Why NABJ President, Barbara Ciara, Lashed Out at WAOD:Renting Our Blackness

Further, this proposal is likely to present an opportunistic boon for many entirely different types of programming models, but not for those models pursued by minority broadcasters. Specifically, business models like home shopping and infomercials would appear to benefit most from this kind of squatters' approach. The result would be that more non-minority broadcast channels, under the ultimate control of the same broadcasters who control the airwaves today, would get must-carry status, with the effect of squeezing out the precious channel space that would otherwise be available to prospective minority, women's and other emerging cable and satellite programmers. Jesse Jackson, Sr. On Behalf of Rainbow PUSH to the FCC, October 30, 2007 I know all this telecom law is boring the heck out of half of y'all, but this is important. We return once again to Bob Johnson's scheme to launch Urban Television LLC.  For several months I have been covering Bob Johnson's attempt to launch BET II, the broadcast edition.

• Bob Johnson and Civil Rights Industrial Complex Conspire to Destroy Minority Broadcasters-(Broadcasting Sharecropping)
• Bob Johnson’s “Urban Television” Sham-Black Leadership’s Shame- Totally Blogable!
• WAOD Exclusive:Common Cause’s Opposition to Bob Johnson’s Urban Television

Several of you have laughed at me referring to this latest scheme as a minority sharecropping infomercial channel, but I'm not joking, that is exactly what it is. BTW I didn't come up with the term "sharecropping" to describe this scheme. That was Jesse Jackson, Sr. when he described the multi-cast "must carry" scheme that Johnson is pushing... that was before Rainbow PUSH apparently suffered the swift onset of amnesia likely brought on by Bob Johnson's billions (technically millions-Shelia got half!) Today I shall attempt to do a better job of explaining why you, an ordinary African American should be outraged at what Bob Johnson and Ion Media are doing. In addition, I will explain the incompetence and/or corruption of the  leaders of the NAACP, NABJ, Rainbow PUSH, and various other organization known to the FCC and the media collectively as "Civil Rights Organizations." So why was Rainbow PUSH so quick to condemn Ion's plans last year, but now has taken a side opposite to that of the current minority broadcasters it was previously attempting to protect ?That's the question we've been asking, but the "Civil Rights" organizations now lining up behind Ion Media's Urban Television don't want to answer that question. Last week, in our most recent article about Urban Television, we openly scoffed at the president of the NABJ (National Association of Bob Johnson formerly known as the National Association of Black Journalists). We referred to her as a "rocket scientist" based on comments she made to Journalisms regarding why the NABJ supported Bob Johnson and Ion Media's attempt to get the FCC to force cable providers to carry a subchannel of Ion Media (Urban Television). How deep is their desire to avoid answering for their actions? Well, you be the judge, this was the rant of someone purporting to be the President of the National Association of Black Journalists:

I find it interesting that you have jumped to conclusions without ever having asked NABJ one question about why we took the position we did. It’s much easier to listen to the sound of your own voice rather than gather real information resembling the facts...You make my case….. of not investigating or verifying your source material.I never attended a dinner hosted by Bob Johnson. But never let the facts stand in the way of a good fictional blog.In this case, the messager deserves to be attacked.Journalism 101 my friend. Barbara Ciara, President of the National Association of Black Journalists

Now if I understand her criticism correctly, she's saying I was wrong to find the report of a "journalist" credible.

Johnson won the support of the National Association of Black Journalists and other supporters after a Dec. 23 luncheon meeting with Johnson at a Washington restaurant. “We’re trying to expand the footprint of African American ownership,” NABJ President Barbara Ciara told Journal-isms then.Journalisms

