I’m not a fan of this guy at all. After creating BET which has been in many people’s opinion an embarrassment and publicly dogging Barack Obama about drug use- Johnson is not a favorite of most blacks. Hopefully he’ll get it right this time:

Broadcast & Cable magazine is reporting that Ion Media is talking with Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson about starting a new network aimed at the urban (read: black) viewer. Now, who knows why he wants another stab at the TV network business.

Perhaps it’s because there’s a market for people who like to watch black television. Perhaps it’s because he fell under such criticism for what his creation turned into on his watch. Perhaps it’s a combination of both. …

Well, Johnson is not going to get much criticism from me here for doing what he loves to do but I will say that not many of us get a second chance after our first attempt becomes a swamp of stereotypes and criticism. So this time, maybe Bob (who also owns the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats) can mend the wounds created with his last turn at the rodeo.

Now, it’s no secret that I really disdain television. Frankly, I feel it’s the last thing black people need. The programming is rarely edifying, teaches nothing to a child that his or her own parent’s can’t teach, gives us hours and hours of lame, vapid programming that someone has the nerve to call entertainment; and if you haven’t looked lately, passes off “reality” shows as … well … reality.

Dude, these days I get more entertainment by watching the squirrels and pigeons fight on my windowsill.

If Johnson can get it together and provide better programming than what I see when I dare to turn my dial away from ESPN, then I’d be willing to watch. But I gotta be honest, with his track record, I’m not holding my breath.

Here are some shows I probably wouldn’t want to see from Johnson’s new venture:

1. Friday Night Dogfights, with Michael Vick.
The former NFL great takes you to the alleys and basement of America’s most accommodating public housing to bring pooch-pounding action your way. Pit bulls, rottweilers, and terrifying pekingese pups rip each other to shreds in live action bouts. Can your favorite mutt stand on his hind legs?

2. Trailer Park Divorce Court
Every evening the lovelorn and inbred take their cases before the bench. The judge may allow them to tear up their marriage certificates, but that doesn’t mean they’re not first cousins. Watch the insults fly as America’s closest relations prove that you just can’t do some things with family.

3. Ben Bernanke’s MoneyTime
He was chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, but now he’s here to help deregulate your wallet. Plunging the nation into a deep recession wasn’t enough. Now Bernanke wants to show how to blow all your cash on poor investments and get government bailouts that companies don’t deserve and couldn’t possibly give back to taxpayers.

4. The N-Word
Comedian D.L. Hughley, after a stupid, unfunny stint on CNN, returns to his offensive roots by spying on white people who consistently use ethnic slurs in private company. It’s a racial-reality blowout as Hughley takes you on a hidden camera journey into the homes of your co-workers and neighbors who smile in your face but think of blacks as an inferior species.

5. The Plantation
Rapper Soulja Boy is transported back in time to the 1820s to live with the slave owners he thanked for bringing Africans to America’s shores in chains. But the adventure becomes more intense with each episode as he battles other slaves who hate bondage, while struggling to please his master and one day earn a place in The Big House.

Source

Rumors are he was fired:

BET entertainment chief Reginald Hudlin, who boosted original programming at the channel known for music videos and reruns, is leaving the company, BET Networks said Thursday.

Hudlin is returning to his “entrepreneurial roots” as an independent producer, according to an internal memo Thursday from BET Chairwoman and CEO Debra Lee that was released publicly by BET.

BET executive Stephen Hill, who’s in charge of music programming and talent, will serve as interim entertainment president during the search to replace Hudlin, Lee said.

In her memo, Lee lauded Hudlin for infusing BET’s program development with creativity and energy, and noted that his division produced the network’s highest-rated shows, including “Lil’ Kim: Countdown to Lockdown” and “Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is.”

Those series exposed the tough lives of the music stars and, like other BET shows, targeted younger viewers.

“Somebodies,” a sitcom and BET’s first scripted series, debuted this week. The channel, the most-watched network aimed at blacks, started a weekly news program in August.

Hudlin broke into the business producing the “House Party” movies and his credits include directing the “Everybody Hates Chris” pilot, producing “The Boondocks” animated series and writing the “Black Panther” comic book series.

He joined Viacom-owned BET in 2005.

“The black audience wants to be respected,” he told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview. “They want quality programs that respect their intelligence. It better be hip, it better be innovative and be as fresh as possible.”

Under Hudlin, BET abandoned “Uncut,” a late-night compendium of steamy music videos. The move was seen as the channel’s rejection of a degrading lifestyle that it was once criticized for glamorizing.

Hopefully this is a move in the right direction for BET. I’m sure that Hudlin wasn’t the root of all of the networks problems but he was definitely a huge part of them. I personally never had a problem with the music videos. If you build a solid base on videos then why change. It’s just sad that BET stopped  support of the Urban Adult Contemporary Artists such as  Brian McKnight, India Arie, Jill Scott, Jaheim, Mint Condition, Chante Moore and many others who helped make BET a household name. My problem has always been the network’s lack of originality and negative portrayals of blacks. When the company tried original programming, the choices were terrible. One example is Charlie Murphy’s “We’ve Got To Do Better” which was originally titled “Hot Ghetto Mess” (based on the website). The show was met with harsh criticism because it was yet another program showing negative images of blacks.

Source: http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/shared-gen/ap/TV/TV_BET_Hudlin.html