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 "Make It Plain" has been replaced by "2 Live Stews," a comedic sports talk program hosted by brothers Doug and Ryan Stewart.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.