I have no reason to believe that Richard Prince of Journalisms would LIE and say that the NABJ's decision to support Bob Johnson's Urban Television followed a dinner in Washington, DC. But even if Mr. Prince was wrong, which I don't think he was, Ms. Ciara the great High Priestess of Facts can't tell the difference between a fact and a MATERIAL FACT. "I Did Not Eat Chicken With That MAN!" No one really cares whether Bob Johnson purchased a plate of hot wangs for Mrs. Ciara.  What is MATERIAL is that the NABJ signed up to play the role of "sheep's clothing" to Bob Johnson's wolf. If you don't believe me or Mr. Prince, go read the filings the NABJ submitted to the FCC on behalf of Urban Media. I'm a blogger, not a journalist.  I don't ask my readers to believe me. I trust that they have brains and can go to the links which form the basis for my opinion and make up their own minds. I take it as a matter of honor, that my readers often disagree with me. My real crime is that I didn't defer to Mrs. Ciara and the fellow members of the Blackristocracy. <sarcasm>As a lowly blogger sometimes its a struggle to make out all these fancy words and whatnot, but I think that if ize keepsa tryin' I'ze jes might manage to congregrate a few thinkin's 'bout dis a heya Urban Media machinatshenz. I'ze mi' nebba bee az smot az Mizza Barba See-ah-uh, but i'ze keep on tri-en cause life for me ain't been no crystal stair </sarcasm> Don't believe the hype. For the past week, MSM has  been pushing the fiction that TV One is somehow being "selfish" for opposing Bob Johnson's scheme with Ion Media.  I say scheme because they are using the FCC's "diversity" goals to push through a change in policy that will allow broadcasters to split their broadcast signals into pieces, establish sub channels and then force cable companies to carry all of those channels. After Mrs Ciara's unhinged tirade aimed at obfuscation and redirection, I knew I might be on to something so I kept digging all week. Yes, "journalists" know how to ask questions, but lawyers know how to comb through  voluminous piles of written gibberish until they find what they are looking for. Apparently all these "journalists" covering this Ion Media Urban Television scam didn't find out how hypocritical the "Civil Rights" organizations supporting Urban Television's scheme are. Almost one year prior to that dinner at a DC restaurant, Rainbow PUSH voiced its opinion about the type of arrangement Bob Johnson is currently pushing. In that filing with the FCC, Jesse Jackson, Sr. makes all of the arguments for how schemes like this one will harm current minority owners. In addition, he warned about majority-owned entities using schemes like this to set up "second-class" spin off channels and force them on to cable

In light of those concerns, I approach with great skepticism this new "multicast must-carri' proposal that by authorizing "qualified entities" to ·lease digital channels from broadcasters, and by giving those leased channels "must-carry" status on cable systems, the Commission could somehow achieve a kind of "compensatory" diversity in programming and ownership that would make up for the losses imposed by multicast must-carry and a fa carte. I believe the idea would fail. For starters, minority broadcasters seek an opportunity for programming ownership, not the subordinate position of merely renting some space on must carry channels. Further, this proposal is likely to present an opportunistic boon for many entirely different types of programming models, but not for those models pursued by minority broadcasters. Rainbow PUSH October 27,2007

Now what's Ion's motivation? Well, if some of these "journalists' had hung around in the Electronic Comment Filing System over on the hideous fcc.gov, Ion's motivation would have been clear.

ION cannot afford to spend millions of dollars in legal fees over months and years on the cumbersome process in place today. Ion Media to FCC, December 2008

Mr. Lawson noted that at some point ION must question whether or not qubo or Life merit continued investment by ION if carriage on cable and satellite systems remains so limited. Lawson inquired about future proceedings or other avenues to encourage cable and DBS operators to carry qubo and Life.Ion Media to FCC May 2008

In the end, however, our ability to be successful will turn on whether the large video  distributors, such as DirecTV and DISH Network, provide our free programming to their subscribers. Ion Media to FCC January 2008

For several years, Ion Media has been complaining to the FCC because cable carriers will not "carry" their signals. I'm not a "journalist" like the esteemed Mrs. Ciara, but I do know how to hyperlink. On December 11, 2008, Ion complaining about being dropped by cable carriers:

As you know, ION has encountered great resistance in securing carriage of our pro-social digital channels, qubo and ION Life, from cable multi-system operators. One cable MSO, Charter Communications, has dropped even our main channel, ION Television, from nearly 500,000 homes on its systems that are outside of our must-carry markets. From our standpoint as a broadcaster that is trying to secure distribution of prograrruning that serves the public interest, it is clear that the television marketplace is broken. ION FCC Filing

July 9, 2008 Ion Vice President William Watson to FCC:

During the meeting, the ION representatives reported on the progress of ION's two 24/7 digital multicast channels, qubo and ION Life. Mr. Burgess and Mr. Lawson pointed out that despite the strong public interest nature of qubo and ION Life, very few cable and direct broadcast satellite customers were able to see them on their systems, even though qubo is the only free, over the air children's television service distributed nationally by a public or commercial television broadcaster and ION Life focuses on health and wellness programming. Although ION is committed to pro social programming, they noted that at some point ION must question whether or not qubo or ION Life merit continued investment by if carriage remains so limited.

