and remember that we built something great here. BNC, or something very close to it, will surely return at some point, because the world needs it, and all of you have proven it can be done.”

The Tallahassee Democrat provided this timeline:

The Rise and Fall of the Black News Channel:

Jenkins’ Family, Friends Say ‘Stop the Violence’

March 21, 2022

‘Shock Waves Through the Journalism Community’
7 Years Later, Slaying of D.C. Reporter Unsolved

Homepage photo: Scores of friends and family attend a vigil for Sierra Jenkins on Sunday night at Granby High School in Norfolk, Va. (Credit: Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot)

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Sierra Jenkins, a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk and the Daily Press in Newport News, Va., is shown with her goddaughter, Tristen Desiré Smith. (Virginian-Pilot, Courtesy of Demmi Nimer)

‘Shock Waves Through the Journalism Community’


“Scores of family members and friends gathered at Granby High School in Norfolk Sunday night to honor 25-year-old Sierra Jenkins, who was fatally shot when gunfire erupted on Granby Street early Saturday,” Caitlyn Burchett reported for the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk.

“Many in attendance were dressed in orange — Jenkins’ favorite color — and carried candles to light in her memory.

“As people gathered, murmurs of disbelief and denial rippled across the crowd.

“One by one, Jenkins’ mother, father, aunts, uncles, teachers and dear friends addressed the group.

“The prevailing message: ‘Stop the violence.’

“Jenkins (pictured at her 2019 graduation from Georgia State University; courtesy Maurice Jenkins), a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, was one of two people killed outside Chicho’s Pizza Backstage in downtown Norfolk as the popular nightspot closed. Jenkins had been there with her best friend, according to her family. The restaurant and bar was closing when an argument started outside, and Jenkins was caught in the line of fire as she left.

[“The gunfire allegedly stemmed from an argument over a spilled drink,” Burchett reported Tuesday. “That’s what Police Chief Larry Boone told a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League on Monday night.”]

“In all, five people were shot in the incident shortly after 1:30 a.m. Police have not announced any arrests in the shooting.

“Brianna Bennett, a close friend of Jenkins, was the first to speak at the vigil. She noted that Jenkins was killed by the very violence the young reporter had sought to end.

“ ‘She was fighting the violence we have in our community. Maybe we can help finish what she could not finish,’ Bennett said. ‘It starts with the community. There are a lot of you here, and that is enough to start something.’

“Tiff Crawford, for whom Jenkins had babysat, said she had taken Jenkins to lunch on Wednesday. The pair talked for two hours about Jenkins’ aspirations.

“ ‘She told me how she loved being a journalist because she served her community,’ Crawford said, her voice shaking as tears fell down her cheeks. ‘Sierra would want us to take care of each other, not just us, but the whole city. We have got to come together and stop this violence.’ . . .”

Kim O’Brien Root added Monday for the Pilot, “Jenkins’ last story was about a Hampton University program to take in students impacted by the war in Ukraine, reflecting her passion for telling the stories of students. That story will run in Tuesday’s newspaper.”

Root wrote that “The affable young reporter’s death sent shock waves through the journalism community, eliciting messages of sympathy from news organizations around the country. . . .”

The Education Writers Association said Monday that Jenkins was a 2022 member of EWA’s New to the Beat program, which matches newer education journalists with veteran reporters who serve as mentors and coaches.

“Her program mentor, Lori Higgins of Chalkbeat, beautifully summed up what so many of us felt after having the chance to spend time with Jenkins at our New to the Beat workshop in Washington, D.C., just a few weeks ago: ‘After one meeting with her, I walked away feeling rejuvenated. She was so enthusiastic and had such a drive for journalism and this beat.’ ”

Dorothy Tucker, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, said in a statement, “The NABJ family is wrapping our arms around Sierra’s family, friends and colleagues. This is a tragic loss of a blossoming reporter with a beautiful spirit who had already begun to make her mark in the industry. We are saddened that such a horrific act ended her life and career too soon.”

