Hot Ghetto Mess Or Genius Black Programming With Amazing Execution?
Today's Los Angeles Times has a well-written article about the highs and lows that we know as Black Entertainment Television (aka BET) Peep a sample:
"There's this older black audience that is nostalgic for what they hoped BET would be," said Mark Anthony Neal, a teacher of black popular culture and director of the Institute for Critical U.S. Studies at Duke University. "But the folks who run BET really have to be honest about the demographic of their audience. If we're talking about African Americans over 35, that's not their audience. Older audiences are turned off by a lot of stuff they do, like 'Hell Date.' "
"There's this older black audience that is nostalgic for what they hoped BET would be," said Mark Anthony Neal, a teacher of black popular culture and director of the Institute for Critical U.S. Studies at Duke University. "But the folks who run BET really have to be honest about the demographic of their audience. If we're talking about African Americans over 35, that's not their audience. Older audiences are turned off by a lot of stuff they do, like 'Hell Date.' "
BET Shaky, Even In It's Sunday Best
Tonight's live finale of "Sunday Best," Black Entertainment Television's gospel-themed reality series, will most likely shower praise on one of two aspiring vocalists competing for the honor of "America's next great gospel star."
More significantly, the singing competition is poised to end BET's year on a high note after several months of controversy.
A jubilant mashup of "American Idol" and the black church, "Sunday Best" is part of a strategy by BET President Debra L. Lee and President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin to transform the Viacom-owned network, a frequent target of critics who claim it has perpetuated negative black images since its launch in 1980. The series has scored some of the network's best ratings this season, attracting almost a million viewers each week.
As BET enters the last stage of a three-year plan to broaden its appeal with original programming and scripted series, Hudlin maintains that "Sunday Best" and other new series such as "Baldwin Hills," "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" and "American Gangster" vividly illustrate how BET has moved well beyond its menu of raunchy rap videos and footage of scantily clad dancers.
"It's an unprecedented time at Black Entertainment Television," Hudlin proclaimed to a gathering of TV reporters last July. The veteran producer and director, hired by the network in 2005 largely because of his Hollywood connections, pointed out that BET has been developing "the largest, most diverse aggregation of black programming in television history."
But even though "Sunday Best" and many of its other series have connected with the network's core audience, BET has sparked as much criticism as ever, shadowed by stumbles and questions surrounding its programming.
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More significantly, the singing competition is poised to end BET's year on a high note after several months of controversy.
A jubilant mashup of "American Idol" and the black church, "Sunday Best" is part of a strategy by BET President Debra L. Lee and President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin to transform the Viacom-owned network, a frequent target of critics who claim it has perpetuated negative black images since its launch in 1980. The series has scored some of the network's best ratings this season, attracting almost a million viewers each week.
As BET enters the last stage of a three-year plan to broaden its appeal with original programming and scripted series, Hudlin maintains that "Sunday Best" and other new series such as "Baldwin Hills," "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" and "American Gangster" vividly illustrate how BET has moved well beyond its menu of raunchy rap videos and footage of scantily clad dancers.
"It's an unprecedented time at Black Entertainment Television," Hudlin proclaimed to a gathering of TV reporters last July. The veteran producer and director, hired by the network in 2005 largely because of his Hollywood connections, pointed out that BET has been developing "the largest, most diverse aggregation of black programming in television history."
But even though "Sunday Best" and many of its other series have connected with the network's core audience, BET has sparked as much criticism as ever, shadowed by stumbles and questions surrounding its programming.
More>>>