Breaking News: Black Entertainment Television, top brass part ways
(BlackPressMagazine .com) -- Michael Lewellen, my absolute favorite person at Black Entertainment Television, is leaving.
The taping of the 1st Annual BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, GA will be his last event as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for the network.
Nina Henderson-Moore, one of the network's top Black female executives, will also leave the BET Networks. Both media veterans are planning to pursue different interests.
Undoubtedly, his staff is concerned about his departure and possibly even their own jobs. BET has a long history of whacking staff when they make programming changes.
Since the beginning of his tenure at BET in 1999, I've worked directly with him. Black Press Magazine and its parent company Historical Black Press Foundation started just about the time that Michael began at BET.
Admittedly, in the beginning, Michael and I had some really rough moments. From the firing of Tavis Smiley and the issue over paying the comics from BET's Comic View and recently over the BET Uncut programming, we didn't always agree. But one thing I -and the hundreds of other journalists - could always count on with Michael was that if he said it, it was true.
It was true when BET was sold to Viacom six years ago and it was true during the retirement of BET's co-founder Robert Johnson in 2005.
With his background as an Accredited Public Relations professional (APR) and a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Michael was a rare find for BET. Prior to joining he was VP of Media Relations for New York-based FOX Sports Network and the PR director at Turner Sports.
Over the years BET has had some less than credible moments. But working with Michael always meant integrity and balance. The respect he shows to the members of the media makes working with Michael Lewellen a joy for the working press. He rarely got mad at us, but when he did, we usually deserved it.
Michael Lewellen is a professional on so many levels. The way he handles the media at live tapings and BET television productions is astounding. He walks around with his clip board, headset, a fly designer suit or tux and is as cool as a cucumber. He acts like he's directing a grade school play instead of an internationally watched awards program. Watching him in action – orchestrating the frenzied working press - was almost as entertaining as the show itself.
Seeing Michael leave is more than unsettling because BET has gained so much respect in the Black community under his watch. His departure raises immediate questions of the future of the network, which has been creeping more and more toward its old programming tactics that made so many viewers unhappy.
It's no secret that Viacom is interested in making all of its properties 18-34 friendly and BET is no exception. But replacing Michael Lewellen flies in the face of everything the network spent the last seven years building.
BET has remained a leader in the industry largely because of Michael Lewellen, and with new competition from TV One and the rising Black Family Channel, the timing of this replacement couldn't be worse.
