1. The Production of National News at
Black Entertainment Television
In Our Own Words
Isabelle Thenor-Louis

2. Black Entertainment
Television
+ Black Entertainment Television (BET) was the
brainchild of Robert Johnson and first aired on
television in 1980.
+ Currently, the BET Digital (BET.com) department is
currently the home of national news coverage for
the network.
+ BET was sold to Viacom in 2001 and now reaches
over 90 million households and is the leading
internet destination for black entertainment,
music, and news.

3. Why BET?
● BET has carved out a space for ‘black culture’ in a white dominated media
industry and was the first to successfully do so
● BET is seen as something that is ‘owned’ by the whole black community -
this is a network for ‘our people, our music, and our issues.’
● In what specific ways does this brand serve the black community?
○ More specifically, what role does BET.com play from a journalistic standpoint in the black
community?

4. Participant Observation
○ Internship was in New York City and
lasted two months
○ Took notes of conversations
journalists and editors had with
each other or with me
○ Logged coping mechanisms found
in the office when faced with
difficult issues
○ Summarize arguments about social
justice issues when there were
disagreements
Methods

5. “I think the fact that black people don’t believe that Sandra
Bland committed suicide says something about our
community. We think that black people can’t get depressed.”

6. Interviews
Methods
○ Conducted two interviews
■ one editor + one journalist
○ Asked questions regarding
objectivity, self-care, journalistic
voice, and office culture
○ Insights about the ‘labor of love’
that is being a black journalist
reporting on black issues

7. “I think the emotion that drives my journalistic voice is fear and sadness. At
times, you don’t want to write about anything. You are always on edge. Like,
what’s about to happen next?”

8. Methods
Analyzing Articles
○ Examining the way in which BET.
com reported on the
aforementioned issues >
journalistic voice, use of images,
use of terms
○ Compare journalistic voice to
office culture

9. BET.com
Defining Blackness
Through Oppression
Promoting
Intersectionality
Embracing
Emotion as a
Journalistic
Tool

10. Defining Blackness Through Oppression
The Case of Rachel Dolezal
+ Dolezal argues “identifies with blackness” > black hairstyles, tanning her
skin, etc.
+ Journalists in the office refute this in conversation with one another
> mentioning the “struggle” (oppression black individuals face)
+ Journalists think blackness is less about what you choose but more
about the discrimination that is imposed upon you because of our
racist society
+ The discourse ultimately trickles into articles on BET.com > “race faker,”
“we want answers,” or disapproving of Dolezal wearing wigs or
accessories to look “more black”
+ Important because other articles on mainstream news sources were
simply stating the facts of the Dolezal case > BET journalists refuted
the ability of a white individual to simply “identify” as black

11. Promoting Intersectionality
Black and Gay in the Church | Legalization of Gay Marriage in
the United States
+ Previous slide points to defining blackness through the lens of oppression > we also see journalists
attempt to frame oppression at the intersection of blackness and LGBTQ identities
+ Conversations in the office refuted those who argued that America also needs to “legalize being
black” as the black community celebrated this progressive step
+ Black individuals should be able to be pleased with the legalization of gay marriage
instead of feeling as if they have to choose to solely focus on racial oppression
+ The discourse is expanded upon in BET.com’s documentary Holler If You Hear Me: Being Black and
Gay in The Church
+ Highlighted “double oppression” of identifying as both black and LGBTQ in America
+ Journalists emphasize that oppression affects not only racial identity but sexuality and non-
binary gender identities

12. Embracing Emotion as Fact
+ In the beginning of the 19th century, journalists embraced objectivity and worked from a
disinterested stance --- “reporting just the facts.”
+ Yet, at the end of the 19th century, objectivity was found to be ineffective.
+ Coverage of lynchings that took place in the 1890s failed to emphasize the fact that
African-Americans were being terrorized across the nation (Mindich 1998).
+ Journalists at BET recognize the weaknesses of just reporting the facts especially when
covering traumatic events in the black community
+ Instead, these journalists use their own emotions as a tool to better their writing
and/or editing.
+ Able to gauge what readers want covered, affirm trauma experienced by the black
community in writing
+ Mainstream news sources referred to the attack on AME Emanuel as a
‘shooting’ whereas BET referred to it as a ‘massacre’
The Charleston Shooting

13. Moving Forward..
- Highlights the labor of minorities who identify with the
very topics that they have to report on
- Promotes other students to further study media from
an anthropological standpoint
- Encourages students to study race through the lens of
media

14. THANK YOU!