TV One’s Roland Martin, host of NewsOne Now, keeps the African American community informed on multiple media platforms with news by and for African Americans.
Roland Martin, NewsOne
at Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, MO
Photo by Lin. Woods
The former CNN correspondent, syndicated columnist, and author was awarded the 2008 President’s award from the National Association of Black Journalists for his coverage of the historic 2008 presidential election. Although, CNN afforded him exposure to a diverse audience, Martin said he is now in control of what he covers and reports.
Martin has been with TV One for almost ten years. Before NewsOne Now, he hosted the network’s weekly Sunday morning show, Washington. Martin said, “Alfred Liggins (Chairman of TV One and CEO/President of Radio One) and I were talking and he said, ‘Hey, I really want to do a daily news show…I want to do it with radio.’ And so we kept talking, and kept talking, NewsOne Now sort of came into fruition….the goal is to have all three hours on television. No other black network has tried to have a daily morning news show.”
NewsOne Now was launched in November 2013. It reaches its African American adult audience via radio, NewsOne.com and television over a three-hour span. The television segment airs Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. EST.
Martin is proud that TV One is committed to keeping its African American adult audience informed on issues of concern to it. “I mean its great to say I can see African Americans and every now and then hear stories on CNN or MSNBC, Fox really doesn’t’ even talk to black folks. They have the lowest black viewership of all of them. But again, even on MSNBC, and CNN, that is still not by us, for us, and through our perspective. And so for us, the whole newscast is that way. We’re not a part of the conversation. We are the conversation,” said Martin.
Roland Martin on set of his show, NewsOne Now with Hollywood director, Bill Duke. Photo Courtesy The Front Page Firm
The Texas A&M alum is married to Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin. He is also a man of faith who grew up in a two parent, religious household in Houston. However, he lacks faith in today’s news outlets’ offerings of news and information for African Americans. “We have news deserts. We have been inundated with entertainment…comedy shows and sitcoms….reality shows…but where are you getting your information? Are we getting access to information about finances and health, and about sports? We can’t continue to have black networks and no news…I tell black folks all the time, we will rue the day when we wake up and we don’t have black magazines and black newspapers, black radio and black television speaking to our interest,” proclaims Martin.
The Tom Joyner Morning Show Senior Analyst left CNN in 2012 after a storm of controversy arouse over a tweets he posted during the Superbowl. Martin said some people thought his leaving was a setback. “There are people who might say, ‘Man what happened to you? I don’t see you on CNN?’ But I have my own five-day a week show where I’m determining the agenda and determining the stories. And so I don’t see that as being secondary to something else.”
NewsOne Now is available on cable to TV One’s 57 million households, five days a week. It offers in-depth news from an African American perspective. It’s Martin’s vehicle for delivering news and information the way he wants to, how he wants to, from his African American viewpoint.