TV One has dropped the ax on veteran journalist and syndicated columnist Roland Martin‘s NewsOne Now morning talk show. Martin began the talk show in 2013 with the network which was the network’s first live one-hour weekday morning news program. The New York Post’s Page Six first broke the news and claimed staffers were first alerted to the cancellation on Wednesday morning during a meeting and were told budget cuts were the reason. In a memo to staffers, TV One’s interim GM Michelle Rice wrote,
While we will continue our long-standing partnership with Roland Martin to ensure his important voice can be heard across all Urban One platforms examining issues of importance to the black community, we regret this decision adversely affects several of our valued colleagues whose positions will be eliminated with the suspension of the show.
Martin, who was also a former contributor to CNN, first started with TV One in 2009 with the Sunday news show, Washington Watch with Roland Martin, which ran for 4 years. Martin broke his silence on Twitter and confirmed the information with the last airdate and stated:
Fam, the sad news is true. The staff of @tvonetv #NewsOneNow was informed this afternoon that after four years of doing groundbreaking and award-winning work, the show will cease production at the end of the year. Our last live show will be Dec. 21. #BringTheFunk
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) December 7, 2017
