Veteran journalist and political analyst Roland Martinâs headquarters in Washington, D.C., is filled with vibrant paintings and prints by Black artists. But the one that speaks loudest is the large collage topped with bold, large letters that say #BlackOwnedMediaMatters.
Covering an entire wall, the piece displays front pages from various publications such as Jet, Ebony, Essence, the Pittsburgh Courier, Negro Digest, Savoy and the NAACPâs journal, the Crisis. There are logos from the first Black-owned TV station, WGPR in Detroit, and TV One, the cable channel where Martin anchored a daily news program.
Itâs a legacy Martin wanted to follow when, in 2018, he launched his own streaming news show, â#RolandMartinUnfiltered,â aimed at Black audiences. Three years later, it became the flagship for his Black Star Network, which now has seven shows.
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When Martin, 53, describes his entrepreneurial vision, he cites an 1827 quote from Freedomâs Journal, the nationâs first Black newspaper: âWe wish to plead our own cause; too long have others spoken for us.â
While mainstream news organizations have added more diversity on camera and in the executive suite, Martin says having sources dedicated to Black audiences still matters.
âThe most important thing we have in Black-owned media is authenticity and trust,â Martin said. âWe are perceived differently. They see us as family.â
Martin toiled for a number of Black-owned outlets â he ran the Chicago Defender and launched the digital platform for Tom Joynerâs syndicated radio program. But his popularity skyrocketed when he became a cable news fixture as a commentator for CNN from 2007 to 2013.
âRoland has always had the pulse of Black America,â said veteran journalist Soledad OâBrien, a colleague of Martinâs at CNN. âHeâs a truth-teller.â
A staunch defender of former President Barack Obama, Martin was a bold voice during CNNâs political coverage, which earned a Peabody Award in 2008. He also drove the network to pay more attention to such stories as the Trayvon Martin killing. He combined passion with a mastery of detailed facts.
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âHe never got ahead of his skis,â OâBrien recalled. âHe would use long verbatim quotes, and they would be accurate.â
CNN ratings spiked whenever Martin appeared on the cable channelâs programs. Such data would ordinarily be a reason to give a personality a show of his own.
But being a fiery communicator who takes no prisoners â especially when opposing talking heads spout misinformation â made some TV news executives uncomfortable.
âA network president said to a friend of mine that âRoland is like a strong cup of black coffee,ââ Martin recalled during a recent interview at his office. âAnd I said to my friend, âThe value of a strong cup of black coffee is that it shakes you out of your complacency.â I think in many ways the strong and black part are whatâs problematic. Iâve heard âOh, youâre arrogant, youâre cocky.â No, Iâm confident. I know what I know.â
When Martin, 53, describes his entrepreneurial vision, he cites an 1827 quote from Freedomâs Journal, the nationâs first Black newspaper: âWe wish to plead our own cause; too long have others spoken for us.â
(Jared Soares / For The Times)
Martin called out lies on TV before it became standard operating procedure in recent years, and he received pushback for it.
âThe media was in this thing where they literally did not want to say the word âlie,ââ Martin said. âIt was, âWell in order for us to use the word lie, that means that we have to know the intention of the person who said it.â I said, âIf I came home late at 2 a.m. and I said I was out doing something else, my daddy would say, âWhy you lying to me?â not, âSon, what is your intention?âââ
Martin left CNN to become anchor of a daily newscast, âNewsOne Now,â on TV One, where he already hosted a weekly Beltway talk show. It was canceled in 2017 after four years due to budget cuts, despite earning a loyal following and an NAACP Image Award.
By that time, Martin, a student of the technical side of TV, realized how streaming video offered the opportunity for ownership, editorial freedom and the ability to target an audience seeking his perspective. Using his own funds ($400,000 was the initial investment), Martin created â#RolandMartinUnfiltered,â a daily two-hour show distributed through an app, social media sites and streaming video platforms such as Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV. Today, he has nearly 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, where the show first launched, and 11 employees.
Martin knew his fan base would respond. In the small lobby of the 5,000-square-foot office space he converted into a studio, there are oil paintings and sketches created by devoted viewers of his TV One programs.
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Martinâs voice was welcomed as major stories such as the police murder of George Floyd and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made race and equity issues a major national conversation. In 2020, his program averaged 30 million views a month and turned a profit, he said. Like all other news platforms, its viewership ebbed in 2021, but he says his channel is still drawing between 15 million to 20 million views a month.
The âCBS This Morning Saturdayâ host is bringing a lifetime of experience to the networkâs George Floyd coverage.
July 1, 2020
Major advertisers have signed on, including Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Verizon, Target and Coca-Cola. He is on track to take in $3.5 million in revenue this year, up from $3 million in 2021.
Martinâs venture grew at the same time that Black News Channel â a cable channel funded by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan â launched and then folded inside of two years. Martin predicted the demise, noting that BNC could not sustain itself at a time when traditional pay TV subscriptions are in a slow but steady decline.
âThey tried to scale on a level that their money could not afford,â Martin said.
Martinâs venture demonstrates how well-known personalities with devoted followings can take control of their own destiny by adapting to streaming.
âHe has a special appeal to his fans, and that keeps him going,â said Jon Klein, a former CNN president who has developed subscription streaming channels built around individual personalities. âHe knows that itâs resonating. You donât need a huge following to make a lot of money.â
Growing up in the Clinton Park section of Houston, Martin got his business education by working for his grandmotherâs catering service, where he observed negotiations with customers and vendors. Those lessons taught him how to operate with a lean staff and limited resources.
