Veteran journalist, Roland Martin, known for wearing his ascots and his tell-it-like-it-is style of journalism served as the host and managing editor of NewsOne Now. After the final show Thursday, he expressed why he initially agreed to be a part of the show.
“I have never believed that White media was more important than Black media. I never believed that they mattered more than anything else,” said Martin during a farewell speech on Facebook Live.
“I always believed that Black folks deserved quality and A-talent. When you have this philosophy that somehow if you work in Black media you can’t cut it anywhere else. Here is the reality, I can cut it against anybody at CNN, MSNBC, ABC, or CBS, but I chose to do this.”
The former CNN commentator also expressed that the only African American focused new show served as an alternative to mainstream media outlets who often times do not cover issues that matter to African Americans and sometimes are out of touch with how to connect with people of color.
“I believe you deserve a different type of news. I believe you deserve something different. We need to have somebody that has a clear vision, that wakes up Black, that thinks Black. I told my staff you have got to wake up Black. That doesn’t mean your Black skin, your thought, your consciousness has to be Black in terms of how you see the world and you see the news. That is why this show is different. I was intentional in what I was doing,” Martin said.
