Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is a majority investor in Black News Channel (BNC), the U.S.'s only 24-hour news network for African American viewers. Sept. 24, 2017 (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
On March 25, Black News Channel, which was founded by former GOP Congressman Rep. J.C. Watts, informed its 230 employees in a memo that the news network was ceasing live production and would file for bankruptcy. Now comes word that the employees won’t get paid their final checks.
The company said it will not be able to pay workers for the week of March 19-25 as previously promised. Employees expected to receive those payments on April 8, 11 Alive reported.
The company blamed the bankruptcy fling for the nonpayment. “Unfortunately, by virtue of filing for Chapter 11, we must be granted permission by the court to pay anyone, including the remaining earned but unpaid wages to all of you. So, though it was communicated that unpaid wages would be paid on April 8th, we have been informed that this cannot occur,” according to a BNC statement.
Initially, BNC informed employees that their benefits will last through March 31 and there will be no severance, but they were not informed they would not get their last payment due.
BNC, which received a $50 million investment from Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Kahn, folded after two years of operation. Kahn’s investment made him a majority owner. This also made BNC no longer Black-owned.
Khan is worth an estimated $9 billion, NewsOne reported.
Author, commentator and Temple University Professor Marc Lamont Hill, who hosted the BNC show “Black News Tonight,” tweeted that the billionaire owner refused to pay the Black and Brown staffers for completed work. Hill also revealed that staffers had previously taken a pay cut.
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The Tallahassee, Florida-based channel was founded in 2020 and was offered in some 50 million homes with cable and satellite TV. The goal was to provide a broader perspective about Black America than mainstream news networks did.
In 2021, BNC beefed up its staff by hiring more than 250 Black journalists and production personnel. Princell Hair, a former CNN executive, was hired to run the network as CEO and president. BNC also hired high-profile contributors like New York Times columnist Charles Blow and commentator Hill.
“I could tell there was something going on, something they weren’t communicating to us. So, I felt like it was time for me to protect myself and get out while I could before everything came crumbling under me,” said Dellan Sellers, who did social media work for BNC, in an 11 Alive report. Sellers left BNC in February 2022 after working for nine months with the company.
Photo: In this Sept. 24, 2017 file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan stands before an NFL football game against between the Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium in London. Khan announced Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, that he is a majority investor in the nation’s only 24-hour news network aimed at African American viewers. The network is to begin broadcasting in November and will be based in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, with bureaus around the country. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