They said the same thing on June 5, 2008 ( noticing a pattern), and again, in May of last year:

Mr. Lawson pointed out that despite the strong public interest nature of qubo and Life, very few cable and direct broadcast satellite customers were able to see them on ION Media Networks 601 Clearwater Park Road West Palm Beach, Florida 33401-6233 Tel 561 6594122 Fax 561 659 4754 www.ionmedia.tv their systems, even on "family tiers." Mr. Lawson noted that qubo is the only free, overthe- air children's television service distributed nationally by public or commercial television broadcasters, but most of the public could not see it. ION Life is helping to address the nation's heath care crisis. Even though ION is committed to pro-social programming, Mr. Lawson noted that at some point ION must question whether or not qubo or Life merit continued investment by ION if carriage on cable and satellite systems remains so limited. Lawson inquired about future proceedings or other avenues to encourage cable and DBS operators to carry qubo and Life. Ion Media to FCC

IN other words, if Ion went through the normal process to negotiate with cable companies the way that TV One, Black Television News Network, the Africa Channel, and the Gospel Music Channel did, it would cost them too much money. So what did Ion do? They looked for a cheaper option. They decided to rent our Blackness. They coupled their desire to force cable companies to carry quobo and Ion Life with the FCC's ham-fisted failure at increasing minority ownership. Black folks will get 51% of a piece of a channel, and Ion will get the opportunities to force exponentially more of its stations on cable carriers. We get a slice of a slice of a peice of a crumb, and Ion saves its business from financial ruin. So you see, Urban Television has nothing to do with diversity. It has nothing to do with promoting Black media ownership. In fact it hurts Black media owners like TV One, the Africa Channel, the Gospel Music Channel and BTTN because they have to negotiate and compete. Urban will not have to compete, the cable carrier will have to carry them. Since the other Black channels don't have a nation-wide broadcast stations, they won't be able to take advantage of this new exception, but guess who will? Once Ion gets a ruling that cable carrier have to carry Urban Television, they are going to use that ruling to try to force cable companies to carry all these other channels they've been attempting to get the FCC to force on to cable providers for years. No Public Participation As it is currently set, the decision to force cable companies to carry Urban Television will not be decided by the full Federal Communications Commission. As it currently stands, according to FCC employee to I spoke with, the Media Bureau will be issuing  the decision. There will likely be no hearings. There will be no public deliberation regarding this drastic departure from prior FCC policy. There will be no public consideration regarding how this scheme by Bob Johnson will affect minority broadcasters currently in existence.This is a departure because in October 2007 Rainbow PUSH emphasized that this kind of change should be deliberative:

For instance, the public interests responsibIlitIes of the 'broadcasters should be clearly defined before new media ownership rules are promulgated, and the FCC should convene experts on minority programming to ensure that any new ownership rules and other Commission policies actually promote diversity. Rainbow PUSH 2007

Yet these  same "Civil Rights" organizations asked for no such definition before they changed course and supported Johnson's scheme. But At Least Black Folks Will Own Something? WRONG Now the blind supporters of this sham will say, "Well that's cool if Ion gets to take advantage of what was obtained in the name of increasing diversity as long as another Black person will own another station." That depends on what you consider "ownership". Yes, under the agreement between Johnson and Ion Media, Bob Johnson's holding company will own 2% more than Ion Media for a 51-49% split, but will a Black person "own" Urban Television? It depends on what you mean by "own." Bob Johnson doesn't have any broadcast towers. Who do you think will be providing those? A Lesson From My Great Grandfather Growing up as a child, I was regaled with tales about my great grandfather. Apparently he was "entrepreneurial." My Daddy used to say that he was the richest Black man in his home town. Of course I would look around and wonder "well if  he was so rich, why aren't we?" Daddy used to tell me about all the land his grandfather owned. Well apparently Great Granddaddy paid for the land, but he didn't own it. According to Daddy back in the olden days, a Black man couldn't own land, so the land was placed in White people's names. So when Great Granddaddy died (was murdered)..... the land went to the people who OWNED it! The folks with their names on the title. You see ownership isn't a title. It isn't a warm fuzzy feeling. Ownership is a bundle of ENFORCEABLE rights recognized by the government. If any one of those rights is missing, then its not ownership. You may live in the house, but you don't own it, you might rent it, or have a life estate, but that's not ownership. Now Bob Johnson and the "Civil Rights" organizations are attempting to market Urban Television as a "Black"-Owned, but is it? The "agreement" between Ion and Bob Johnson on file with the FCC is a scant two pages. It fails to explain which rights each partner will have.  According to the cable companies, the following salient details are missing from the Urban Television agreement:

