EST. 1971
 The late politician, Tuskegee Airman, and civil rights activist purchased a single radio station in New York City in 1971 for $1.9 million and grew it into media conglomerate Inner City Broadcasting Corp.—one of the first such broadcasting entities owned by African Americans. Its model of R&B, talk radio, and community service would be replicated nationwide. A fixture on the legendary 125th Street as a young man, Sutton gave back to the community when he purchased a financially devastated Apollo Theater for $250,000 in 1981. After saving the famed venue, his company produced the hit TV show Showtime at the Apollo and other programming. Sutton also headed a group that owned The New York Amsterdam News, the second largest Black weekly newspaper in the country.

PERCY SUTTON

Dinkins served one term as mayor from 1990 to 1993
Ross A. Lincoln | November 23, 2020 @ 9:09 PM Last Updated: November 23, 2020 @ 9:13 PM
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David Dinkins, the 106th Mayor of New York and to date the only Black person to serve in the role, died Monday from undisclosed causes. He was 93. Born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1927, Dinkins served in the US Marine Corps from 1945-47 and then studied mathematics at Howard University. Graduating in 1950, he went on to attend law school at Brooklyn Law School, graduating in 1956 after which he settled in Harlem. While maintaining a private law practice until 1975, Dinkins became involved in Democratic Party politics during the 1960s while also acting as an investor and entrepreneur, most notably as an investor in the black owned broadcasting company Inner City Broadcasting Corporation in 1971. In the 1970s Dinkins’ political career advanced. From 1972-73 he served as president of the New York City Board of Elections, followed by a 10-year stint as New York City clerk that ended in 1985. Elected Manhattan borough president in 1985, he ran for mayor in 1989, narrowly defeating Rudy Giuliani who, in what is now a historical irony, conceded on election night with only a difference of 50,000 votes between them . But Dinkins entered office just as a historic 30-year rise in crime rates was cresting. And though crime decreased every year he was in office — in part due to initiatives he spearheaded to increase the size of the New York City Police Department and keep schools open later at night — he was blamed by the media and his political opponents for what was still a sky high crime rate. In addition, the nationwide recession during the presidency of George H.W. Bush also caused a spike in unemployment in the city. As a result Dinkins was narrowly defeated by Giuliani in their 1993 mayoral rematch. Following his defeat, Dinkins joined the faculty of Columbia University where he remained up to his death.

