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Two years ago, former CNN Anchor Don Lemon was fired after 17 years. MSNBC’s Joy
Reid was fired in February from her show, “The Reid Out”—much to the dismay of
colleague and top anchor Rachel Maddow, who praised Reid and called the firing a
“mistake.”
Last week, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post announced he will be leaving the
publication after 45 years. A frequent guest and commentator on cable news, Robinson
won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the election of President Barack Obama, and was
described by the Post as a man with “impeccable integrity.”
An unfortunate pattern is emerging, forcing Black journalists off major news platforms.
Mainstream media is moving further to the right.
Lemon was allegedly fired for making negative comments about women. He soon
formed a partnership with Elon Musk to have his own show on X, but things went south
when Lemon asked the billionaire about increased hate speech on the social media
platform. Musk refused to answer, and the deal was off.
Donald Trump called Reid, an NAACP Image Award winner known for her hard-hitting
critiques of him, the most “untalented” person on the network, and said he was happy to
see her go.
Now, Robinson is leaving because Amazon billionaire and owner of the Washington Post
Jeff Bezos has changed the editorial policy of the opinion section to focus more on
personal liberties and the free market. It’s a polite way of silencing the outspoken
columnist, who always spoke freely about politics and social change.
I have no doubt Reid and Robinson will land on their feet as they pursue other
opportunities. Meanwhile, Lemon has carved out a fairly successful space on Youtube.
His twice-daily podcast has more than 670,000 subscribers.
Whether Reid and Robinson end up on social media remains to be seen. But their
absence from mainstream news could be a blessing in disguise.
Being free from the guardrails at CNN, Lemon is free to be his own man. Reid has
affectionately referred to his “Lemon Live at Five” podcast as “Don Lemon Unleashed.”
He’s more passionate than ever, telling it like it is, being fully himself, putting racists
and other bullies firmly in their places.
As the media landscape changes and more black journalists are forced out, Black people
will have to turn to independent sources like social media and Black-owned publications
for accurate news.
It is critical that we remain autonomous and have the leeway to tell our own stories.
And while we may lack the financial backing of billionaires, we have the freedom to own
our truth. That’s priceless. As always, I invite your comments. Feel free to contact our
editor, Veronica Mackey with tips and story ideas at veronica@inglewoodtoday.com.