• The details of the parties’ financial arrangements;The identity and nature of the interests of the additional investors that the parties will attempt to include in the new company (see paragraph 1 of the Agreement); • The “customary investor protections” that ION will hold as the minority shareholder in the new entity (paragraph 2 of the Agreement); • The further details of each party’s investment in the transaction (as set out in paragraph 6 of the Agreement); • Any details about the use of the physical facilities of ION’s stations, such as who maintains the technical plant, whether there are any cost-sharing agreements as to that technical plant, and whether ION will have any liability should the broadcast stream that will constitute Urban’s “station” not be broadcast;40 and • The details of the right of first refusal. NCTA Filing  with FCC.

Theoretically speaking, Bob Johnson might not have to put up a dime of his own money. Think about this. Ion is giving him spectrum they already have. Johnson won't be producing anything, he says he is going  to let content producers purchase time on the network, so what exactly is Bob Johnson providing other than his Black face? All Ion will have to do is pop in the tapes from the content producers and viola, that's Urban Television. Not only do we not know the financial details, but we also don't know what rights Ion will reserve under the agreement. NCTA Filing You don't have to agree with me, but if you can't transfer the property, that doesn't sound like ownership to me. If you can't make decision without prior approval of someone else-not ownership. If you own the land, but are legally required to rent the houses placed on the land to people not of your choosing, yeah, you "own" the land, but in name only. If your name is on the title to the land and you didn't pay a dime for it, did the other party really intend for you to own it? So in effect, Urban television will be an inferior form of Black -ownership- which is no ownership at all. These organizations have lined up to support his watered down version to the detriment of Black folks who actually have the right to self determination. Urban Television has NOTHING TO DO WITH BLACK PEOPLE. This is about Ion. This is about quobo, this is about ION Life. Everyone involved in this scheme knows it. It costs Ion NOTHING to make a tiny piece of their broadcast spectrum available to Bob Johnson. They could do it today without any help from the FCC. If Johnson truly wanted a "content mall." He could have it. This isn't about the content mall or Black ownership, this is about Ion getting a ruling from the FCC that it can split a single channel into parts and force cable to carry all of the sub channels. What's one tiny channel when in return Ion will be able to save itself from financial ruin. If you read Jackson's letter ( he didn't write it of course) he lays out why this is inferior version of "ownership" and how it threatens minority broadcasters. yes Black folks will get one.more. "Black-owned"station, but majority-owned stations will increase exponentially. Jackson's concerns didn't disappear just because Bob Johnson rented his Black face to Ion Media in their time of need. Pick Up A Stone There isn't an ability to "comment" on this nightmare "officially," but if all of these other people are communicating with the FCC outside any official comment period, why can't we?

• You might consider stating emphatically that these "Civil Rights" organizations do not represent you.
• This is a matter that should go before the full commission with a lengthy comment period and public hearings located throughout the country in population centers with large African American populations.
• The promises related to programming that Bob Johnson has promised should be legally enforceable.

If you need ideas, read Jackson's letter. It lays out a pretty good argument against this. In addition, you might want to read this reply from the cable companies. Yes, they are self interested, but these are still legitimate arguments. According to the guy from the FCC, you should mail your comments to : Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room TW-A325, Washington, D.C. 20554 Include the file numbers:File Nos. BALCT-20081118AGX, et al.; DA 08-2621, DA 08-2772 The Title/Caption/Subject:In the Matter of Paxson Communications Licensee and Urban Television LLC, Assignee, For Creation and Assignment of Full- Power Television Licenses You can CC Urban Television: H. Van Sinclair, Urban Television LLC c/o The RLJ Companies LLC 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 1000, Bethesda, MD 20814 You can also try to email the current commissioners, but the snail mail is better: Commissioner Copps Commissioner Aldelstein Commissioner McDowell I don't know if any of this will work, but I know being silent and just watching isn't the only option. We want real minority ownership. Not this watered down version. The process in reaching such a laudable goal should not be this closeted backroom dealing manipulation of current rules. PPS. To those wondering why it took a week to respond this criticism, a departure from my SOP,let's just say the "Spirit" was wrestling with me. My original post about this involved a preemptive apology a la the Washington Post to rocket scientists for comparing their fine work to Ms. Ciara. I decided to go with something more substantive due to the gravity of the issues involved. The original was a really funny post though. I'll hold it in abeyance.

