A while back I had written about an idea that I had for a black-owned digital television channel, calling it Kuumba Njia TV ("The Creative Way", or "The Way of Creativity" television edu-tainment). I had outlined a treatment for it, and had sent out a few feelers to those that I know and trust in the media field. I had gotten back a good bit of positive feedback. I would like to come back to this topic, and follow up on it a bit.
Having our own channel would open up a lot of doors for us that have previously been closed before. For actors, it would give them the opportunity to have steady work, and be able to consistently practice their craft to a mass audience. They would be able to gain name recognition, and build up their acting resume'. They can polish their craft, and increase their skills, having more of a choice as far as projects are concerned. Let's face it; you'll be able to see all shades of Black faces morning, noon, and night.
For producers, the potential is limitless. In my personal opinion, it would be the best way for us to explore entry in to genres that we are completely underrepresented in, or don't have much of a presence in at all. For once, we'd be able to have a Drama series stay on the air for more than a handful of episodes, before getting yanked off the air. I would also like to see us have a presence in an Animated series. I know plenty of writers that have great ideas for an animated series, myself included. Also...why can't we have a science fiction series from our perspective on the air? Who's to say that we don't/won't exist in the future? Comedies are good...Reality TV I can do without. And having a documentary series on the air a la PBS...? Need I say more?
For programmers, this can also be new and uncharted territory for them as well. We can be as diverse as we want to with our programming, airing shows from other countries within the Diaspora. We could also screen movies from other countries within the diaspora. One suggestion that I had made for acquisitions was to send a representative/Acquisitions Officer/Media Buyer to some of these Black film festivals to scour for talent. If not the festival winners, then maybe a filmmaker whose project moved something within you. Also, I would like to see them bring back certain shows that had been successful on other networks at one time. I remember watching a show on BET (back when it was still Black-owned) call "Screen Scene", which was a magazine show about brothers and sisters in the film and television industry, and the projects that they were working on. "Teen Summit" was also a great show that deserves a rebirth, and I have to admit that I used to love watching "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley". Ed Gordon did a masterful job after Tavis was fired, especially with the other flubs that they had hosting it before he finally took over. Shows like these need to be rebirthed, and correctly emulated.
This untapped potential still exists. The Black media is shrinking more and more everyday. We need to build up our own resources, and use them to the maximum of their capabilities. We need a strong foundation to work on, and continue to build on. A media outlet like this can be a HUGE stepping stone. It is a greater way to create greater cohesion with our brothers and sisters within the diaspora. It is a great way to expose ourselves to each other, and give us a voice to communicate with one another. With the dearth of documentarians out there, writers, actors, budding producers, filmmakers, and other visionaries....there is NO WAY that we can fail.
"Up you mighty race...you can accomplish what you WILL"
-- Marcus Mosiah Garvey
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