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Former BET.com Editor Canned, Airs Out Company In Cirulated Email
By Allen Starbury ♦ Published 09/09/2009

Andreas HaleAndreas Hale is now the former executive editor of music at BET.com, after the company let him walk recently.

While most folks hit their contact list for that next hustle, Hale felt the need to air out his former employer for what he calls "unprofessionalism, the tom foolery, the favors, the misappropriation of resources, the bad ideas that reinforce negative stereotypes, the emasculation of men" ... among other things.

So, he sent out an email to close industry friends, explaining his time over at BET.com, detailing things that most may not have expected coming from their offices.

Here's most of his email:

Upon entering the position at BET I said that I needed one year to see what really went on inside the belly of the beast. I needed 365 days to sleep with the enemy and infiltrate the system. One year to see if they REALLY wanted change at BET.

As someone who has been critical of BET for many years, it surprised many that I would leave my post at HipHopDX last year to take a position at BET. But it was an opportunity I absolutely had to take. I could no longer be critical of this company without accepting the opportunity to change it when given. Although I was hired to bring about change, I was systematically shut down. I wasn't hired to make noise, I was hired to be silenced.

The truth of the matter is that everything that you thought was wrong with BET is true.

Over the past year I've seen a lot to reinforce my position that BET is too far gone in the negative to turn into a positive. We have all always thought the worst, but to actually see it in action is another thing in its entirety. The unprofessionalism, the tom foolery, the favors, the misappropriation of resources, the bad ideas that reinforce negative stereotypes, the emasculation of men, the meetings that break down in full fledged cursing battles, the unpaid overtime, the tears from employees scared for their underpaid and overworked positions and ultimately the unwillingness to change are all harsh realities that I've witnessed firsthand.

That is not to say that there aren't some good people who have sat in the offices of BET. Unfortunately, the good people are not in positions of power to instill any change. Instead, they work their fingers to the bone just to keep their jobs in this harsh economic climate. The other good people ran out of the door as soon as an another employment opportunity presented itself. To say BET was a revolving door would be an understatement.

I came in with a plan to provide balance and to deliver good music to the masses and help make BET relevant again - at least in the dot com world. Those attempts were shut down by out of touch executives who run a dot com but could barely turn on a computer. By those who judge their metrics by page views over absolute unique visitors (that‘s ad sales talk). By those who simply don't understand the internet.

They brought me in because of my track record but never once took a look at my body of work. If they did, they would have known that I was the pen behind editorials such as "BET's Coon Picnic" or were aware of the many times I have been critical of their award shows and programming. All they knew is that I played a major role in making a once unknown website into a online media outlet that surpassed theirs and they wanted a piece of the action. Too bad they never researched who I really was.

During my tenure I worked long hours and sometimes succeeded at bringing in decent content to try to reflect the change I wanted to achieve. But it wasn't without opposition. While some interviews and content initiatives were able to make it through, many others were either shut down or met with ridicule. I offered ideas to incorporate the blog world and to spotlight new talent before MTV did. Those ideas were met with comments such as "This isn't HipHopDX" or "You don't know what you are talking about."

BET is not about the quality of your work. Rather, BET is about the relationships you have with powerful people within the company. BET is not about challenging. Instead, BET is about accepting and saying "yes." If you have known or followed me over the years, you would know that these are things that simply are not in my character and ultimately resulted in my removal.

For the artists and labels that I have worked with for years, I tried. I did whatever I could to achieve that balance many of us wanted to see happen. To the writers who wanted to writer for BET, I made an attempt but was never given a budget to work with.

Upon my arrival, I was told I would be given a staff. Not true. I had a staff of one to carry out daily operations on a website. I fought tooth and nail to accomplish the minimum (an embeddable player and a site people could navigate) and was constantly brushed off. It was a position that was set up for failure. But I endured as long as I could.

Alas, I have been removed from my position after infiltrating the system and the timing was perfect. I wasn't let go because the site's numbers were down. Not because I didn't work hard. Simply because of a personality clash with an individual whose proverbial ass I didn't kiss enough. Again, not about the work you do but about the relationships you keep and the sides you take.

I'd like to thank BET for covering the cost of my relocation to bring me to the great city of New York/New Jersey. I'd also like to thank them for putting me in close quarters with people who think like me and will hopefully work with in the near future. I'd also like to thank them for providing me enough controversial content that I observed firsthand and will make for many tales to be told.

I said it and I meant in: One year to either make changes or move on. I left HipHopDX on September 16th 2008. Today is September 8, 2009. Eight days short of a year. Most thought I wouldn't even last that long. But in that year I've had my greatest fears about Black Entertainment Television affirmed.

