Brother Bob Williams, Special Editorial Contributor to the RiverCity Examiner Newspaper
Disclaimer:
The OPINIONS of Bob Williams do not necessarily reflect the views of RiverCity Publications, its staff or its Board of Directors.
ST. LOUIS BLACK RADIO AND CHICKEN EATING NEGRO PREACHER BETRAYAL
One of St. Louis's most popular and knowledgeable Black talk show hosts, Richard "Onion" Horton, his co-host Mark Kasen and and his company, Onion Horton Productions, Inc., were in the process of buying a radio station back in l998. Horton, Kasen and the production company filed a lawsuit in November of 1998 against Unity Broadcasting, Lee Platke and Stuart Berkowitz.
The lawsuit alleged that Berkowitz and Platke, while serving as their legal counsel in their pursuit to buy a radio station, prepared and caused them to sign a "pre-incorporated agreement for Onion Horton Productions." Under the terms of the agreement, Platke and Berkowitz would become shareholders and officers. In the lawsuit, Horton and Kasen assert that the agreement represents a conflict of interest between lawyer and client. They also further allege that the terms of the lawyers acquiring stock in the company "were not determined or agreed, not fully disclosed and were not fair and reasonable." Kasen and Horton also stated that the lawyers should have advised them to have an independent attorney to review the agreement. Subsequently, Kasen worked out an agreement with Emmis Broadcasting to have them give an AM station that it owned to a church headed up by the Reverend B.T. Rice. The church would then enter into a lease-purchase agreement for two years, after which Rice's church would sell the station to Horton Productions for $750,000.
In the lawsuit Kasen and Horton pointed out that Platke and Berkowitz represented Rice, who was also a close friend of Platke, and that the law firm represented both Horton Productions and Rice in the deal. The suit states that before the deal was supposed to close in February 1998, Platke and Berkowitz formed Unity Broadcasting that replaced Horton Productions in the lease-purchase agreement with Rice's church. Kasen alleges that Platke assured him that he and Horton's ownership in the new entity would be the same. The rest is old history.
The station went on the air in February as KKWK and was a talk show station in July. Platke and Berkowitz fired Kasen and Horton and changed the format of the radio from black talk format to jazz. A lot of reasons have been given by station management as to why the format changed, but the St. Louis American Political Eye revealed, from a reliable source, that the format change may have come about as a result of a meeting that Kasen and Horton had with Missouri Attorney General, "Jaybird" Nixon. "Jaybird" was over the St. Louis Desegregation Program and thus the millions of dollars the St. Louis Public Schools needed. If you follow the politics, "Jaybird" is now the Governor of Missouri. Privately, Onion told me "Bob I cannot sell my people out and support Nixon for any elected office." Publicly, Onion never changed his position concerning Nixon. This principle position Onion took concerning Nixon, I'm sure is part of the reason(s) Onion Horton Productions was not able to purchase the radio station. One thing we know for sure is that this CHICKEN EATING NEGRO PREACHER, REV. B.T. RICE SOLD THE STATION TO THE WHITE FOLKS. He not only betrayed Onion and Kasen for a HAND FULL OF SILVER, LIKE JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS, but he also BETRAYED the Black Community of a DESPERATELY needed MEDIA TO EDUCATE THE COMMUITY OF THE TRUTH, ESPECIALLY THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
One question is how these Negro church members continue to financially support those sellouts? Some are of the opinion that he should have been tarred and feathered and run out of town like in the old days on a rail.
BLACK OWNED WESL RADIO STATION SOLD TO WHITE FOLKS
To add more betrayal to the Black Community. Radio Station WESL was sold to the white owned Simmons Media Group by Robert Riggins and family.
HOW MANY TRULY BLACK OWNED NEWSPAPERS ARE IN ST.LOUIS?
This is going to be a very interesting investigative reporting to pursue. When we look at the conditions of North St. Louis, I'm really beginning to understand the TEAM 4 PLAN that clearly spelled out how to systematically allow North St. Louis to literally decay by Loaning Institutions Red Lining of North St. Louis as well as allowing the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, etc. My main concern is what we as Blacks and Concerned Citizens are going to do at this point in our History. In my Opinion we need to start Organizing and putting together a Political Platform, getting candidates with Integrity to run for political offices that we choose and not the Rich White Folks (Civic Progress) who tells Mayor Slay, Black Clergy Coalition, Black Round Table and so called community leaders what to do.
Information in this article was compiled from St. Louis American Newspaper's "Political Eye", also by Mark Wilson and Bernie Hayes, author and talk show host.
I can be reached by e-mail at: brotherbobsopinion@yahoo.com or (314) 398-5478.
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To add more betrayal to the Black Community. Radio Station WESL was sold to the white owned Simmons Media Group by Robert Riggins and family.
HOW MANY TRULY BLACK OWNED NEWSPAPERS ARE IN ST.LOUIS?
This is going to be a very interesting investigative reporting to pursue. When we look at the conditions of North St. Louis, I'm really beginning to understand the TEAM 4 PLAN that clearly spelled out how to systematically allow North St. Louis to literally decay by Loaning Institutions Red Lining of North St. Louis as well as allowing the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, etc. My main concern is what we as Blacks and Concerned Citizens are going to do at this point in our History. In my Opinion we need to start Organizing and putting together a Political Platform, getting candidates with Integrity to run for political offices that we choose and not the Rich White Folks (Civic Progress) who tells Mayor Slay, Black Clergy Coalition, Black Round Table and so called community leaders what to do.
Information in this article was compiled from St. Louis American Newspaper's "Political Eye", also by Mark Wilson and Bernie Hayes, author and talk show host.
I can be reached by e-mail at: brotherbobsopinion@yahoo.com or (314) 398-5478.
Home
This is going to be a very interesting investigative reporting to pursue. When we look at the conditions of North St. Louis, I'm really beginning to understand the TEAM 4 PLAN that clearly spelled out how to systematically allow North St. Louis to literally decay by Loaning Institutions Red Lining of North St. Louis as well as allowing the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, etc. My main concern is what we as Blacks and Concerned Citizens are going to do at this point in our History. In my Opinion we need to start Organizing and putting together a Political Platform, getting candidates with Integrity to run for political offices that we choose and not the Rich White Folks (Civic Progress) who tells Mayor Slay, Black Clergy Coalition, Black Round Table and so called community leaders what to do.
Information in this article was compiled from St. Louis American Newspaper's "Political Eye", also by Mark Wilson and Bernie Hayes, author and talk show host.
I can be reached by e-mail at: brotherbobsopinion@yahoo.com or (314) 398-5478.
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