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- Feb 28, 2009
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Tony Brown
....Career in Social Work Yielded to Media Involvement
In the meantime, Brown had protested racial segregation during massive marches that he organized and that were led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on these experiences, Brown decided that the media would be the conveyor of his messages to black Americans. He found a job as a drama critic with the Detroit Courier and quickly moved up the ladder to city editor. In 1968 he left the paper to take a job as public affairs programmer for Detroit's public television station, WTVS. He soon became producer of the station's first show specifically for African Americans, "CPT," or"Colored People's Time." Meanwhile, Brown also tried his hand at hosting for the first time on the station's community program "Free Play."
While Brown worked at WTVS for the remainder of the 1960s, a program called "Black Journal" began airing in New York City. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the show investigated political and social issues relevant to African Americans through interviews, surveys, documentaries, and editorial commentaries. "Black Journal" had won the Emmy, Peabody, and Russwurm awards by 1970.
Later that year, Brown was invited to work as executive producer and host of "Black Journal." He accepted, but within months his candor and unflattering commentaries on the government were igniting controversy and criticism from people at all levels of the broadcasting industry. His allegations of racism in public broadcasting were especially ill-received. The controversy, however, sparked interest in the show and its ratings skyrocketed. The station expanded "Black Journal" from its original once-a-month feature to a weekly, 30-minute show.
Aggressive Style Sparked Controversy
Although his goal was to emphasize the positive aspects of African Americanism, Brown occasionally ran into trouble with his viewers, who perceived him as arrogant, condescending, and out of touch with the experiences of the average black person. Brown'semphasis on self-help may have caused this reaction, but his purpose, to give African Americans self-respect, remained firm.
Brown was one of the first people to encourage blacks to enter the television industry, and most of his staff came from the local community. He located production companies willing to teach his trainees and help them find jobs in the field. His work led to his appointment as the founding dean of the Howard University School of Communications, and he used this position to launch the Careers in Communications Conference. This became an annual event that still helps students find work in the communications industry. Brown resigned as dean in 1974.
When the CPB withdrew its funding of "Black Journal"for the 1973 - 1974 season, the African American community responded with outrage. The corporation relented and agreed to fund the show but instead reduced its airtime. Brown took matters into his ownhands in 1977. Determined to keep the faltering show alive and frustrated with the limits imposed by the CPB, he negotiated a contract with the Pepsi Cola Company to sponsor the show. Brown changed the program's name to "Tony Brown's Journal" and left the relatively sheltered world of public television. The syndicated show began airing in 85 cities nationwide, and he also started doing a successful segment called "Tony Brown at Daybreak" on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.However, Brown soon became dissatisfied with the odd viewing times commercial stations offered "Tony Brown's Journal," so in 1982 he moved the show back to public television.
Campaigned Hard for Black Educationand Economic Empowerment
Throughout the 1980s, Brown was instrumental in improving the outlook and atmosphere for African Americans in the academic world. He launched "Black College Day" in 1982, in what was called a one-man effort to save and support colleges dedicated to serving blacks. In 1985, he founded the Council for the Economic Development of Black Americans, whose motto is "Buy Freedom." The group's main platform is that blacks should patronize businesses displaying the "Freedom Seal," which signified a black owner who had agreed to be courteous, offer competitive prices, provide employment, give discounts, and stay involved in the community.
Brown's most inspired attempt to reach African Americans through the media came in 1988, when he released a cautionary film about cocaine abuse titled The White Girl. He wrote, directed, produced, and distributed the film himself, and while it was panned by the critics, it gave Brown a medium in which to address what he perceived as "two destructive trends in society: drug addiction and self-hate." Ignoring the negative reviews, he circulated the film throughout the black community for the next 18 months. Local groups showed it for a small profit, benefiting both Brown and charitable causes....
http://www.blackentrepreneurship.com/Entrepreneur_of_The_Month.cfm
