Black News Channel Shutting Down After Failing to Make Payroll, 230 Employees Laid Off With Zero Severance

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Black News Channel.

The Black News Channel’s CEO Princell Hair announced in an email to staff on Friday that the media outlet would be shutting down its operations as of 5 p.m. ET that same day, putting 230 employees out of work without severance and only one week of benefits.

BNC launched in 2020 with the stated mission of serving Black Americans and other underserved communities, with its headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan was the majority owner, investing $50 million to support the concept created by a group that included media executive Bob Brillante and former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK), according to the Los Angeles Times.

Hair, a former CNN executive, joined BNC in March 2021 and brought on notable commentators like Charles Blow, Aisha Mills, and Marc Lamont Hill.

But the channel struggled to find an audience in an increasingly competitive media environment as streaming services gained in popularity. The Times also noted “some early stumbles” including repeatedly delayed launch dates, polarizing comments by Watts that BNC would have a conservative slant, and a class-action lawsuit claiming the company discriminated against female employees.

Hair’s email to the entire staff described BNC’s struggles with the pandemic, “challenging market conditions and global financial pressures,” and announced that the company would be filing for bankruptcy.

“It’s with a broken heart that I am letting you all know that, effective immediately, BNC will cease live production and file for bankruptcy. We are saddened and disappointed by this reality and recognize the stress that this puts on you and your families,” he wrote.

The Times reported that BNC had told employees that their paychecks would be delayed on Thursday and then failed to meet payroll on Friday. The workers were also reportedly informed that benefits would only last through next week and no severance would be available. The news “stunned and angered employees at the channel,” according to the Times, noting that “[m]any of the staffers came to BNC from larger, established news organizations because they believed in the mission of a TV service that provided news and information for a diverse audience.”

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) provided a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat that indicated that “plans are in the works to develop a solution to provide [BNC] employees with their last three weeks of pay.”