The Diversity Bonus by Katherine Phillips & Nancy Cantor & Earl Lewis & Scott Page

Author:Katherine Phillips & Nancy Cantor & Earl Lewis & Scott Page [Katherine Phillips]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2019-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Robert Johnson: BET

Billionaire businessperson Robert L. Johnson was born in Hickory, Mississippi, on April 8, 1946, and raised in Freeport, Illinois. Johnson earned a BA in social science at the University of Illinois and an MA in public policy at Princeton. His work experience included stints as a public affairs director for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a communication director for the National Urban League, and a vice president of the National Cable and Television Association.

By 1980, he had built a unique and powerful repertoire of skills and knowledge: academic training in social science, an understanding of public and cable television markets, experience communicating through media to the African American community, and an awareness of the distinct viewing patterns of African Americans. In that year, he launched a cable channel, BET (Black Entertainment Television), that catered to the interests of African Americans.

Beginning with a two-hour block of programming on Nickelodeon, Johnson offered content ignored by the white media. He noticed that the music video channel MTV relied on a largely British collection of extant videos. Other than Tina Turner, few black artists received airtime on MTV. In a 1983 on-air interview, David Bowie observed, “It occurred to me having watched MTV over the last few months that it’s a solid enterprise. It’s got a lot going for it. I’m just floored by the fact that there’s so few black artists featured on it. Why is that?”32

Johnson was already two steps ahead. He had launched Video Soul, a half-hour show featuring R&B and soul music. Johnson also produced Black College Football, broadcasts of games between all-black powerhouses like Jackson State and Grambling. Though these schools sent as many players to the NFL as traditional schools like the University of Southern California, Ohio State, and Florida, their games received no airtime on major networks. Johnson rectified that and launched a media empire that propelled him to riches.

Johnson became the first African American billionaire and the first black majority owner of a major sports franchise. He succeeded because he knew music and sports, because he had developed strong analytic skills, because he had a range of experience in television and broadcasting, and because he had developed tools to communicate to black audiences. He had the right repertoire.

Johnson’s story embodies how a person’s identity and experiences can reveal an opportunity that others miss. Emerson wrote that “people only see what they are prepared to see,” a sentiment echoed by Canadian playwright Robertson Davies, who wrote that we only see “what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” Johnson comprehended a large, untapped market of African American viewers and accumulated the skills to leverage that opportunity.

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