David Dinkins, First Black Mayor of New York City, Dies at 93

Jun 25, 12 by EurPublisher Leave a comment
*When radio pioneer Hal Jackson died this past May at age 96, he took with him the critical element of delivering news, information and music to the black community, in his own unique way, about the black community and for the black community. Jackson began his radio career in the 1930’s, in Washington D.C. During the 1950’s he became the first black radio host on a national broadcast network and now, there are more than 165 stations that offer programming for and about African American culture, but Mr. Jackson’scontribution as an African American radio pioneer is quickly diminishing inmarkets across America. The recent sale of KBLX –FM 102.9 Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area deals another blow to the once dominating Inner City Broadcasting Company and begs the questions; is black radio dying? Recently, Inner City Media Corporation’s creditors filed for involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy against it. New York based Inner City Media Corporation is the holding company of Inner City Broadcasting, one of the nation’s leading black-owned broadcasters and owner of WBLS-FM/WLIB-AM in New York City. Inner City’s creditors claim that it owes some $254 million. This spring, media giant Entercom Broadcasting Company acquired KBLX from Inner City, downsizing its operations and ousting beloved radio host “Cousin” Kevin Brown. The move leaves Radio One as the sole dominate black owned and operated broadcast company in the nation, with a handful of others either struggling to survive or looking to take advantage of recent Obama Administration policy changes to bolster low-powered community radio. Radio One owns 53 stations in 15 urban markets. Many radio stations in urban markets continue on without backing form major broadcast stations. KJLH-FM 102.3 in Los Angeles, is owned by legendary musician Stevie Wonder and is highly successful. Unfortunately, their success is rare in such an advertise-heavy competitive market. Low-powered stations, such as KDEE-FM 97.5/KDEEFM.org in Sacramento exist throughout the country with minimal advertising, yet continue to broadcast vital news to the African American community and offer the distinctive musical genre of Gospel, Soul/Neo-Soul, R&B, Jazz and Hip Hop. In 2009 Sheridan Broadcasting in Pittsburgh sold WAMO, one of the city’s largest radio stations catering to a vibrant cultural taste and critical discussion of education, healthcare, business and social activity in black communities that mainstream radio stations never broadcast. In 2005, newspaper headlines inked, “CHAPTER 11 FACING MOUNTING DEBTS OF $23M, Percy Squire Files for Bankruptcy.” Squire, owner of radio stations exclusively broadcasting music, news and information about the black community in Florida and Ohio continues to fight back, suing the FCC for business practices contributing to the loss of his stations. Inner City Broadcasting is rooted in the civil rights movement. The late Percy Sutton, attorney to Malcolm X and a Manhattan Borough President; and Clarence Jones, former publisher of The New York Amsterdam News, one of the oldest black-owned newspapers in the United States, founded Inner City in 1970 and led the way for local programming in black communities across the country. Native New Yorker, and CEO of the California Black Chamber of Commerce, Aubry Stone says he purchased radio station KDEE-FM 97.5 because, “I couldn’t understand why Sacramento didn’t have a place to listen to Gospel music through the week, unbiased sports news, critical information about healthcare disparities for blacks, even news about the growing green economy from a black perspective. But most importantly, I like the fact that our station plays the Temptations, with Boys To Men, with Whitney Houston and Sade and an occasional Slick Rick and Queen Latifah. Where else can you find such smooth and rocking combination with soul, rhythm and blues?”
In 2010 Sacramento experienced a similar demise as KBLX when the city’s only “Old School” R&B formatted station KHYL-FM v101.1fired popular radio hosts Lee Perkins and Andrea Gomez due to station changes brought on by broadcast giant Clear Channel. Lee Michaels a longtime radio programmer in Detroit and Washington D.C. currently works for U.S. Talk Network.com. He started broadcasting in 1965 when he was just 15 years old. “I’m pretty upset about all of this,” Michael’s concern evident at the recent decline of programming aimed at African Americans, “Since I started, it has improved but then it declined in the Reagan years. Smaller stations were squeezed out. Independents could nolonger survive.”
Syndicated shows became popular, masking the need for local programming with the nationwide audience appeal of Tom Joyner, Doug Banks and now Steve Harvey. These moves push out local hosts and staff that once provided vital community appeal and critical employment opportunities. Media observers partly blame the Arbitron ratings system for bigger companies to come in and reduce programming designed specifically for African Americans and worse, reduce advertising rates, undermining the value of black audiences. Sacramento radio DJ Tristen Mayes at KDEE says the most recent weapon against black radio is Arbitron’s Portable People Meters (PPM). Arbitron uses this system to monitor and count audiences. The count determines if broadcasters should continue specific programming and how much to charge advertisers for it. “These PPM’s are expensive,” Mayes says, “So you know many blacks won’t have them in their house. This, of course, means we will be undercounted.”
There is a fight to preserve such programming. California Attorney General Kamala Harris alleged the PPM violated the state’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and the Unruh Civil Rights Act by dramatically undercounting minority audiences. Harris won the settlement and declared California’s diverse audience shall be fully counted by Arbitron’s rating system and require broadcasters to compete fairly in in the marketplace for all communities they serve. Mayes also points out President Barack Obama’s declaration to support low-powered stations, with community ties, such as Mayes’ KDEE operated by Stone and the California Black Chamber of Commerce. According to Mayes “The President (Obama) really opened it up. Now the FCC removed the translator application allowing for low-powered, community stations run by non-profits, schools, emergency responders and other non-commercial groups to get into more open space between larger stations throughout the dial. Not just at one far end of the dial or the other. The new law repeals earlier restrictions that kept low power radio out of urban areas.”
Clear Channel, Entercom and other well-heeled broadcasting stations seek to acquire as many smaller stations possible to increase their bottom line value. In the process, the programming becomes homogenized. The black owned, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is led by David Honig. He points out his company experienced the radio buying game, making up to $1.7 billion in deals during 1997, purchasing radio stations from larger companies. The market then shifted he declares and the Arbitron ratings made justification for his product limitations. He affirms sales from larger companies not only diminish critical news and information for African Americans but company downsizing and substantial job loss occurs. It all has a negative effect on the black economic outlook. Expressing his financial theory, Honig asserts, “When taking into account pure economics, its (selling black stations to larger companies) not good economics. To underuse AfricanAmerican talent, culture and human capital makes no competitive sense.”
According to the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) America’s 38.3 million African Americans representapproximately 13% of the total population. African American households wield an estimated $719 billion in income and increasingly spend on goods and services that are lifestyle-oriented, reported in the latest edition of “The Buying Power of Black America.”
Michaels agrees financing for purchase of a radio station is difficult for smaller companies. He says Radio One paid $400 million for a station in Los Angeles. Most broadcast companies struggle to purchase a station in Chicago that averages $50 million. According to Michaels there are only a handful of 24-hour black news stations in markets around the country. He plays up the significance of DJ’s and radio hosts directly communicating with the black community during significant social upheavals. “Black radio played a major role in riots that involved blacks,” he reflects, “General market stations would not send reporters into our community. We brought calm! We stopped playing the music and talked.”
WOL-AM 1450 Radio and WOLDCNews.com talk show host, Carl Nelson in Washington D.C. says, “During election year we don’t get to participate. Without Black radio, the black voice is silenced. We don’t get to express the black agenda or what our concerns are. We simply don’t have an avenue to voice our opinion.”
As larger broadcast companies purchase smaller radio stations and change its formatting, internet radio and low-powered stationsspur some hope for new radio voices. We are in the midst of significant change and without proactive development of new voices; the expression of blacks becomes the endangered victim. Without that expression and without black radio, a critical element of all humans becomes at risk; the critical need to communicate. Simeon Gant is a writer based in Sacramento. He can be reached at [email protected]
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Where is My Black Radio?

