NEW YORK (AP) — The Tallahassee-based Black News Channel shut down on Friday after failing to meet its payroll and losing the support of its chief investor, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan.
The network, founded by former GOP congressman J.C. Watts, relaunched last year following an investment by Khan, hiring 250 Black journalists and production personnel. But it failed to make money or draw many viewers, even though it ironically reached a viewership high this week with its coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Network President and CEO Princell Hair says BNC has filed for bankruptcy and stopped live production.