Martin knows the function, model number and cost of every piece of video equipment he uses. When he travels to Los Angeles or events such as the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, he will bank hours of interviews for future programs and archival material. When young producers at his company are presented with an opportunity for a higher-paying job elsewhere, he encourages them to take it and fills the role with a salary he can afford.
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In 2020, Martinâs program averaged 30 million views a month and turned a profit, he said.
(Jared Soares / For The Times)
Martinâs daily two-hour program does not try to reinvent the cable news. He leads discussions on the biggest stories of the day, most of them Washington-based. The difference is every topic is examined through the prism of what it means to Black Americans with experts not often seen on other outlets.
âDuring the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, I said, âGet me every Black dean of an HBCU law school,ââ Martin said. When the pandemic hit, he featured professors from HBCU medical schools and Xavier University.
âThere is a huge reservoir of knowledge and intellect there that folks donât tap into,â he said.
Stories that have an impact on the Black community and get a segment or two on mainstream outlets will get a full program from Martin. He streamed live for six days from Tulsa, Okla., to cover the 100th anniversary of the massacre of Black Wall Street.
He will often wear the colors of a historically Black college or university or one of the dashikis he had custom-made during visits to Africa. His set features images of Black icons such as journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Harry Belafonte, as well as a pair of Nike Air Force 1 sneakers that commemorate Colin Kaepernick.
âIâm just proud to have him be someone that can sit in certain situations and circles and represent and speak for the culture because again he is the culture,â said actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry. âRoland knows us inside and out because itâs his DNA.â
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Martin said Black Star Network is the fulfillment of a dream heâs had since his days as a student in the communications program offered by Yates High School in Houston.
Martinâs childhood was steeped in current affairs before studying journalism at Texas A&M. His parents were politically active, working on local campaigns and forming a civic association in their neighborhood. His father, a railroad worker, was a heavy viewer of local and network TV news.
Martin had to speed-read his householdâs daily newspaper so he could get it back in the plastic delivery bag in pristine condition before his father returned home from work. âBlack fathers didnât play with their papers,â he said. âYou didnât touch it until he finished it.â
His rapid reading skills helped him plow through 300 library books every summer as a student. He also immersed himself in the leather-bound volumes of the âEbony Pictorial History of Black America,â turning him into a human search engine of important African American milestones and civil rights figures.
In the digital age, Martin can be a boisterous presence on social media, where has more than 3 million followers. It got him into trouble in 2012 when, during the Super Bowl, he tweeted about a commercial with soccer star David Beckham. (âIf a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckhamâs H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!â he wrote.)
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Critics said Martinâs jokes promoted violence against gay people. He was suspended by CNN for a month and had a meeting with the media watchdog group GLAAD, which called for his firing.
GLAAD accepted Martinâs apology for the tweets. Martin stands by his record on LGBTQ issues, having called for the end of the militaryâs âdonât ask, donât tellâ policy and supporting gay adoption. He gave national attention to the case of Ed Buck, a wealthy political activist who used drugs to exploit gay Black men, two of whom died of overdoses. He also picked LGBTQ hosts to fill in for him on his TV One program.
But being a provocative personality can be an obstacle when dealing with advertisers.
Even though many companies committed to spending more on Black-owned and -targeted media outlets after Floydâs death and the uprisings that followed, Martin said itâs still a struggle to get the attention from ad agencies.
Lately, Martin has heard agencies raise issues about âbrand safety,â as executives fear running their ads during content they perceive as too divisive or disturbing. Itâs why Martin has developed several non-news shows, including a celebrity interview series, âRollinâ With Roland,â and programs dealing with personal finance, tech, culture and mental health.
But he does not want to stray too far from confronting social justice, voting rights and other issues facing the Black community. âIf you choose to go safe, you lose what makes you powerful,â he said.
Martin said Black Star Network is the fulfillment of a dream heâs had since his days as a student in the communications program offered by Yates High School in Houston.
(Jared Soares / For The Times)
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Despite the challenges, Martin is determined to keep Black Star Network free for its users. He believes many of his followers could not afford the cost of a monthly subscription for his programs. He supplements his ad revenue by soliciting contributions through fan club memberships and has amassed 35,000 since he launched.
While most donors use online payments, Martin stops by a post office box and picks up mailed-in contributions as well. During a recent visit to his office, he pulled a stash of checks and money orders and a wad of bills out of his overstuffed backpack.
Martinâs eyes fill with tears as he recounts how fans come up to him at appearances and remote broadcasts with cash in hand. He shows a dollar bill folded into an origami heart, given to him by a wheelchair-bound elderly woman he encountered at an airport in Atlanta.
âShe said, âThis is all I have â our people need your voice,ââ Martin said. âThey will put cash in my hand and say, âThank you â you keep giving them hell.ââ
Another fan, New York scenic designer Harlan Penn, donated his services to create one of Black Star Networkâs sets. âI saw this as my way of giving back to a cause which is greater than me,â Penn said.
Martin did not want to launch Black Star Network on his own. But some potential partners kept talking about an eventual sale, instead of the mission of providing a news and information source for his audience. He believes the pressure to continue to attract investors and raise money is not good for journalism.
But Martin is a realist. He believes Black-owned media is still too fragmented, making it easier for the ad industry to ignore.
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âI think we should be looking at partnering with one another to achieve a level of scale so we can take down additional ad dollars,â he said. âTo negate the excuse that we canât.â
Stephen Battaglio writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times out of New York. His coverage of the television industry has appeared in TV Guide, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Fortune, the Hollywood Reporter, Inside.com and Adweek. He is also the author of three books about television, including a biography of pioneer talk show host and producer David Susskind.