Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2005 10:37:21 EST Subject: From Lisa Davis...Support Gil Noble!
(please feel free to distribute the article below widely. We need everyone's assistance in getting the program "Like It Is" returned to a full hour in time for Black History Month) Lisa Is basket ball more important to African people than our history and the socio-political events that affect our community? Apparently, WABC-TV believes that it is, as it has preempted 30 minutes of "Like It Is" for the show "NBA Inside Stuff." This is the absolute insult of insults to the Black community and is an offense to our intelligence. Out of 168 hours a week, WABC-TV only dedicates less than 1 hour a week to programming pertaining to serious issues affecting people of African descent. What is even more troubling is that according to the NBA's website, "NBA Inside Stuff" was contracted to WABC-TV as a Saturday program. _http://aol.nba.com/news/tv_contract_020122.html_ ( http://aol.nba.com/news/tv_contract_020122.html ) So why, prey tell, did WABC-TV decide to slash 30 minutes of "Like It Is, " which airs on Sunday to air "NBA Inside Stuff, which was originally a Saturday program?" (For those not familiar with the issue, WABC-TV tried to cancel the program altogether a couple of years ago. But due to the community outrage they reversed their decision.) "Like It Is" with Gil Noble is a national treasure. It is a public affairs program that is the longest running Black produced show in US history and has produced the largest archives of programming on the African experience in the US the Carribean and even African itself . It was born right out of the civil rights movement, after The Kerner Commission in 1968 issued its scathing report lambasting the mass media for its role in inciting the rebellions in the Black communities, by the perpetuation of racist stereotypes. It was not long after the Newark rebellion, that "Like It is" was created. With its multiple award winning producer and host Gil Noble, the show has served its viewers for the last 34 years with timely and critical analysis of the political, economic and cultural issues that shape the lives of people of African descent and brings pride and self-esteem to our community. Gil Noble has won many awards, including seven emmy?Ts for his excellence in journalism and over 650 community awards. As a Black public affairs program, his show has produced the largest body of programs and documentaries on African Americans in the nation. Over the past 30 years he has interviewed many of the world?Ts prominent figures including Robert Mugabe, Maurice Bishop, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, Kenneth Kaunda, Louis Farrakhan, Andrew Young, Stokely Carmichael, Carmen McCrae, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Sidney Poitier, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Jim Brown, Arthur Ashe etc. Some of the documentaries among the ?oLike It Is? archives include W.E.B DuBois, Malcolm X, Paul Robeson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Jack Johnson, etc. The decision to reduce the program by 30 minutes for basketball is in my opinion a racist attempt to diminish its capacity, continuity and relevance. Now, instead of being able to give serious issues the depth and analysis that an hour provides, the show's audience is now being shortchanged, with pressing serious topics being drastically cut and often held over to the next week. Obviously, this also means that the Black community is being shortchanged in another very important way, in that "Like It Is" will not be able to cover the amount of topics for the season that it had been able to give attention to in the past. Futhermore, as the show deals with issues affecting all African people from the diaspora it should be shown nationally and not just in the NY tri-state area. Today, many of the gains that people of African ancestry and other people of color have made in media during the past three decades are being systematically reversed. Racial diversity in media ownership and representation in the newsrooms is in decline. The fact that ?oLike It Is? is one of the only regularly scheduled Black programs produced at WABC-TV out of 168 hours of airtime a week, coupled with WABC's decision to first try to eliminate the program and then in lieu of that slash the time format, reflects a dangerous, frightening and disturbing trend. Moreover, WABC-TV is sending a very loud and condescending message that Black people jumping through hoops for the pleasure and profit of a sport owned by Whites , is of more relevance than the education and the history of Black people. I do not have anything against basketball or sports at all, when taken in their proper context. Goodness knows, I have had my fun yelling and screaming during the super bowls and world series (as a Yankee fan that did hold true up until 2004). And I can even go up against the best of them with boxing and baseball trivia. But when someone or some entity dictates to us that sports takes precedence over our education and social issues, then we must tell it like it is, that this is nothing more than blatant racism that conjures up the worst stereotypes and images about the exploitation of Black people for the amusement and profit of White people. Surely we can not miss the fact that the heads of WABC-TV are White and so are the owners and heads of the NBA. So what can we as a community do about this? The way I see it, we basically have several choices. We can wimp away and do nothing, We can pay lip service and do nothing, We can take half/heated action by only doing one of the recommended actions below OR we can stand up and fight back, and do everything we can to make our voices and demands heard! Call Dave Davis of WABC-TV at (212)456-3862 and let him know that we are not satisfied and that we want the show returned back to an hour in time for Black History month 2005. Call Anne Sweeney, the co-chair of Disney Media Networks, which owns WABC-TV at 818-560-1000 and demand that Like It Is be returned to an hour in time for Black History month. Call AOL, one of the sponsors of NBA Inside Stuff and tell them we will not support them if Like It is isn't returned to a full hour in time for Black History month. That number is (703)265-1000. Call Adidas, another sponsor of NBA Inside Stuff and tell them that we will not support them if the show isn't returned to its full hour in time for Black History Month 2005. They can be reached at: (800)448-1796 and they can be e-mailed at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) And if you don't live in the NY area, you can still take action by contacting WABC-TV affiliate and Disney and demanding that the program air in your area. I don't know about you, but as a proud, strong, Black person that is only here because of the fight and endurance of the ancestors, I know the choice I will be making. Lisa V. Davis == Goto Black World Events: Get the Who, What, Where, When and Why... http://topica.com/lists/BW-Events/read and be on time, in touch and in step ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. 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