Customers at Charnice Milton Community Bookstore in Southeast Washington. “If we want to be tough on crime, we have to get tough on literacy,” said Kymone Freeman, co-founder of We Act Radio. Freeman spearheaded the effort to transform the formerly drab space into the only bookstore east of the Anacostia River, an area that includes many of the District of Columbia’s poorest neighborhoods. (Credit: Charnice Milton Community Bookstore)

7 Years Later, Slaying of D.C. Reporter Still Unsolved

As Norfolk, Va., police seek to resolve the killing of reporter Sierra Jenkins, the fatal shooting of a second victim and the wounding of three others, the slaying of a journalist nearly seven years ago in the District of Columbia remains unsolved.

“The case is under investigation. There are no new updates; there have been no arrests,” a D.C. police spokesperson told Journal-isms on Monday. She was describing the case of Charnice Milton (pictured, below), a 27-year-old reporter for the Capital Community News who was gunned down as she returned home from reporting on a community meeting.

It was shortly after 9:28 p.m. on May 27, 2015. Milton was waiting for a bus. Police said two dirt-bike groups were exchanging gunfire. Milton’s stepfather, Kenneth McClenton, said the intended target used his daughter as a human shield to save himself.

The case generated news then and on subsequent anniversaries. The New York Times and the New Yorker covered it. Milton’s alma mater, Syracuse University, established the Charnice Milton Award for Community Journalism for “a journalism graduate student committed to community journalism.”

. Failure to close the case has fed speculation calling it another example of community members declining to “snitch.”

“Many believe dozens of people know who committed this murder, they just haven’t come forward, and that has angered community activists,” WJLA-TV reporter Sam Ford told viewers on the first anniversary of the killing.

” ‘It is a shame in this community that we have so many people shielding these murderers; these black lives matter too,’ Phil Pannell said.”

McClenton told Journal-isms Monday that he understood what Jenkins’ family must be going through. “We know what we feel at 2’clock in the morning and know that she’s not there. This is a great time of sorrow for us.”

But McClenton, who describes himself as an “urban conservative” and hosts an Internet show that every Friday urges those with information to come forward, places the failure to solve the crime in four places: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, for failure to put enough resources in the police department, the D.C. Council for not making crime enough of a priority; the community, where many believe the police are “against them”; and the media, which he says abide by the mantra “If it bleeds it leads,” even if it is nonprofit media. McClenton calls the combination a “volatile cocktail.”

Andrew Lightman, managing editor of the Capital Community News and publisher of the D.C. community newspapers Hill Rag, East of the River and MidCity DC, said he routinely runs a “Wanted” ad seeking Charnice Milton’s killer.

Milton’s editor and mentor, Andrew Lightman, told Journal-isms that she was “one of the hardest working reporters I ever worked with. She made friends all over the city.”

In 2017, on the second anniversary of the killing, We Act Radio, a media outlet based in Anacostia, often called a “forgotten” part of D.C., announced it had begun collecting books for a project called Bookapalooza. The effort resulted in a bookstore named after Milton.

“Had that been a book in that young man or female’s hand, the outcome would have been different,” said Kevin Bell, founder of the program Books and Breakfast, at the press conference. He was referring to Milton’s killer, Christina Sturdivant reported then for DCist.

“If we want to be tough on crime, we have to get tough on literacy,” said Kymone Freeman, co-founder of We Act Radio.

Sturdivant’s piece continued, “Studies have also shown that adults who read at lowest levels of functional literacy are most likely to live in Wards 5, 7, and 8 —- with nearly half of them residing east of the Anacostia River. These adults struggle to do things like fill out job applications, read to their children, or decipher a medical prescription. . . .”

The Metropolitan Police Department said Monday in response to a query, “This case remains open and is under active investigation. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call us at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.

“The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia.”

[March 23 update: The Metropolitan Police Department responded to a request for the number of open homicide cases over the past 10 years:

“2022: 29 Open Cases

“2021: 116 Open Cases

“2020: 76 Open Cases

“2019: 80 Open Cases

“2018: 63 Open Cases

“2017: 48 Open Cases

“2016: 57 Open Cases

“2015: 64 Open Cases

“2014: 39 Open Cases

“2013: 33 Open Cases

“2012: 31 Open Cases” ]

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms+owner@groups.io

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