Sharpton, Adell, A Religious Network & Protests – Payola For A Cause

[JohnBckWLD]

A little background:

Over the past year, Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, has staged protests in New York, Washington DC, St. Louis, Michigan and Denver. The hundreds of people that have demonstrated (some being jailed for civil disobedience) are calling for “positive programming for African Americans in the…broadcast industry.” So far - so good. Protest your cause until you whistle breaks for all I care. It’s your right as an American.

The embattled Kevin Adell, (from all appearances the rather sleazy) owner of the Word Network/Urban Religious Channel reportedly used a rather unique business practice to get his station carried by cable/satellite providers: Rallying ‘the troops’ to protest companies who didn’t carry his station. It’s a totally legal business practice (I assume) – akin to grassroots lobbying without the need to pay a K-Street law firm. Even though Adell saved a bundle on lawyer’s fees, he still used the influence of the almighty dollar.

A page one article by Peter Grant, entitled A Network’s Tactic For Getting on Air: Protest Politics, in the 11/26/03 edition of The Wall Street Journal should be cause for alarm. In it, Grant alleges:

Word Network has become one of the nation’s top five religious networks, beamed by satellite or cable operators into 32 million households, mostly in the U.S. Some of the country’s most-prominent black leaders – including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King III and Johnnie Cochran Jr. – have interceded on Word’s behalf. In return, many of the organizations run by the activists have received donations from backers of Word, according to Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson and other participants. Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson declined to say how much they’ve received. Others familiar with the matter say that their customary fee was about $10,000 plus expenses per event. “It is not unusual for people that we help to help the organization,” Rev. Jackson says. “That does not affect our integrity at all. It’s the way we survive.”…

So basically, Sharpton & others took payola to protest on behalf on Adell & his network. If Grant is correct, (the WSJ has yet to do a correction/redaction) - the way I see it, Sharpton should be questioned about his disingenuous profiteering at one of the upcoming debates. Will Brokaw, Matthews, et al. ask any of the following questions:

Reverend, Have you ever collected a fee to protest? If so how much? Have you passed all proceeds off to your organization or kept any part of it as income?

Who knows. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not all that big a deal…but it does have a foul odor about it.

Not that Sharpton’s ever been the epitome of ethics, but “fee for protest” comes off as pretty sleazy to me. I don’t know if it will affect his popularity in the primaries. After seeing what went down in Philly last mointh, it may even be an asset.

Disclaimer:
There’s an unserious part of me that would get a kick out of seeing Rev. Al in the Oval Office: A kick ass inauguration party, Calling it straight the way he sees it, Getting in people’s faces & Attending State dinners in a fleece sweatsuit with a medallion. But I know that novelty would wear off before Feb. 05 rolled around.

Re: The Journal link
(If you don’t have an online subscription to the WSJ, the article is pasted in its entirety at a right-wing blog sight here. The only other link I could find was a blurb in Reuters…sorry.)