By Lucius Gantt
Some ladies and gentlemen have eyes but can’t see. At the same time, there are men and women who are visionary.
A visionary can visualize the future and can describe things that will, or could, take place or happen.
When some drivers choose to speed down the highways without a care, a visionary keeps his eyes on the road and can see a state trooper vehicle hiding behind a tree looking for cars to pull over.
A visionary can observe things getting dramatic at the club way before things pop off and dancers turn into shooters.
And, men and women in a marriage or relationship can see and feel when the thrill is gone way before a divorce or breakup is even discussed.
The Black media businesses of today are nothing like the newspapers, radio stations and magazines that were created by the world’s Black media icons.
If you don’t know, Black media companies are more than the skin color of the newest owners. The original description of Black media institutions was “media companies that served the Black communities”.
I’ve been around long enough to have worked closely and directly with many Black media icons and legends.
I’m not someone that heard about Garth, Levi, Ike, Charles “The Boss”, Calvin, Rita, Steve, Eric, Les, the Scotts, and other Blacks that founded media companies all across the United States. We helped each other.
My media career included interactions with founding media moms and dads, their children, their grandchildren and even some great grandkids.
Back in the day, we worked together, we fought together and we made money together! Black media pioneers knew where there was Black media unity, there was Black media strength and power.
Nowadays, Black media is all about the crumbs, the pennies thrown toward Black media companies the last week or two before elections, the two or three ads that might come from a grocery store, a school, a bank or an insurance company.
However, some media companies owned and operated by people that look like you will sell you out for rice and peas even if you are the one that created beneficial “buy lists” for the governments and businesses that ultimately demanded that Black media companies not do business with other media companies.
Not so very long ago, people in Florida would purchase a copy of The Pittsburg Courier, people in California would purchase The Atlanta World and people in Texas would buy copies of the Chicago Defender to get the news about Black people and the Black liberation struggle!
Now, too many newspaper owners can’t go to sleep and dream about selling enough newspapers to finance their businesses.
In 2022, the majority of Black newspapers are free. Black and other businesses that patronized the Black press in the past have chosen to reach Black people on social media sites owned by ku klux klansmen, Chinese nationals, Russians and other non-Blacks.
I said all of the above to say this, I believe in Lucius Gantt. I know The Gantt Report has meaning and value and I don’t have to be in a hurricane to tell which way the media winds are blowing!
There is a reason why the Black News Channel went belly up and bankrupted even after they got investments of more than 50 million dollars.
I don’t ask media owners to pay me, unless I really need some assistance, like when I had a string of different surgeries or a damaging house fire.
But I demand respect! Publishers, especially, are quick to tell me they don’t need me but they are also fast to let me know when their readers realize The Gantt Report is missing in action, so to speak.
Someday soon, I’m going to focus on doing the kind of writing that I want to. I have two books I need to publish and print and I hope to try my hand at screen writing and playwriting.
But my closest friends know that I’ve had far more success in television and radio and have received national awards and recognition in both television and radio. So, before I take my final journey to The Land of the Plenty, I want to encourage young people to disregard the media haters and do all you can do and don’t be afraid to be YOU!
Media is just like life, it is a double edged sword that cuts both ways. Every media Jesus will have a media Judas! Sometimes when you do things to hurt innocent people, you just might hurt yourself.
I’ve enjoyed writing The Gantt Report and I truly appreciate my readers and the media companies that have helped make my name and my column known in every corner of the world.
TGR will always be available in some form to the media owners that let me know they want it, appreciate it and believe The Gantt Report is well read, well written, has reader support and has media value but it will not be available to companies that think all Black people need are poorly written news releases, false narratives and false promises.
I love my Black media owners and supporters and I wish they would love me.
I want to thank every Gantt Report supporter for what you have done for me and the people I love.
Just like Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes sang, “If you don’t know me by now, you’ll never ever know me”!
The media landscape has changed, in my opinion. When something you love begins to go “left”, God will send you a sign that will indicate what is about to go down, literally and figuratively so pay attention!
