Media
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Jemele Hill, Spotify Developing Podcast Network to Amplify Black Women: 'Content That Is Unique to Them Is a Priority'
During a recent interview with Bloomberg, multi-hyphenate Jemele Hill opined on the media’s response to social justice protests this past summer, her journey as a podcaster and television personality, and future plans for her burgeoning media empire. As we reported here at The Root, that includes comedy New Money receiving the green light from Showtime,…
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Hi, She's Janice Johnston, and This Is the 1st Woman and 1st Black Executive Producer of 20/20
It’s a new year, and though we may not be able to make “Hi, I’m Barbara Walters…and this is 20/20” jokes anymore about the year, 2021 is kicking off with some historic news for the long-time news program. On Thursday, ABC News announced that Janice Johnston has been promoted to executive producer of 20/20. With…
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It's Kwanzaa Time! And ABF Creative Has the Perfect Podcast to Enjoy the Holiday With a New Twist
Christmas might be in the rearview, but Kwanzaa is in full swing—as evidenced by our gift guides and ongoing writeups here at The Root. And as we celebrate our community and culture while abiding by each of the Seven Principles, you might be surprised to learn that there’s a new podcast on deck putting a…
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Uncle Luke Opens Up About Contracting Coronavirus, Tells Fans ‘You Have to Think About the Consequences’
In a recent op-ed for the Miami New Times, 2 Live Crew member Luther Campbell, aka Uncle Luke, revealed that he had previously tested positive for coronavirus. Admitting to initially following CDC guidelines by practicing social distancing and self-isolation, Campbell says he was eventually peer pressured into attending a birthday party at a strip club.…
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Which Former NBA Player Just Bought Ebony Magazine for $14 Million?
As we’ve been documenting here at The Root for a while now, Ebony Magazine has been going through it. From involuntary bankruptcy filings, to forcibly removing Willard Jackson as its CEO, to website outages, a class-action lawsuit, and even taking us to court—SPOILER WARNING: They lost—it’s been a gruesome couple of years for the once-proud…
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Podcasts Are the New Black: Laverne Cox and Shonda Rhimes Team Up for Weekly Podcast Series
Emmy-nominated actress and Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox will be debuting her very own podcast thanks to Shondaland Audio and iHeartMedia. Per a press release sent to The Root, the weekly series, entitled for now as The Laverne Cox Show, “will feature intimate conversations with guests who provoke thought and potentially new…
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Kansas City Star Apologizes For Decades of Racially Biased Reporting
This year was marked by a movement towards racial reckoning in America, including a recognition of the historic injustices done towards Black people in this country via policing and also from a whole host of other institutions. Now another entity has stepped forward to acknowledge its role in perpetuating racial injustice. The Kansas City Star…
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ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts Will Revisit the NBA Shut Down With March 11 2020
For hoop heads, March 11 is a day that will live on in infamy. On that fateful Wednesday night, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the entire league to a halt and leaving us to endure a world without NBA basketball. It took nearly five months for the NBA to…
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Baby, Let’s Cruise Away From Here and Celebrate Whatever the Hell ‘Cha-nookah’ Is With Smokey Robinson
First of all, let me start off by saying that Smokey Robinson is a national treasure: A gem that must be protected at all costs. He’s our mama’s and mama’s mama and play-auntie’s favorite singer, so there will be no slanderous Smokey talk in this piece. However, because Smokey is currently trending, I have no…
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Pharrell Announces the Triumphant Return of OTHERtone—But This Time Around It's a Podcast
Throughout the course of his decades-long career, Pharrell Williams has prided himself on breaking boundaries and deviating from the norm. Be it fashion, music, or his entrepreneurial pursuits, the Virginia Beach native lives to color outside the lines while disrupting the status quo. And now, with the imminent launch of his new podcast, OTHERtone, the…