A Look At BET From A Former Insider
Today I received a letter from former BET executive editor of music Andreas Hale. It’s an interesting read so I’d like to share it with you. I’m wondering if any of us who’ve been supporting “non-mainstream” music and looking at BET from an outside, often incredulous point of view are really surprised by his revelations? I know this is like preaching to the (soul) choir but I’d like to know your views on this. I’m reminded of the Boondock’s BET parody. Thank you for sharing Andreas. We wish you all the best on your future.
From Andreas Hale:
To friends, colleagues and those that should know,
As of today (September 8, 2009) I am no longer the Executive Editor of Music at BET.com.
Upon entering the position at BET I said that I needed one year to see what really went on inside the belly of the beast. I needed 365 days to sleep with the enemy and infiltrate the system. One year to see if they REALLY wanted change at BET.
As someone who has been critical of BET for many years, it surprised many that I would leave my post at HipHopDX last year to take a position at BET. But it was an opportunity I absolutely had to take. I could no longer be critical of this company without accepting the opportunity to change it when given. Although I was hired to bring about change, I was systematically shut down. I wasn’t hired to make noise, I was hired to be silenced.
The truth of the matter is that everything that you thought was wrong with BET is true.
Over the past year I’ve seen a lot to reinforce my position that BET is too far gone in the negative to turn into a positive. We have all always thought the worst, but to actually see it in action is another thing in its entirety. The unprofessionalism, the tom foolery, the favors, the misappropriation of resources, the bad ideas that reinforce negative stereotypes, the emasculation of men, the meetings that break down in full fledged cursing battles, the unpaid overtime, the tears from employees scared for their underpaid and overworked positions and ultimately the unwillingness to change are all harsh realities that I’ve witnessed firsthand.
That is not to say that there aren’t some good people who have sat in the offices of BET. Unfortunately, the good people are not in positions of power to instill any change. Instead, they work their fingers to the bone just to keep their jobs in this harsh economic climate. The other good people ran out of the door as soon as an another employment opportunity presented itself. To say BET was a revolving door would be an understatement.
I came in with a plan to provide balance and to deliver good music to the masses and help make BET relevant again – at least in the dot com world. Those attempts were shut down by out of touch executives who run a dot com but could barely turn on a computer. By those who judge their metrics by page views over absolute unique visitors (that‘s ad sales talk). By those who simply don’t understand the internet.
They brought me in because of my track record but never once took a look at my body of work. If they did, they would have known that I was the pen behind editorials such as “BET’s Coon Picnic” or were aware of the many times I have been critical of their award shows and programming. All they knew is that I played a major role in making a once unknown website into a online media outlet that surpassed theirs and they wanted a piece of the action. Too bad they never researched who I really was.
During my tenure I worked long hours and sometimes succeeded at bringing in decent content to try to reflect the change I wanted to achieve. But it wasn’t without opposition. While some interviews and content initiatives were able to make it through, many others were either shut down or met with ridicule. I offered ideas to incorporate the blog world and to spotlight new talent before MTV did. Those ideas were met with comments such as “This isn’t HipHopDX” or “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
BET is not about the quality of your work. Rather, BET is about the relationships you have with powerful people within the company. BET is not about challenging. Instead, BET is about accepting and saying “yes.” If you have known or followed me over the years, you would know that these are things that simply are not in my character and ultimately resulted in my removal.
For the artists and labels that I have worked with for years, I tried. I did whatever I could to achieve that balance many of us wanted to see happen. To the writers who wanted to writer for BET, I made an attempt but was never given a budget to work with.
Upon my arrival, I was told I would be given a staff. Not true. I had a staff of one to carry out daily operations on a website. I fought tooth and nail to accomplish the minimum (an embeddable player and a site people could navigate) and was constantly brushed off. It was a position that was set up for failure. But I endured as long as I could.
Alas, I have been removed from my position after infiltrating the system and the timing was perfect. I wasn’t let go because the site’s numbers were down. Not because I didn’t work hard. Simply because of a personality clash with an individual whose proverbial ass I didn’t kiss enough. Again, not about the work you do but about the relationships you keep and the sides you take.
I’d like to thank BET for covering the cost of my relocation to bring me to the great city of New York/New Jersey. I’d also like to thank them for putting me in close quarters with people who think like me and will hopefully work with in the near future. I’d also like to thank them for providing me enough controversial content that I observed firsthand and will make for many tales to be told.
I said it and I meant in: One year to either make changes or move on. I left HipHopDX on September 16th 2008. Today is September 8, 2009. Eight days short of a year. Most thought I wouldn’t even last that long. But in that year I’ve had my greatest fears about Black Entertainment Television affirmed.
There is so much wrong with BET that I’d rather not break it down in a single email.
It is pretty good fodder for a book don’t you think?
As of today, Andreas Hale is a free agent.
Not shocked by any of this. BET = Black Embarrassment TV. Being Erroneous Television. Bewildering Evermore Traveshamokery, Being Endlessly Trifling, Blazing Errant Trails
But thanks to the person who wrote this. I’m linking this article EVERYWHERE!
