Roland Martin says CNN never gave him own show because he's black

Roland Martin says CNN never gave him own show because he's black

Roland MartinIt goes without saying that everyone at Fox News Channel (or “F*x News,” as petulant failed comedic actor Jim Carrey has taken to calling the network in recent days) is racist. But did you know that the same is true of the powers that be at CNN?

That’s what soon-to-be-former CNN commentator Roland Martin is claiming.

Following the announcement that the network will not be renewing his contract when it expires in early April, Martin told Marc Lamont Hill in an interview at Huffington Post that he had never been given his own show because he is black:

You have largely white male executives who are not necessarily enamored with the idea of having strong, confident minorities, who say, ‘You know, I can do this.’

I am simply saying ‘give folks a shot.’ We deliver, but we never get the big piece, the larger salary, to be able to get from here to there.

Martin is not alone in his view that Jeff Zucker, CNN’s new president, has it in for minorities in anchor spots. An article at The Root notes that has failed to include journalists of color among his first few appointments and has killed the morning show “Starting Point” hosted by Soledad O’Brien.

According to Martin, the fact that ratings remained constant when he subbed for one of the networks regulars suggests he has the right stuff. Which led Hill to ask, “Did you have a sense that CNN didn’t have a real place for a real black man in America?”

Someone should tell that to Don Lemon, who hosts the prime-time weekend edition of “CNN Newsroom,” or to T.J. Holmes, who had his own show up until December when he left to take a job at BET.

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Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy has written for The Blaze, HotAir, NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers, Conservative Firing Line, RedCounty, and New York’s Daily News. He has one published novel, Hot Rain, (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), and has been a guest on Radio Vice Online with Jim Vicevich, The Alana Burke Show, Smart Life with Dr. Gina, and The George Espenlaub Show.

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