Another to a long list of wins, people across the world are now celebrating the recent launch of “The Black News Channel”, the first 24-hour news channel created “by black people, for black people” in the United States of America.
The new network founded by former Republican. J.C. Watts now reaches 33 million households in heavy African American markets including New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. The company is based in Tallahassee, Florida and currently employs about 60 people.
“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. We’re not looking to be liberal or conservative. 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”… said the founder at the launch event.
On-air talent includes former Fox News anchor and reporter Kelly Wright, former CNN and TBS host Fred Hickman, libertarian radio host Larry Elder, former Fox 44 anchor Lauren McCoy and former CBS journalist Lauren McGee.
Interestingly, a 2012 Nielsen Media Research study showed that more than 9 in 10 African Americans “believe that black-owned media is more relevant to them.”
Speaking at the launch event, Republican Yvette D. Clarke said “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. 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.”
The channel is now available to Spectrum, Xfinity X-1 and DISH Network customers, and looks to be available on Sling and Roku soon.
They’re also partnering with the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade organization composed of more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers across the country.