By: Unknown
From: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
By Sherri Williams, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Oct. 25--Original programming is driving the fall season on Black Entertainment Television.
Viewers of the cable network, which has catered to blacks since it began 27 years ago, will see more than a dozen new series and a host of specials as BET works to retool itself.
The new stable of shows, the most that the network has offered, runs the gamut from comedy to religion.
"We're excited that these latest additions further diversify our lineup and will appeal to a wide range of viewers within our core audience," Debra Lee, chief operating officer of BET, said in a statement.
New gospel-themed shows include Sunday Best, a talent search for the next gospel star, and Exalted! -- which profiles preachers.
On the other end of the spectrum are comedies rooted in rudeness, including Socially Offensive Behavior, an urban version of Punk'd; We Got To Do Better, showcasing social faux pas; and Hell Date, which tests the nerves of an unsuspecting single person.
Other new shows include College Hill Interns, a reality program that follows college students through their work experiences in Chicago; and BUFU, an animated sketch comedy set to premiere next year.
Returning for a second season is Keyshia Cole 2: The Way It Is, a reality show about the R&B singer as she releases her second album. The show will premiere Tuesday.
The lineup is arriving as BET is under attack for negative portrayals of blacks. Last month, 500 protesters upset with the network's programming marched outside Lee's home. The National Association of Black Journalists also gave the network its "Thumbs-Down" award in July, in part for its scaled-back news coverage.
Music videos with scantily dressed women dancing provocatively and the new reality show We Got To Do Better have also fueled the criticism.
Viewers, however, are tuning out criticism and tuning in the network. BET is averaging its highest prime-time rating and audience (672,000 viewers), according to Multichannel News, which tracks the cable-TV industry.
The network's programming is committed to "dealing with the prominent issues in our community and owning them," said Keith Brown, vice president of news and public affairs for BET Networks.
A three-part news special last month, Hip Hop vs. America, examined the cultural influence of the music and lifestyle.
Similar documentaries with news content are planned quarterly, Brown said.
But some new BET programs -- especially We Got To Do Better (named Hot Ghetto Mess until viewers protested) and Socially Offensive Behavior -- aren't an improvement, said the Rev. Delman L. Coates of Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md.
"For a long time, we have been giving BET a pass, thinking it will evolve, mature and get better," said Coates, who led the protest outside Lee's home. "But it hasn't."
He said the network's golden era was the 1980s, when it carried shows such as Teen Summit, a talk show; and Lead Story, a round table of black journalists. Now, he said, there's too much entertainment and not enough news.
BET dropped its nightly newscast in 2005 because of sagging ratings, Brown said. But, he added, news content is incorporated into many of the shows and the station runs news briefs daily.
"A lot of the people who are criticizing BET aren't watching the network," he said. "We probably have to do better about getting the word out. But it (high-quality programming) is there."
New shows such as Meet the Faith, a Sunday morning talk show, and new specials such as What U Know 'Bout That: The Rap It Up Sex Quiz aren't given enough credit by the network's critics, Brown said.
Robert LaVette, a 40-year-old East Side barber, misses the newscast but said BET is a favorite among the barbers at his business, the First Impressions Barbershop.
"I personally haven't seen anything that has offended me," said LaVette, who is black. "But everybody has room for improvement."
Monica Partridge of Dublin has watched less of the network since Viacom bought it in 2000 because, she said, stereotypical images of black people increased.
But with better ideas and new shows such as Exalted! the network can redeem itself, said Partridge, 26.
"There is plenty of airtime," she said.
"They just need to fill it with something worthwhile."
-----
To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
NYSE:VIAB,
