Two former quarterbacks from the University of Oklahoma were in the news last week. The Sooner Nation mourned the passing of wishbone “Godfather” and former Lt. Gov. Jack Mildren at age 58. Meanwhile, fellow signal-caller J.C. Watts made headlines with the announcement of the new Black Television News Channel slated to debut next year.
BTNC chair Watts, who graduated from OU with a journalism degree in 1981, said the network will demonstrate a commitment to working with independent programs with diverse viewpoints.
“Our unique and vast content partnerships with African-American news makers will provide our viewers live access to the stories and people in whom our viewers have a special interest,” Watts said in a release.
The forthcoming network, which has entered into an agreement with Comcast, has plans to broadcast in metro areas such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. No word yet on Oklahoma City.
“Our community features millions of people with all kinds of backgrounds,” Watts told The New York Post. “There’s a much broader segment of the population than what we see in mainstream news.”
The former congressman has served as a commentator for Fox News and CNN and serves on the board of Clear Channel Communications.
“I’m not so sure that you see anything on CNN or Fox News that specifically targets the African-American community,” Watts told the Post.
Watts declined to name “two cable industry vets” helping him bankroll the fledgling network, but he plans to list private equity partners at a later date, according to the Post.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2008.