Important Letter to Viacom...

Dear Viacom & Viacom Leaders, Representatives, Owners & Stock Holders; Xphinity Leaders, Representatives & Stock Holders :

I Am Pro-Black, I Am a Black political activist who is more fair-minded than most activists. I Am also Black and proudly Gay. I Am not going to write you a letter that is unfair and unbalanced.

I don’t watch much tv at all. I Am spelling it with a small t and a small v because I think television is run and produced by people who don’t have much vision of what our future as a nation of People should look like. Reruns of ``Married with Children'' are all they can think of at TBS and BET comes up with ``Martin''. Where is the LOVe and where is the thinking for People who think and want to grow and experience something tangibly invigorating on an intellectual tip when they turn on the television?  I think Oprah has a much better idea with some of the Tyler Perry night time soap operas. I AM, however, rarely a fan of Tyler Perry’s because night time soaps don’t leave much to the imagination or much in the Way of intellectual growth. The Oprah series that looks at faith, Spirituality & religion is one series I was interested in watching until I saw a very real lack of color in the People who were Her guests. This turned me off and made me not want to watch at all.  I AM not saying we need a bunch more History Channels that show hour after hour of Hitler and His not-so merry men.  We need the People to have much more freedom to choose what stations they want instead of having the station providers ``bundle’’ together what is available in certain packages that are over-priced & inclusive of a great amounts of  ``programming’’ that few People really want to spend the time to watch. You have effectively lost me as a customer due to this lack of sensitivity towards customers .  I now rent movies and other videos from the library for free because I cannot afford cable tv. My fantasy tv cable ``bundle’’ would be Arts & Entertainment;  A real Black-owned tv network that takes into consideration the real talents and gifts that Black People have to offer [none such exists that I know of]; The Cartoon Network with plenty of cartoons from the 1950’s & 1960’s; Black music concerts – specializing in more sophisticated Black Pop, Soul music and Jazz; a real news network that delivers news with balance & as much clarity as possible and with little concern for who is paying for the commercials, and who pays regular staff members on some decent scale while not paying superstar anchors an undeserved king’s ransom; Something that provides cable coverage of community and Off-Broadway theater such as what was provided by The New Federal Theater in Manhattan in the 1980’s; Black theater and Black independent films; and a sports station that includes track & field {often banned from tv because it shows the consistent physical domination of Black men over White men}; and tennis for us who think football is a gruesome, violent sport that should  be taken off of television. Until the public is able to bundle themselves a cable bundle like the one I mentioned here and for under $25.00 a month --- I stand opposed to cable tv and only watch for the 40 to 50 minutes I happen to be a the gym and Am unable to not watch because the large screens are right there in front of my face.  This is why I Am extremely upset that White corporation executives and a White owner took over Viacom when Mr. Johnson sold it a few years ago. We, as Black People, desperately need television to cater more to our own fantasy of what TV should be,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,      not what White producers and tv executives think Black People want to see.  I could get about 20 Brothers and Sisters off the street and produce much, much better shows than are available on Viacom. {I'm waiting for someone to give me just such a chance.}.   Any moderate viewer of tv knows tv is a wasteland of silliness and mostly a waste of time. What does one really get after watching another BET Awards Show as far a cultural, political Spiritual enrichment? Not much.  What does Viacom do with all that Black money it makes? What makes the executives at Viacom think they actually deserve to own such a station as BET which should be used to educate our Black youth and build better values in them, instead of dumbing them down to the low. I ask these questions with all seriousness and hope you have some answers besides the typical corporate drivel and corporate pat answers which only makes the thinking community of Black People even angrier. Let's hear a positive, forward-moving response with some plans and ideas for offering some new, exciting and innovative programming that many Black thinking People will enjoy.




Peace & Blessings,






Brother Tracy Gibson,
President, Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Brother Tracy Gibson & Associates, Incorporated -- an almost 10-year-ole form dedicated to building better values for Black People and helping us do our best.