—Luvvieouchie! sounds like it’ll be a best seller! LOL
—anewlisI would prefer to read the book than future emails or blogs about it. The whole world should know world should know that BET has become the laughing stock of entertainment. And though you may just want to right about the year spent there, I would suggest finding those that were there longer, for they may have more insight into what you may want tot write.
Good Luck
—Sal Herrera, Jr. MSAO. Sal Herrera
Doctoral Student
Riley College of Education
Walden University
Wow. I hate to say that I really am not surprised, but you know how it is to actually hear it from the horse’s mouth.
—ThaConnoisseurI can’t wait for the book. I pray it opens people’s minds.
—FaveI definitely look forward to that book. It needs to happen in the worst possible way. Already sent this article to everyone I know.
—CamielleI have had a few people one in particular talk about the way BET was I’ve also had experience in dealing with the company. So this is not surprising yet still sad that in the new millennium we still fight these same battles with in our own community that once was put upon us by those who didn’t understand us nor belonged to our community.
—Norvell Molex Jr.[...] Source [...]
—Former BET Executive to Write Tell All Book | Women: For ChangeWow..Why am I not surprised.
—KC~KC
I wish I were surprised, but I am not… smh
—Naturally AliseThis is no surprise to me. I’ve been talking about the decline in BET fo years! I’m just happy to hear the inside scoop because I thought perhaps I might have been a little too critical. But I guess not!
—dyEver since Tavis and Bev Smith were forced out I knew the downward spiral had begun. I always have said that it went from “BlackEntertainmentTelevision” to “BootyEntertainmentTelevision”. I know it is a commercial company but when we really do not have control over our business “Corporate America” has and always will view us as clowns and with the programming that is on that network proves me right. Thanx for posting this letter HoneySoul. :-)
—darrenkeith3While only you can tell your story and your own experiences, I am not as critical of BET as most black people, and feel that through all of their wrongs, they are criticized for being what every station on television is as a whole (except maybe children’s channels and TBN); A vast wasteland.
But If you are truthful about your goals to change programming and make things better, just be sure it true in both your own lifestyle and shown in your work, because one of my many pet peeves are the people who criticize but yet reflect and perpetuate the same foolishness they supposedly can’t stand.
But good read and good luck in your future endeavors. Thanks for always standing up for what’s right no matter what.
—GilleyAndres I’ve known you for 10 yrs know & your character has never been in question.. I’ve watched you achieve greater heights with ea knew endeavor… BET was a stepping stone for you & I know you’ll be back again…Gilley I promise you that Andreas is a person of change and he looked at BET as that opportunity…. The times that I spoke to him I knew that BET was not holding up on their end….
—D-TrainPeace and Blessings Brotha! You will have continued success regardless!
—StilettodivaI am so glad someone has finally taken a step towards exposing BET for its step and fetchit agenda. For years I kept thinking someone will go in and change it one day. Well one day seems to be never. There are bloggers who called it like tazzdaddy.com and a whole host of others but somehow hearing it from an insider (and one that doesn’t come across as bitter or petty) is sad but refreshing because while it’s not illegal to have bad programming for black folks and the observers of black folks I hope that people will make it criminal to watch the filth in their homes.
—SabrinaSo that “banned” Boondocks episode was pretty much art imitating life. Even though I’m hardly surprised, I found this to be a very interesting, if not fascinating article. I refuse to turn on BET for any reason (and haven’t done so in about 8 years). I don’t say that to sound like some sort of elitist snob; I say it because they haven’t bothered to show anything worthwhile in that time, and every time they try and do so, they go right back to their old ways, because they know it makes money. Therefore, I vote with the remote, and let TV One get the attention they deserve.
Thanks for the inside scoop that has confirmed my beliefs on this network for almost a decade. It’s sad to see such potential blown off of ignorance. I look forward to the book, and God bless in your future efforts!
—BrandonMany thanks to Liberated Muse (http://www.liberatedmuse.com) for posting the link to your commentary on Honey. I am glad that you were able to stay and get firsthand experience with BET. There’s a saying in DC from the 1980s and 1990s: BET stands for bet you don’t get paid. Not getting paid means more than money. It means not getting programming that honors our full Black experience … the legacy our ancestors paid for with their lives. I hope that you and the rest of us create content, books, TV programs, and print and online media that represents our full Black experience.
—Ananda LeekeThank you for sharing your experiences. Many blessings on your future endeavors. Keep shining. Peace, Ananda in DC
Wow.. its terrible that nobody is surprised… LOL
Thanks for the insight. Andreas is NOT the only ‘insider’ that has openly complained about BET… A few years ago ANOTHER guy did YouTube videos detailing LOTS of crap at BET (including scandalous things about Stephen Hill)…. curiously his videos stopped & I haven’t seen or heard from him… but I think its pretty well known that BET has a bad reputation.
I actually believed that BET was going to a new direction when they dropped “BET UNCUT”.. (which was a show that should NEVER have been on basic cable in the first place!)
