BET FIRES TAVIS SMILEY EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!!!
BET FIRES TAVIS SMILEY EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!
Will use guest hosts until next fall. BET's Bob Johnson
to talk "live" on Monday, March 26 at 11 p.m. ET/PT**
In move that could only be characterized in street parlance:
"It's on!" BET/Viacom has pulled the trigger and fired BET Tonight
show host Tavis Smiley effective immediately! Only this time, Smiley
was told personally as opposed to a 4 line fax. Smiley's Los Angeles
office confirmed that BET executive, Nina Henderson Moore,
personally called to tell him of the decision. Beyond that, they
had no comment. In a press release, BET Chairman and CEO,
Robert L. Johnson, made the decision public.
"After a five-year relationship with Tavis Smiley, we have
terminated the remainder of his contract effective immediately,"
Johnson said. "There are a number of public and private concerns
which led to my decision. Recent actions by Mr. Smiley left
us little recourse but to make this move."
To address the issue for viewers, BET has scheduled a special
one-hour edition of BET Tonight with guest host Cheryl Martin
THIS MONDAY, MARCH 26 at 11 PM. ET/PT**, during which
Johnson will take open line phone calls from viewers about
Smiley and the network's decision.
EUR will have more on this story as it develops. In the meantime,
below is the BET press release in its entirety. We encourage you
to go to the EURweb messageboards NOW
(http://www.eurweb.com/forums/index.cfm?action=forum&roomID=5)
... and make your feelings/thoughts known.
(**Telecast will be live to Eastern and Central Time zones; tape-delayed
to Pacific and Mountain regions).
THE OFFICIAL BET PRESS RELEASE:
BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION TERMINATES CONTRACT
WITH BET TONIGHT HOST TAVIS SMILEY; WILL USE GUEST
HOSTS UNTIL NEXT FALL
BET Chairman to Take Calls "Live" on Monday, March 26
at 11 p.m. ET/PT**
WASHINGTON (March 23, 2001) - Black Entertainment Television
(BET) Chairman and CEO Robert L. Johnson announced today the
immediate termination of the network's contract with Tavis Smiley,
host of the talk show BET Tonight. The show will use guest hosts
until a permanent host is selected for the Fall 2001 television season.
"After a five-year relationship with Tavis Smiley, we have terminated
the remainder of his contract effective immediately," Johnson said.
"There are a number of public and private concerns which led to
my decision. Recent actions by Mr. Smiley left us little
recourse but to make this move."
To address the issue for viewers, BET has scheduled a special
one-hour edition of BET Tonight with guest host Cheryl Martin
on Monday, March 26 at 11 p.m. ET/PT**, during which Johnson
will take open line phone calls from viewers about Smiley
and the network's decision.
"There has been a public outcry driven by misinformation circulated
around this issue, and fueled by the Tom Joyner Morning Show,"
said Johnson, who has offered - to no avail - to appear on the
Joyner program to address the issue. "As the person responsible
for this network and the individual who made this decision, it is
important to offer my perspective on this matter which, until
now, has been ignored."
Public debate surfaced this week when syndicated radio host
Tom Joyner openly criticized BET for an earlier decision not
to renew Smiley's contract for the upcoming fall season.
Joyner and Smiley further inflamed the issue by accusing Viacom,
parent company of BET, and its CEO Mel Karmazin, of being
behind the decision. Johnson reiterated that "nothing could
be further from the truth," and that the decision was made
by him.
Black Entertainment Television, a subsidiary of Viacom, is the
nation's only 24-hour television network providing quality programming
targeted toward the African-American audience. BET reaches
65 million households according to Nielsen media research.
(**Telecast will be live to Eastern and Central Time zones; tape-delayed
to Pacific and Mountain regions).
###
|
Threaded Mode