Roland Martin – Not enough African-Americans on Sunday morning news, starts his own
Sunday political talk shows may bore some viewers, but when Roland Martin watches them, he gets mad.
“I’m often turned off by Sunday morning talk shows talking down to the rest of the country,” said Martin, best known as a political analyst on CNN and the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “You have people who are booking these shows who won’t go outside their concentric circle.”
That circle, he’s found, includes mostly white officials and commentators. That’s something Martin intends to avoid as he launches his own Sunday morning program this weekend. Called “Washington Watch with Roland Martin,” it will air at 11 a.m. on TV One, a cable network aimed at a black audience. Martin is also TV One’s political editor.
Vice President Joe Biden and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) will be the newsmaker guests on the show’s maiden voyage.
The appearance of Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, is no accident. Diversity will be a priority of the show. The show is being rolled out this weekend in connection with the Congressional Black Caucus’s Annual Legislative Conference. Martin is hosting a kickoff party for the show during the conference week, and moderating a panel.
“There are African-Americans who are conservative or libertarian. You never see them on these shows and they’re more interesting than the people they have on,” Martin said. “If you’re talking national security, you can call Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. If you’re talking “net neutrality,” a key person is Bobby Rush (D-Ill., chairman of the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee).”
The Hill
9/26/9
Magnolia Tribune