Click to read more ...

Bob Johnson Tries to Shank TV One in the Carotid Artery: TV One Says "No Thanks" -(Pull Out the Popcorn Folks)

Despite the fact that my blog audience has no interest whatsoever in telecommunications law, I will continue my coverage of Bob Johnson's attempt to force the federal government to give him an unfair business advantage  to launch a 24-hour minority sharecropping infomercial channel called "Urban Television." I knew I was boring y'all, but my inner blogging voice said "Blog on. Blog on and see what the end's gonna beee." Even in the face of a wall of support from the Black Elite Establishment, I pressed on towards the mark. My previous posts on this subject:

• Bob Johnson and Civil Rights Industrial Complex Conspire to Destroy Minority Broadcasters-(Broadcasting Sharecropping)
• Bob Johnson’s “Urban Television” Sham-Black Leadership’s Shame- Totally Blogable!
• WAOD Exclusive:Common Cause’s Opposition to Bob Johnson’s Urban Television

Alas, I have been rewarded for being the FIRST person of color to go on record saying that Urban Television is a SHAM!!! SHAM!!! S to the H to the A to the ME - SHAME!. I am no longer alone. Right about now, the NABJ, NAACP, National Bar Association and Rainbow PUSH et al ..wish that they had held out for more than a two piece, a biscuit, and promises of rainbows and ponies from Bob Johnson. If they had not traded their unqualified support for Bob Johnson, skirting existing law to have the American taxpayers grant him a competitive advantage by FORCING cable outlets to carry his new infomercial channel, they MIGHT have been able to get something more than dinner. But NO, he took them to dinner and they lined up behind his application with Ion media before the FCC. NONE of these supposedly "Black" or African American- interest organizations paused for even a single second to contemplate what the granting of this license would do to existing multicultural channels trying to get off the ground as BET once did. None of them paused to ask if media ownership is really "DIVERSE" if the same Black man owns, or controls EVERYTHING. None of them paused to ask what would happen to stations like The Africa Channel, Gospel Music Channel, or SiTV. None of them paused to consider what would happen to TV ONE which in its short lifetime has prodcued programming lightyears better than the multimedia crack cocaine offered over at  BET. I thought I was the only one that said "Umm hey, this looks like a naked attempt to crush all other multicultural cable channels in existence with the assistance of the FCC." Well the scam that Bob Johnson and his enablers at the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, the International Black Broadcasters Association, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, the NAACP, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, National Bar Association, National Urban League, Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Video Access Alliance, and NABJ has blown up in their faces. First community broadcasters destroyed the myth that minority groups were lined up in support of Bob Johnson's infomercial channel. Now TV One finally got a clue and decided that Bob Johnson is trying shank them in the carotid artery. TV One sent comments to the FCC in opposition to Johnson's infomercial minority sharecropping channel. So what did Bob Johnson do? He threw a fit! According to Journalisms:

TV One, the joint cable venture between Comcast and Radio One that targets African American adults, is opposing a proposal for a new network by Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television. In response, Johnson sent a letter to TV One's CEO, Alfred Liggins III, saying that "your argument that Urban Television would 'have a devastating impact' on TV One is totally without merit and absolutely self-serving."Journalisms

HOld my mule! Hoooold my mule!  Happy Friday folks, the foolishness runneth ova! Did Bob Johnson have the AUDACITY to call any other Black person on planet Earth self serving? Oh and Mr. Prince threw in this flashback of a quote by the rocket scientist currently running the NABJ.

Johnson won the support of the National Association of Black Journalists and other supporters after a Dec. 23 luncheon meeting with Johnson at a Washington restaurant. "We're trying to expand the footprint of African American ownership," NABJ President Barbara Ciara told Journal-isms then.Journalisms

Hmm your are trying to "expand" minority ownership by handing Bob Johnson a shank to drive into the necks of all the other multicutural channels CURRENTLY IN EXISTENCE??? Not too bright. For those who say i am too harsh, au contrair mon petit readers! If Barbara Ciara was so concerned about expanding the footprint of African American ownership, she would have obtained legally enforceable gurantees from Johnson OR have made her support contingent on certain safeguards being put in place to insure Johnson keeps his promises. They didn't do that. Bob Johnson splurged by taking the Black Elite Establishment out to dinner and in exchange they offered him their birthright. Where have we heard about THAT before?:

"...When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, 'Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.' Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, 'First sell me your birthright.' Esau said, 'Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?' And Jacob said, 'First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." (Genesis 25:29-34).

