get these nets
Veteran
*consersations begin at 8:00
03/31/25
variety.com
03/31/25
Black Star Network’s “The State of Our Union” live stream telecast aired March 4 as counterprogramming to President Donald Trump’s Address to Congress Courtesy of Black Star Network
When veteran journalist Roland Martin set up shop on YouTube in 2018 as the anchor and producer of a daily political news and analysis program, he was advised by a mid-level YouTube executive that such a show geared toward Black viewers “just doesn’t work” on the internet.
Fast-forward to March 4, 2025, when Martin’s Black Star Network delivered a six-and-a-half-hour live special called “The State of Our Union,” offered as an alternative to Donald Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress. That telecast, originating from Black Star’s small studio in Washington, D.C., ranked fifth among all livestream coverage on YouTube related to Trump’s nearly two-hour speech. Martin found his niche in 2018. And in so doing, he’s built one of the most expansive wholly Black-owned TV news and commentary operations around.
Martin, at 56, is a prime example of an established influencer with a devoted following who has deftly harnessed the free digital distribution that is available via YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Roku and others. From his years as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and TV One, he’s perfectly positioned to succeed as a digital media entrepreneur. His “Roland Martin Unfiltered” and other shows on the Black Star Network generated nearly $2 million in advertising last year from YouTube alone.
Still, Black Star Network operates with a fraction of the budget of Fox News, The Associated Press or other mainstream news outlets. “Unfiltered” typically runs live at 6 p.m. The show offers a survey of headlines, commentary and lively debates on a range of pressing political issues and cultural trends by panels of Black academics, lawyers, activists, legislators, civil servants, experts and entrepreneurs.
Martin and a small team of producers run the operation and have steadily invested in equipment and broadcast capabilities. The panelists are largely assembled via Zoom but occasionally gather at the D.C. studio or an event that “Unfiltered” travels to cover.
Martin’s work has taken on a furious pace in the past few months amid the Trump administration’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion protocols and health, welfare and Medicaid cuts that will fall hard on vulnerable Black Americans.
The single biggest impediment to the growth of Black Star Network is the lack of support from the major media buying agencies that control Fortune 500 advertising budgets.
“Black-owned media has been unable to sufficiently grow because there is economic apartheid being practiced by ad agencies and many media companies,” Martin says. “I get pitched all the time by companies and publishers trying to get their talent on my show. Guess what? I never get any business from those companies. They value my audience enough that they want to promote their shows to my audience, but they don’t value my audience enough to actually buy ads. So how can I have a business where I’m giving you free media and I stay in business?”
The MAGA-fueled crusade to roll back decades of civil rights gains is slashing programs that supported Black businesses and communities.
“We are looking at a potential economic calamity impacting the Black community, because we’re going to see a massive disinvestment in Black-owned businesses,” Martin says. “You’re going to see Black law firms, Black accounting firms, Black engineering firms, architectural firms not get those professional-services deals. For us in Black-owned media, we’re going to see companies not take out ads, not do deals with us, not do custom content deals. But still they want to access our customers. So this is a serious issue.”
03/31/25
Revolt’s Detavio Samuels, Black Star Network Leader Roland Martin and BET Founder Robert Johnson on the State of Black-Owned Media
Revolt’s Detavio Samuels, Black Star Network Leader Roland Martin and BET Founder Robert Johnson on the State of Black-Owned Media
Revolt CEO Detavio Samuels explains how the linear TV and digital brand is adapting on the Variety podcast 'Strictly Business.'
variety.com
03/31/25
Black Star Network’s “The State of Our Union” live stream telecast aired March 4 as counterprogramming to President Donald Trump’s Address to Congress Courtesy of Black Star Network
When veteran journalist Roland Martin set up shop on YouTube in 2018 as the anchor and producer of a daily political news and analysis program, he was advised by a mid-level YouTube executive that such a show geared toward Black viewers “just doesn’t work” on the internet.
Fast-forward to March 4, 2025, when Martin’s Black Star Network delivered a six-and-a-half-hour live special called “The State of Our Union,” offered as an alternative to Donald Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress. That telecast, originating from Black Star’s small studio in Washington, D.C., ranked fifth among all livestream coverage on YouTube related to Trump’s nearly two-hour speech. Martin found his niche in 2018. And in so doing, he’s built one of the most expansive wholly Black-owned TV news and commentary operations around.
Martin, at 56, is a prime example of an established influencer with a devoted following who has deftly harnessed the free digital distribution that is available via YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Roku and others. From his years as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and TV One, he’s perfectly positioned to succeed as a digital media entrepreneur. His “Roland Martin Unfiltered” and other shows on the Black Star Network generated nearly $2 million in advertising last year from YouTube alone.
Still, Black Star Network operates with a fraction of the budget of Fox News, The Associated Press or other mainstream news outlets. “Unfiltered” typically runs live at 6 p.m. The show offers a survey of headlines, commentary and lively debates on a range of pressing political issues and cultural trends by panels of Black academics, lawyers, activists, legislators, civil servants, experts and entrepreneurs.
Martin and a small team of producers run the operation and have steadily invested in equipment and broadcast capabilities. The panelists are largely assembled via Zoom but occasionally gather at the D.C. studio or an event that “Unfiltered” travels to cover.
Martin’s work has taken on a furious pace in the past few months amid the Trump administration’s campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion protocols and health, welfare and Medicaid cuts that will fall hard on vulnerable Black Americans.
The single biggest impediment to the growth of Black Star Network is the lack of support from the major media buying agencies that control Fortune 500 advertising budgets.
“Black-owned media has been unable to sufficiently grow because there is economic apartheid being practiced by ad agencies and many media companies,” Martin says. “I get pitched all the time by companies and publishers trying to get their talent on my show. Guess what? I never get any business from those companies. They value my audience enough that they want to promote their shows to my audience, but they don’t value my audience enough to actually buy ads. So how can I have a business where I’m giving you free media and I stay in business?”
The MAGA-fueled crusade to roll back decades of civil rights gains is slashing programs that supported Black businesses and communities.
“We are looking at a potential economic calamity impacting the Black community, because we’re going to see a massive disinvestment in Black-owned businesses,” Martin says. “You’re going to see Black law firms, Black accounting firms, Black engineering firms, architectural firms not get those professional-services deals. For us in Black-owned media, we’re going to see companies not take out ads, not do deals with us, not do custom content deals. But still they want to access our customers. So this is a serious issue.”
Last edited:
people rather watch celebrity gossip and hair salon talk