But, now the programming is just empty…. they seem to be a network of RERUNS… interrupted by the occasional “Harlem Heights” and “106 & Park” episode. Its pitiful.
I WILL give them BET-J… because I like “Soul Sessions”…even though they still don’t show all the great videos out there (hint: “Back Again” by Reflection Eternal)…. but at least it was a video show I could watch…. We’ll see what happens when they combine BET-J with VH1 Soul… if they mess that up, I will be totall pissed. :(
—R7SoulKiddAndreas that’s unfortunate man. Hold your head. Like I said before, you weren’t the only that wasn’t satisfied with the direction BET was headed. My brother in law did some consulting for them and described them as a “fat person reading all the books and tips on how to lose weight but never follows through”. May you prosper in your next endeavor.
—JamesAndreas,
—KPI thank you for exposing this network. BET, hasn’t been operating right since it’s early days with Donnie Simpson. It’s ashame when you see no originality on this network. Everytime I tune to BET, I see another show that’s already been done by another network(hint: “College Hill” and “Baldwin Hills”)…Let’s be honest, “don’t try to be MTV.” Be a network of substance for the Black Community, not lacking substance.
Bamboozled is alive at BET !!!
—Shake9169God puts us all in certain positions to reveal truths that benefit the community as a whole. Thank you my brotha its refreshing to know that my girl, myself and many other people who I grew up with and/or have known for many years weren’t blabbering haters…Such sweet vindication! If it looks like, smells like and stains like then, I guess it HAS to be CRAP!!! The most insidious aspect about the whole situation is that its ‘our’ people in the exec positions are proliferating the madness! So sad. I’ve been saying for years people like Oprah, Denzel, Jordan, Cosby and a few others should round up about $250M and start up another true black network. Whassup my power players? Its obvious the airwaves need saving!
—Jwrtr68As a friend of Andreas Hale I must say the the man is “integrity in the flesh” and had a humble and real motivation to make change for the better. The thing I loved about BET in the past was that everyone was invited to the party. You had Too Short,De la,Geto Boyz, MC lyte,PE and Justin Warfield all in the same show! Now non-mainstream and neo-soul get little to no run and it’s sad. What’s interesting is that there seems to be an audience to start the type of shows/programming that people like us want to see…Something to think about?!?!?
—MauriceThey had a guy a few years back named d.brad who was saying the same things…
—since....1979Only fools, hopelessly naive folk, those lacking mental competence or those who have been in outer space since the early days of hip hop culture will be surprised by any of this. BET is electronic crack, pushed by the corporate man to undermine genuine and wannabe African Americans capacity to think. Like all narcotics, it achieves this by providing something that initially feels pleasurable to susceptible people, then dulling their senses progressive, inexorably and – the pushers hope – irrevocably. Like all sordid enterprises, BET acquires a veneer of social acceptance and fake responsibility by associating with glamorous people, whose image it plays a large part in creating. Cold turkey is the only cure; like a junkie for whom everything else has been tried, BET should be put in a sanatorium and left to fix itself or die!
—SpeechifyRespectfully, this is very old news about the revelation that BET is such a joke. Thanks to Andreas for his thoughts and future truths to be revealed but BET has been a sad reflection for more years now than I can remember to count. I can only spend about five minutes watching it because then I go into convulsions like that silly dude on Seinfeld’s show who would lose it whenever he saw Mary Hart come on Entertainment Tonight..lol.. Imagine all the negative mind food that’s been fed to so many over the years thanks to our illustrious BET… makes you proud?
—AnthonyI just want to encourage you to press forward with writing a book. It’d be nice to have a body of work reflecting an opinion that so many share!
—Renee WestAs those before me have already stated, “I am not at all surprised”. This just confirmed to me what I could tell from watching. I stopped watching BET (Black Exploitation Television) 2 years ago.
—ReginaI was an avid watcher years ago when it was all about Donnie, Sherri, Tavis and Teen Summit, but as times changed and it became true coonery & buffoonery I let it go.
I hope that book is written, it sounds like a best seller!
God Bless.
I stopped watching BET a loooongtime ago
—kisha[...] out to Honey Soul Music for the [...]
—» ‘ROUND THE WAY: FORMER BET EMPLOYEE SPEAKS OUT // 'CONCRETELOOP.COM' - QUALITY NOT QUANTITYGreat article confirming also informing those zombies who watch BET that there’s more to black entertainment than what BET is pushing out on a daily. The same is happening in the UK with that farcical MOBO awards, all this is an overseas version of the BET awards a paid holiday for the same (BS) artist who appear each year. When are black people going to stop selling out, thinking that money and stature brings happiness, while suppressing the best material from the masses and holding back good artists. Well done bro i BET… you sleep well at night all the best for the future. PS. If you write the book i hope you know you’ll have to put your armor on!!!!!!!!!
—cluedup (UK)At least they paid for your relocation
—ceeceeFrom a former intern whose dream was to work in the entertainment business…I agree..i witnessed it myself while working there as an intern…thank you for confirming my thoughts…I thought it was me and that i was crazy..regretfully, it actually made me change my career path..which I think about daily.
—anonymous