If you’re tuning in regularly to watch your favorite black voices on CNN, they won’t be on the air much longer.
CNN is parting ways with long-established voices of Soledad O’Brien and Roland Martin and the network may also be planning to say goodbye to Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist and CNN’s only African American female commentator.
In addition, Mark Whitaker, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN, who is also black, left the network in January.
The move by CNN to eliminate these high-profile black personalities while hiring three white commentators around the same time has resulted in frustration among black journalists and led to a meeting with Jeff Zucker, the head of CNN Worldwide, and members of The National Association of Black Journalists.
“With O’Brien’s departure, Suzanne Malveaux will be the only black weekday anchor. On the weekends there are [Fredricka] Whitfield, Don Lemon, and Victor Blackwell. [Isha Sesay anchors part of “Anderson Cooper 360,” and Lisa Sylvester does news updates for “The Situation Room,” Richard Prince wrote in his diversity column, “Journal-isms.”
And, according to CNN, the network recently hired Jake Tapperand Chris Cuomo from ABC and Rachel Nichols from ESPN – all of whom are white.
Martin’s contract with CNN ends on April 8 and there are many African American journalists who feel that CNN is rapidly losing authentic black commentators to voice concerns of African Americans and speak about critical social issues from a black perspective.
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article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com