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Happy Thursday, my destined and determined! Welcome to the day that you finally stop playing around and do what you were put on this earth to do!! First and foremost, a moment of silence for New York Radio pioneer, Hal Jackson, who passed away yesterday at the age of 96…………………………… My prayers go out to Debbie
Jackson and the family! Debbie, continued to stay strong and continue to do God’s Work! In commemoration of Mr. Hal Jackson, Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to doing your life’s work! For those who are unfamiliar with Hal Jackson’s accomplishments, in 1939 he began his
broadcasting career as the first African-American radio sports announcer in D.C. In 1954, he became the first radio personality to broadcast three daily shows on three different New York stations. Four million listeners tuned in nightly to hear his mix of music and conversations with jazz and show business celebrities. In 1971, Hal Jackson and the late Percy Sutton, a former Manhattan borough president, co-founded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC), which acquired WLIB — becoming the first African-American owned-and-operated station in New York. The following year, ICBC acquired WLIB-FM, changing its call letters to WBLS (“the total BLack
experience in Sound”). As of the late 2000s, ICBC, of which Jackson was group chairman, owns and operates stations in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Fort Lauderdale, Columbia, South Carolina, and Jackson, Mississippi. Hal has been on the radio since 1939, which
if you don’t feel like doing the math, equates to over 70 years. Hal had definitely found his life’s work and devoted his life to doing it the best way he knows how. As you continue your journey towards success, ask yourself if what you are going after is really your life’s work! Can you imagine a career doing the same thing for over 70 years!? If the answer is yes, then keep going and don’t stop until the wheels fall off!! Mr. Jackson has created a great blueprint for all to follow….. As the saying goes… “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work another day in your life” (Confucius). Rest in Paradise, Mr. Jackson!!! -Ash’Cash
“Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.” -James Allen
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” -Pearl S. Buck
“Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you.” -Henri Frederic Amiel
“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” -Buddha
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” -Saint Augustine
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” -Alexander Graham Bell
“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one, and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.” -Unknown
TO HEAR THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE DAILY WORD –  CLICK HERE . Ash’Cash  is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website,  www.IamAshCash.com . Prev


Daily Word: Do Your Life&#8217;s Work!! (R.I.P., Black Radio Pioneer Hal Jackson)

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Hal Jackson, NY Radio Legend, Dies at 97

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Inner City Broadcasting Corporation ("ICBC"), founded in 1971 by Percy Sutton (an active civil rights leader) and a group of investors, owns and operates 17 radio stations in 7 cities including New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Ft. Lauderdale, Jackson (MS) and Columbia (SC). The company's stations primarily target African-American listeners with a variety of formats tailored to the local communities.

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