Don Cheadle's new film, "Talk To Me," is
the story of the late Petey Greene, the ex-prisoner turned
radio personality
and Emmy award winning talk show host. After being released from
prison in the 1960s, he was hired by WOL 1450 AM in Washington,
DC, the station that would later give rise to the Radio One media
empire of Cathy Hughes.
Greene was known for his outspokenness, his authenticity, and
his role as a voice of the community. He was not afraid to speak
truth to power, to say the things that others dared not say for
fear of retribution or recrimination. Immediately following the
assassination of Dr. King in 1968, Greene helped comfort DC's
Black community in the midst of the urban rebellion that ensued.
What struck me most about the movie was that the world of Black
radio in the 60s and 70s, as exemplified by Petey Greene, was
very different. Black radio had a commitment and a responsibility
to the community, a mission to empower the people. The people
demanded from their media institutions the requisite tools to
inform them, educate them, and mobilize them for political action.
Entertainment was not inconsistent with these goals.
Fast forward to today. Mark Thompson - also
known as Matsimela Mapfumo - community leader, emcee of the
Million Man March, founder
of the Umoja Party and an ordained minister, was a host on Radio
One for 19 years. His trailblazing program on politics and human
rights, "Make It Plain," aired on Radio One's XM Radio
station, The Power, Channel 169. Thompson, along with progressive
on-air personality Ambrose Lane and two staffers, was unceremoniously
eliminated from the network's lineup. "Make It Plain" has
been replaced by "2 Live Stews," a comedic sports talk
program hosted by brothers Doug and Ryan Stewart.
Radio One gave no reason for the firings,
but stated in a press release that the network is "thrilled" by the change
in lineup. Meanwhile, Redding News Review recently reported that
Radio One officials held a financial meeting with members of
the Republican National Committee (RNC) prior to the firings.
Shannon Reeves, the RNC director of state and local development
and chair of its African American Leadership Council, denies
that such a meeting occurred. Further, Black conservative host
and Bush political consultant Raynard Jackson - who maintains
that Black political leadership "continue to indoctrinate
Blacks with a radical, liberal orthodoxy that breeds a mentality
of victimization and dependency" - apparently has been added
to the network roster. Jackson is also a member of the Black
conservative think tank, Project 21, according to that organization's
website.
Oddly enough, just days before this unfortunate
turn of events, I had the honor of appearing as a guest on "Make It Plain," to
discuss the Black Commentator cover story for July 12, 2007, "Why
YOU Should Be Concerned About Big Media." The basic thrust
of my argument was that as a result of increased media consolidation,
with fewer corporations owning more of the media, news and public
affairs programming is sacrificed in favor of mindless entertainment.
Fewer voices are heard on the airwaves, and progressive viewpoints
and voices of color are silenced. The solution to the media crisis,
I suggested, is to support and nurture progressive and community-based
media, while holding accountable those corporate media entities
that shirk their responsibilities and fail to act in the public
interest.
Little did I know that I would witness, firsthand, the negative
implications of my theory, in action. Months earlier, I was scheduled
to discuss the same topic on African American-owned WHAT (1340
AM) in Philadelphia, sister station to New York's WBLS and WLIB,
that are owned by Inner City Broadcasting. The interview never
took place because the program was cancelled, and the station
sold. Now, there is only one Black talk station in Philadelphia,
WURD (900 AM), home to such luminaries as Kenny Gamble, Bob Law
and Reggie Bryant.
It should be noted that Radio One, Inc.
is the seventh largest radio broadcasting company in the U.S.,
and the largest radio
broadcasting company for African-American and urban listeners,
with 60 radio stations in 19 markets. Most noteworthy among its
other business interests are the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the
cable television station TV One, and its station on XM Satellite
Radio. For a more detailed background analysis of Radio One,
see the May 23, 2003 cover story of The Black Commentator, entitled "Who
Killed Black Radio News?"
Cathy Hughes should be applauded for what she has accomplished
in the midst of what surely are tremendous obstacles for a Black
woman in a ruthlessly competitive business. At the same time,
while the network grew with support from the Black community,
the company is now publicly traded on Wall Street, where the
dollar dictates everything. To be sure, the interests of Wall
Street investors may not necessarily coincide with the needs
and concerns of the Black community.
During the Civil Rights era, Black radio was an invaluable resource
in providing support to popular struggles. Today, we face numerous
crises: white backlash and the elimination of affirmative action,
the overturning of Brown v. Board of Education and the outlawing
of integration in the public schools, a government owned and
operated by kleptocrats, religious zealots and war profiteers,
and a president intent on consolidating his power and destroying
democracy. A movement of all people of goodwill is necessary
in order to confront a host of problems facing this nation. Black
radio, it seems, is ill-prepared, ill-equipped, and perhaps,
dare I say, not even permitted to help in this regard. Much of
Black radio is prepared solely to give us the scoop on the latest
celebrity gossip, and that's about it.
In the end, a number of questions must be asked: Is Black radio
for sale to the GOP? In their quest for more profits on Wall
Street, will Radio One and other Black corporations be able to
maintain their family milieu and stay true to the community that
sustained them, or will they be forced to emulate the cold business
strategies of the big guns in their industry, the conglomerates
that have become part of the problem? Are we doing enough to
support the businesses that reflect our values? Will radio allow
breathing space for the Mark Thompsons, the truth tellers and
griots, and salvage its integrity in the process? Had Petey Greene
been starting out in the radio business today, would anyone have
given him a chance to tell it like it is? Talk to me.
BlackCommentator.com Columnist David A.
Love is an attorney based in Philadelphia, and a contributor
to the Progressive
Media Project and McClatchy-Tribune
News Service. He contributed to the book, States of
Confinement: Policing, Detention and Prisons (St. Martin's
Press, 2000). Love is a former spokesperson for the Amnesty
International UK National Speakers Tour, and organized the
first national police brutality conference as a staff member
with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights. He
served as a law clerk to two Black federal judges. Click
here to contact Mr. Love.