BET’s Jones: The B Is for 'Best’
Q&A with the Network’s Programming President
by R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 2/9/2009 2:00:00 AM
Black Entertainment Television’s new president of programming Loretha Jones has her hands full creating content for cable’s largest and most watched African-American targeted network. Jones, an MTV veteran prior to joining BET this past November, recently spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about her impressions of BET and her future programming plans for the network. An edited transcript follows:
MCN: You were an attorney prior to moving into the entertainment business. How did you eventually make the transition?
Loretha Jones: I first moved into the film business about 20 years ago by producing films that were directed and created by some of my clients — Spike Lee was one of my first clients, and School Daze was one of my first films. Another movie I produced with one of my legal clients was The Five Heartbeats with Robert Townsend.
MCN: What was your impression of BET before coming to take over the programming reins?
LJ: I thought that Debra [Lee, BET chairman and CEO] and Reggie [Hudlin, former BET Entertainment president] had laid out a really amazing path of switching to an increasing amount of original programming. That made it really exciting for me knowing where she wanted to take the network and what the goals were with respect to meeting the interest of a wider spectrum of the demo.
MCN: BET’s demographic skews very young — mostly 12- to 34-year-olds. Do you want to expand that demo to reach older audiences?
LJ: I think we’re going to offer a variety of programming that targets a number of demos. I think our goal and whole idea is to reach a variety of ages and interests with a variety of genres of shows that we intend to bring to them.
We have shows like [Harlem Heights] that may skew older and we have acquisitions like Smart Guy which skew younger. We’re looking at developing an original animated show in the family vein so everyone from 8 to 80 can watch it.
We’re considering what’s going to work best because we want to build our schedule in such a way that families feel comfortable leaving the channel on BET the whole time, but at the same time, depending on who’s going to be home, servicing their needs as well.
MCN: Your predecessor Reggie Hudlin talked about reducing the amount of music video programming on the network and creating more reality and scripted content. How important is music video content in your programming plans?
LJ: I think both [co-president of programming Steven Hill] and I feel that music is very important for us to have on our lineup — it’s important to our audience and it’s important to the artists who are part of our extended family.
I think music will always be a part of our lineup. There may be a question as to how we present it, as we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to present our programming. I don’t know how much of the traditional way of presenting music content you might see, but we’re going to think of ways to continue to present music and our artists all over the network.
MCN: As you know, BET has over the years come under criticism for some of its programming decisions. Do you listen to the criticism and will it shape your decisions going forward?
LJ: I think we have to be conscious of what our audience is interested in, but at the same time we’ll never be all things to all people.
When I first came into this job and people asked me what does BET mean to you, and I said it means Best Entertainment Television. That’s what I’m focused on: doing everything I can to bring the widest variety of the best television to African-American audiences.
| Black History Month Programming |
|---|
| The following is a list of Black History Month-themed original shows premiering in February. |
| Feb. 9 |
| Black Entertainment Television: BET Honors (special) |
| BET J: Inside Black Culture (special) |
| Feb 13 |
| Documentary Channel: DOC Talk: A Time for Burning (documentary) |
| Feb. 14 |
| BET J: Top 20 Moments In Reggae (special) |
| Starz In Black: November 4, 2008: The Day of Change (special) |
| Feb. 15 |
| TV One: Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement (documentary) |
| Feb. 18 |
| BET J: Minority Report (comedy special) |
| HBO: The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 (documentary) |
| Feb. 22 |
| Gospel Music Channel: BMI Trailblazers Awards Tribute to Twinkie Clark, Donald Laurence & CeCe Winans (special) |
| Feb. 24 |
| CNBC: Newbos: The Rise of America’s New Black Overclass (special) |
| Feb. 26 |
| HBO: The Black List: Volume Two (documentary) |
| Feb. 27 |
| Nickelodeon: We Shall Not Be Moved (news special) |
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