Letters

To the editor: The most horrendous disservice any media outlet can render to its audience is to provide a platform for misguided conspiracy theories and unfounded accusations. Your editorial, "A Peril of Media Concentration?" (Backtalk, July 23), does exactly that. The concerns that you and Yemi Toure have raised amount to little more than an unethical attempt to undermine a sound business decision which not only benefits Black Entertainment Television, but also our millions of loyal viewers who helped make this past season our highest-rated ever.

There were numerous points of confusion throughout your editorial. On behalf of the 280-plus professionals who proudly call BET home, I will address some of your more glaring failures.

First, you've grossly misled readers by attempting to connect the dots on events absolutely unrelated to Viacom's acquisition of BET. Case in point, the dismissal of former BET Tonight host Travis Smiley. As was said repeatedly during a live telecast on BET — and in countless media outlets, including your own publication — Smiley was fired because of a violation of trust and loyalty to his employer. That decision was made solely by Robert Johnson as the CEO of BET, and was by no means connected to Viacom or its president, Mel Karmazin. The unfair assaults on BET and Viacom by Smiley, his friends at the Tom Joyner Morning Show and other media only clouded the facts and caused confusion. The firing of Smiley was a business decision made in the best interest of BET. Our autonomy in that decision, and all BET business matters, was the same as afforded other Viacom divisions (CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, etc.)

Second, Toure's views of BET programming are obviously those of an individual who simply does not watch enough of our network to formulate an accurate assessment. Clearly, Toure has no concept of BET Nightly News, television's only newscast covering news from an African-American perspective; Lead Story, the only show on television with a panel of African-American journalist challenging top public policy makers; or Teen Summit, winner of six NAACP Image Awards for programming excellence for African-American youth. Further, Toure apparently has not seen Journeys In Black, our biographical series on African-American pioneers and trendsetters, or any of the vintage and contemporary Black cinema that BET showcases each week, including several of our own original productions. I'm at a loss, in fact, as to why Multichannel News would position him as an expert on BET programming.

Third, to relegate the lives of hard-working African-American men and women to the descriptor of "roadkill" reeks of utter disgrace. As so often happens when organizations evolve, there are sometimes casualties of change. There have been a number of changes at BET in the past 18 months — some born of technological upgrades to our network; others from our decision to transfer music programming to Harlem, N.Y.; and most recently with our production agreement with CBS News. In these cases, positions have indeed been lost. But the facts you blatantly ignore are the many opportunities that were created with these changes, jobs that some BET personnel chose to pursue. And in every case of negative work-force impact, BET has gone to great lengths to provide generous levels of severance, benefits extension and other assistance.

The changes and occasional job loss at BET are no different than industry trends impacting television networks, large and small. Where was your criticism of the jobs lost as part of the AOL-Time Warner merger? Why has there been no chastising of News Corp. over the jobs eliminated with the restructuring of its interactive division? And where was your altruistic concern for the jobs lost at The Walt Disney Co. or Public Broadcasting System during their reorganizations? You need not answer. Your true motivation comes through loud and clear in your editorial.

Finally, to propagate the notion of Viacom possessing an "economic vice" on the African-American community is akin to the scare tactics used to frighten white citizens when African-Americans reached a level of affluence and moved to the suburbs. You've even attempted to link Viacom's acquisition of BET to the mounting financial issues facing New Urban Entertainment. Both lines of thought are completely groundless.

Viacom would not invest $3 billion in BET if it weren't already a profitable enterprise, nor would BET be sold into a scenario that would diminish our commitment to African-American viewers. As for NUE, we have never belittled their presence, instead perceiving them as another network looking to replicate BET's success. Any failure by NUE to survive is by no means at the hands of BET or Viacom.

The printing of your editorial was truly a sad day for Multichannel News, and for the positive relationship our companies have enjoyed over the years. Unfortunately all you've done is revive the children's nursery rhyme about Chicken Little. I can assure you and Toure, the sky is NOT falling.

Debra L. Lee, President & COO BET Holdings Inc.

To the editor: As a native of the Kansas City area, I was immediately struck by the irony of your selection of Royals' first baseman Mike Sweeney's photo to use with Mike Reynolds' piece about increased television ratings for the national pastime among younger viewers. Sweeney is practically the last player you'd see on a national telecast, and his team's lousy record is just one reason.

The small-market Royals don't generate the ratings that the teams in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta do, so their appearances on a network, such as their game against Oakland on July 22, are few and far between. If K.C. hadn't been playing Oakland and Johnny Damon — whom the Royals traded last season — they most likely wouldn't have been on national television at all.

Damon's departure underscores the fact that teams like Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh just can't compete against the boys from the big cities for the game's best players. I found it appropriate that a solution to the problem was provided in the pullout quote from Frank Hughes that appeared in the story below it about the USA Travel Channel: "Is there revenue sharing?"

Despite that, it is refreshing to see that more younger viewers are taking the time to catch a glimpse, however brief, of Sweeney, one of the game's best players and nicest guys.

Dane Petersen, Washington, D.C.