J.C. Watts to launch first ever 24/7 black TV news channel

With Barack Obama in the midst of an historic presidential campaign, the mainstream media have been flooded with black journalists, strategists and commentators talking about race and politics. CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other 24 hour news channels are experiencing record high ratings through their nonstop coverage of the speeches, debates, mistakes, attacks and controversies of the campaign. But there's one place where that conversation doesn't go on all day: on black TV networks.

The two major black television networks, BET and TV One, don't have big daily news shows and certainly don't have space in their lineup for 24 hour news coverage, even if the leading candidate is African American. But that formula could change if J.C. Watts has his way.

Watts, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma and a regular TV pundit himself, is busy making plans to launch the first ever 24/7 black cable news network. It's called the Black Television News Channel, or BTNC, and when it launches in 2009, it is supposed to provide "original news programming with a distinctly African-American perspective," according to the company, which hopes to fill what it calls "a major gap" in mainstream media coverage.

Just a few weeks ago, the company announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Comcast, which will add the new channel to cable systems in Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore. The Washington, DC-based company also says it plans to construct "the first coast-to-coast all high-definition television newsgathering infrastructure."

"A black cable news network will be a welcome addition to the media world," writes Black Enterprise columnist George Alexander. "This is particularly the case given that BET cancelled BET Nightly News in 2005, replacing it with news briefs throughout the day," he writes.

Watts sees an opportunity. "Our unique and vast content partnerships with African American newsmakers will provide our viewers LIVE access to the stories and people in whom our viewers have a special interest," Watts said in a press release. "With this agreement, Comcast continues to demonstrate its commitment to working with independent programmers with diverse points of view," he said.

So how will it make a difference? "Black people will not only be on-air talent but will be making the important behind-the scenes editorial decisions on what stories actually get covered," writes Alexander.

AOL Black Voices columnist Madison J. Gray offers some unsolicited advice for the new black channel"

1) Understand who your audience is and take them seriously.

2) Introduce several perspectives from the various corners of the black community

3) Report on more than black people.

4) Don't be too preachy. And for God's sake NO STUPID TALKING HEADS!!!

5) Please make this a 24-hour NEWS channel.

Madison emphasizes the channel should provide around-the-clock news and not a 3-hour news, 21-hour gospel channel. "Rev. Cleophus PumpWave Gatorshoe from Collard Green Baptist Church and his minions have already purchased half of the airtime on every cable access station in the country," he writes.