By Shannon Wilson
Her Opinion
There has definitely been a change in Black Entertainment Television (BET) since the days when Donnie Simpson was the host of "Video Soul," and the "always-heard-but-not-seldom-seen" voice of "Video Vibrations" played the hottest songs.
Now, viewers are greeted by the hip-hop flavored Big Tigger on "Rap City," and that loud mouth, hip-shaking, go-go boot wearing, lip-smacking, trash-talking, Ebonics-speaking, ghetto queen Cita, the computer generated host of "Jam Zone."
Other video-oriented shows include "Morning Moves," "All," "Hits from the Street," "Out the Box," "Midnight Love," and "Videolink." In all, there are eight video shows.
Isn't that too much? Of course it is.
The last time I checked, BET stood for Black Entertainment Television, not Black Music Videos. It starts to get annoying when the same video is shown three times in a row on three different shows.
VH1 and MTV offer wide selections of programming, like game shows, documentaries, and even award shows. What does BET offer? "Sparks?" "Amen?" That's not entertainment. But if reruns just had to be put on, how about "Good Times" or "Different Strokes?"
Some people consider "Comicview" as entertainment. Well, I thought jokes were only funny when you didn't know what the joke was, unlike the jokes on "Comicview."
Granted, BET has made strides with "Live From L.A.," BET's version of "The Late Show with David Letterman," and the provovative "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley." But the network should offer more shows geared toward the black audience, such as a black version of MTV's "Loveline," or a dance show like MTV's "Global Groove."
BET, it's time to catch up to the competition. Maybe then will you live up to your name.
Shannon Wilson, a sophomore, is a journalism major.