There is so much wrong with BET that I'd rather not break it down in a single email.

It is pretty good fodder for a book don't you think?

Sounds like BET needs to get on their job, and/or clean out their closets. What are you thoughts on this situation? Sound off below.

Categories: Life / Culture        Tags:
  • brian

    NOT IN THE INTEREST OF BLACK PEOPLE JUST BLACK PROFIT.IT NEVER WAS A INFORMATIVE CHANNEL. IT'S OWNED BY WHITE'S THROUGH CLEAR CHANNEL. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO STOP FEEDING ARE PEOPLE UNNECCESSARY INFORMATION. WE ARE THE LAB RATS. EVER SINCE ROBERT JOHNSON SOLD OUT IT HAS GONE TO SHIT.

  • ANDREA

    After years of watching BET, I no longer watch it. It does nothing to educate, uplift and encourage. And to air shows that a bunch of foolishness is really not necessary.

  • ANDREA

    I'm glad someone from the inside finally told the story of how BET really works. I watched BET for years, but when I started to see the quality of programming sink to foolishness, I quit watching.

  • change my ass

    Andreas Hale you are so dead on ponit with this one. I'm the manager of a rapper and I can get NO COOPERATION from the clones at BET. I've had way more success dealing with MTV, VH1 and local TV. BET is a rat's nest of slackers who lack real motivation. INDEED.

  • http://www.wtnrradio.com A-Beatz of WTNRRADIO.COM

    Aboslutely! I would buy the book.

  • http://myspace.com/freshcapone tone capone

    yo i agree with guy completely and i dont even know him but im familiar with his work and i got to side with him. he sounds like he was trying to do all he can for BET and they sound like some hard headed ignorant people. dam Black Star Power aint wat it ought 2 be ova there huh?

  • Drew`

    I guess We can all agree with Andrea. I don't even watch it myself. BET has changed for the worst in the last 3 years

  • dretruth

    187 - and he ain't lying about shit he said... nothing.

  • devon

    Just look at the shows in rotation on BET enough said,they portray black folk so incredibly ignorant Neffe & Frankie,gossip all day Wendy Williams or plain ridicules showing Smart Guy & Game episodes every day all day,did I mention those piss poor reality shows.What happened to Teen Summit?the Deal comes on at 2am, come on shit is ridiculous.

  • LadyT

    bet(bogus entertainment) has always sucked. Even when that trifling sell-out don't want to take any responsibility Bob Johnson was in charge. I'm not surprised. This is the same company who fired a well known reporter because boob oh i mean bob johnson fired him(I remember johnson trying to justify it on bet). My prayers go to Andreas Hale for telling the truth. Keep yo head up and thank you for exposing bet for the sorry network(setting black folks back a century) that it is!

  • Cuttaz

    Andreas Hale I am officially a fan of yours, no homo...I have been screaming out everything you have addressed in your email for years now.

  • AliEnJUnGle

    Like Brian said, BET is not representative of our community. It's shameful to see the type of programming on BET, for example Frankie and Neffe. Why is that program even on air, I feel so embarressed knowing BET promotes ghetto behavior. They don't show anything educational, or newsworthy, as black people we should be ashamed.

  • deddog

    down with Whitey! keel keel kill... the white man haha

  • http://dvsinc.blogspot.com/ VENGEANCE IS MINE!!!!!!!!!!

    BET SUCKS ANYWAY!!!!!!!! LMOL

  • http://myspace.com/liquidiq2 smack

    BET = Black Exception Television

    We are everything that BET is NOT. It represents the VIACOM juggernaut and has for the last umpteen years.

    You know, The people that ran the show, Andy Griffith?

    It's probably just how it is on the boondocks, LOL

    "I want it to be EVIL!"

    bunch of fuckin uncle ruckuses runnin around there.

  • BigWill

    BET HAS DONE SO MUCH DAMAGE TO THE BLACK IMAGE HAD IT BEEN ANY OTHER ENTITY THE LIKES OF JESSIE JACKSON AND ALL SHARPTON WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THEIR CASE YESTERDAY BET HAS HELP TO ENFORCE EVERY STEREOTYPE THEIR IS ABOUT BLACKS BIG UP TO DUDE FOR PUTTING THEM ON BLAST I WILL DEFENATELY BUY THAT BOOK

  • ECAL

    Andreas, keep your head up and keep doing what you do. We need more journalists, editors, activists such as yourself to help keep us honest. Like many of the other commentors I haven't tuned to BET in years. If I won't accept negative portrayals and buffoonery from our counterparts I dang sure won't accept it from my own. Something needs to be done!!!!!

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