Hmm I wonder if Bob Johnson served any lentil stew at that dinner. I tried to tell y'all that this Urban Television Ion Media deal was foul. I told you it was completely and totally blogable, but there I was all by my lonesome sounding the alarm. Bob Johnson has never done an altruistic thing in his life, why on earth would people think that he would start now. So I am pulling out the popcorn because this is getting interesting. If this ever gets a public hearing I am SOOOOO there! Road TRIP! Road Trip! Road Trip! Road Trip!

Click to read more ...

Bob Johnson and Civil Rights Industrial Complex Conspire to Destroy Minority Broadcasters-(Broadcasting Sharecropping)

The NABJ, the National Lawyer's Guild, the National Bar Association, the NAACP, Rainbow PUSH and other "Civil Rights" groups who know little to nothing about broadcasting or cable signed up to be Bob Johnson's foot stools to create the MYTH that there was widespread support for approval of Johnsons's underhanded proposal to crush other minority broadcasters and turn them into broadcasting share croppers. Two weeks ago, we  were at the lead of the pack (ok it was a 'pack' of one), to publicly come out and voice opposition to Bob Johnson's Urban Television. Most members of the media like Broadcasting & Cable merely reprinted press releases from RLJ, Bob Johnson's holding company.They left the impression that Bob Johnson was championing the cause of "diversity" but we all know better. We spoke out in the face of almost unanimous cowering from the Civil Right Industrial Complex because it was the right thing to do. Instinctively we knew something was anti-competition about the whole thing and turns out we were right. Unlike groups like the NABJ and the NAACP, minorities who actually are involved in broadcasting have come out against Johnson's proposal to create a broadcasting sharecropping channel.

Community Broadcasters Association (CBA), filed comments noting that this “share-time” approach is not the ticket to achieving greater minority and small-business access to media; rather, the ION/Urban approach would merely establish Urban as a new “gatekeeper” with whom minority programmers would have to deal to gain access. The Africa Channel, Gospel Music Channel, and SiTV (a Latino cable network) filed a joint petition arguing that the ION/Urban deal is a gimmick to get around must-carry restrictions. If it succeeds, they observed, it will be the smaller minority programmers who will suffer, as cable capacity will be used up by subdivided full power stations and become unavailable to smaller minority programmers. They said that the proposal for “amoeba-like” subdividing of a TV channel is nothing more than an attempt to circumvent the limits of the must-carry rules. They also noted that: the Urban/Johnson programming proposal is vague (a point which even the supporting parties were forced to acknowledge), while existing minority programmers have existing schedules that are real; and the traditional FCC “share-time” concept involves two separate stations subdividing the hours of the day, not one station subdividing its spectrum. Entravision – the prominent Spanish-language media company – chimed in with comments asserting that the proposal is an attempt to circumvent must-carry rules and give big business another foot in the door to cable carriage. Communications Law Blog

So why is it that all of these people who actually have television stations are in opposition, but the NAACP and the NABJ offered their unconditional support even if that meant a decrease in diversity by crushing smaller competitors. Why did the Civil Rights organizations take up the cross for the corporate behemoth instead of the little guys? Why did they lend their name to this FARCE? When is the media going to go beyond reprinting Bob Johnson's press releases and doing some actual reporting on this Urban Media scam and digital land grab? Bob Johnson is good at being FIRST. He is TERRIBLE at being the FIRST of MANY! When Bob Johnson walks through a door, he swiftly shuts it closed behind him and charges confiscatory rates for all who wish to enter in behind him. That is his M.O. it has always been Bob Johnson's M.O Why don't y'all ask the NABJ, the National Bar Association, and the NAACP, why they are rushing to sign other minority broadcasters up to be the indentured servants of Bob Johnson and Ion Media??? I tried to tell y'all two weeks ago, that this MESS was blogable. Just because it involved mass communications law doesn't mean its boring. This is a modern day David vs. Goliath story and Bob Johnson is so not DAVID! Previous Post Bob Johnson’s “Urban Television” Sham-Black Leadership’s Shame- Totally Blogable! WAOD Exclusive:Common Cause’s Opposition to Bob Johnson’s Urban Television

Click to read more ...