Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is a cable television network geared towards African-Americans in their expression of mainstream pop culture.

Criticism

Many critics, from Public Enemy rapper Chuck D http://www.publicenemy.com/index.php?page=page3&item=31, to journalist George Curry http://georgecurry.com/columns/index1.shtml?id=1059847337, to students at University of Maryland, College Park and Howard University http://www.blackcollegewire.org/culture/040209_bet-uncut/, to writer Keith Boykin http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/000539.html, to cartoonist Aaron McGruder of The Boondocks, have protested BET's programming and actions. One of the most commonly-heard criticisms is the fact that the network is almost solely based upon music entertainment, hip hop music in particular, and does not focus on the public affairs of the black community. This is a problem that has been made worse by Viacom's cutbacks of BET's public affairs department and the firing of BET Tonight talk show host and social commentator Tavis Smiley in March 2001 http://www.tmottgogo.com/tavis.html http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=4185. BET then went on to discontinue BET Tonight altogether, along with the youth panel program Teen Summit and morning news broadcast Lead Story, in 2002.

Related Topics:
Public Enemy - Chuck D - University of Maryland, College Park - Howard University - Keith Boykin - Aaron McGruder - The Boondocks - Hip hop music - Tavis Smiley - March 2001 - 2002

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It did, however, also launch a daily newscast, BET Nightly News with Jackie Reid, which began in 1999. It was replaced in October 2005 by a new news operation, still with Jackie Reid as the main anchor, that delivers news updates on BET throughout the day, not just at night.

Related Topics:
Jackie Reid - 1999 - October 2005

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The channel has also undergone criticism by many black people who feel that the channel helps to perpetuate harmful black stereotypes by airing mostly hip-hop videos, aimed at young people, that often have misogynistic, materialistic, and/or violent themes. The dramatic series and sitcoms that the network have aired have all been reruns, including, in the past, shows such as Amen and 227, and currently Girlfriends, The Parkers, and the Soul Food series.

Related Topics:
Stereotypes - Misogynistic - Materialistic - Violent - Rerun - Amen - 227 - Girlfriends - The Parkers - Soul Food

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are also those who criticize the existence of the channel altogether, believing that proclaiming something to be for only a certain race makes it nearly impossible to eliminate racism from human culture.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The network's success, and the controversy over its content, has spawned a few smaller competitors aiming toward the African-American market. The most prominent competitor, TV One, mostly eschews BET's music-based programming for more family-oriented fare.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~