June 30, 2025 • 10 mins
Ahead of the Black Information Network’s fifth anniversary, Vanessa Tyler sat down with BIN President Tony Coles to reflect on how the network began and where it’s headed next.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the Black community.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. We
are marking five years here at the Black Information Network.
We came on air at a time when America was
in a fight for black lives and we've been covering
what's been impacting the black community ever since. The Black
Information Networks. Vanessa Tyler sat down with the President of
the Black Information Network, Tony Coles to talk about the
(00:32):
network's beginning. Hello, it is to find a big boy.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Thank you for tuning into this important announcement. Heyj MV
what angela ye now go by.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
The name of Charlamgnea God and with the world most
Dangerous Morning show to Breakfast Club and today right now
it's a part of a completely new network.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
And with that, we were on the air on BION
station's nationwide Hey y'all, Steve Harvey and this is the
law of the first and colony all News Audio network
and by the Black community. Well, history was made five
years ago, a twenty four to seven news network solely
(01:13):
focused on reporting news impacting the black community. The president
of the Black Information Network, Tony Coles, welcome, thank you.
What timing is everything? Then launched at a time when
(01:33):
racial policing could not be ignored. I mean, we saw
a black man die right before our eyes, and I
just wanted to talk about how BI launched at that
time but was already in the works.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Talk about that absolutely. You know, it was tragic what
happened to George Floyd. It's tragic what had happened to
so many Black Americans. But the journey of BI and
the launch of the Black Information Network started long before
that moment. We had had so many conversations over the
(02:10):
years about how we truly serve the black community. We
own radio stations in black communities throughout America, and when
we look at how as a company we can provide
the best service to our listeners, news and information was
something that was missing, and we had had so many
conversations about the need for this, and as we saw
(02:33):
in our own research the growing belief in the phrase
fake news, that was deeply concerning, and so in twenty nineteen,
we made a mission to build a network that served
the communities that we lived in, served the communities that
(02:53):
we were a part of for many, many years, and
at the foundation of that was going to be a
network based in truth, in fact based reporting, but more
importantly having reporters and journalists and writers who reflect those cities,
and we're able to tell the stories of the day's
(03:14):
news from a black perspective.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I'm Bug Davis, I'm Terry McCready, I'm Mike Island, I'm
Esther Dillon, I'm Kevin Brown. With more than a dozen
top journalists located throughout the country, delivering news impacting the
Black community with fact based reporting. Bi N is a
news voice that stands apart and lately standing alone. This
(03:38):
is America's Black voice, no Black information network. When we launched,
there were also a lot of black voices on larger
national platforms than there are now. And I'm just thinking
about Don Lemon, Joey Reid, even Lester is gone from
the national news platform, and I'm just wondering, you know,
(04:01):
whether that makes our role I would think much more
important at this point, because here we are with a
national platform, in a national voice.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It's a really good point and a great question, you know.
I am really proud of the collection of black journalists
who call bi home. And as you mentioned, there are
so many incredibly talented and powerful black journalists who are
no longer a part of traditional forms of media, and
(04:36):
they're certainly doing amazing work in new platforms and new venues.
But when it comes to one home dedicated to black
journalism in America, we stand alone. At this point.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
You travel a lot. I'm just wondering the feedback you're
getting from people who listen to the network. What's been
the worried out there on the streets.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Feedback has been very, very positive and very powerful from
day one. Something that we've done over the past five
years to your point, is getting out into the communities
and making sure that the reporting on BION and the
work that we do is not limited to what it's
like to be black in Atlanta or what it's like
(05:23):
to be black in New York City, but really going
into so many of the communities that we serve. Our
vision from the beginning was to not only be in
cities with the largest black populations in America, but some
of the smaller cities that have the highest concentration of
(05:43):
African Americans, making sure that not only are we serving
but our news content reflects those communities, and I think
that that's part of the great feedback that we've gotten,
is the fact that you can listen to BI and
not only here about what's happening in Washington and how
that impacts Black America, but also telling the stories of
(06:07):
a black farmer in the rural South.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I'm Alexandria Acamoni on your Home for twenty four to
seven News nationals BI in ninety seven point five. I'm
Amber Payton on your Home for twenty four to seven
News Norfolk's b I in one o five point three.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I'm Mike Island on your Home for twenty four seven
News memphisis BI. In the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We've always been rooted, as I said, in telling the
untold stories of our community. But what has been most
exciting to me and what I see evolving and will
continue to is is the depth of our reporting, again
being very intentional of telling the stories of black life
(06:48):
and how it looks in various parts of the country
and seeing that grow and develop. The partnerships and the
collaborations that we've made so that we're uncovering new aspects,
new stories, new perspectives every day, and that has really
changed and evolved, and I'm excited about the growth that
(07:10):
we've had in those areas.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
What is the future for the network? What do you
see some of the big things that are happening.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Really continuing to scale what we've done over the past
five years. I think that when you look at the
level of talent that we have as a part of
this network today, we started out with some incredible journalists.
We've continued to grow that, but really making sure that
(07:37):
we're making our content available wherever people are consuming news
about Black America. Looking at continuing our platform growth, the
markets that we serve, the way that we are delivering news,
whether it's through our network, which was the foundation, things
like providing news content now for Breakfast Club, working with
(08:02):
black owned newspapers throughout America, and sharing bion stories there.
Really just continuing to grow and scale and making sure
that wherever someone is in this country, they have access
to bi in news.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Tony Cole's, president of the Black Information Network, says the
future also holds collaborations.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
We are incredibly excited about the collaboration that we now
have with the Obama Foundation, and this is something that
we've worked on for quite some time. And we want
to do more of these kind of collaborations, specifically as
it pertains to the Obama Foundation and the Obama Presidential Center,
which is opening in twenty twenty six in Chicago. We
(08:49):
are always looking for what are those stories about work
that is being done in the Black community to help
build the next generation of leaders, not just political leaders,
but community leaders, activists, people who are having an impact
in the Black community. And when you look at organizations,
(09:11):
and there are a lot of great organizations doing this
work every day, but the Obama Foundation is doing some
of the most advanced work, some of the most aggressive work.
And really it goes beyond the building of the Presidential Center,
which is going to be incredible. I just can't even
(09:31):
tell you how excited I am to see the work
that they are doing. But the active engagement in communities
throughout America in building and developing great Black leaders, great
leaders in general, but especially great Black leaders, and being
able to collaborate with them to bring those stories to
(09:53):
light is something that we're really proud.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Of and it certainly gives us a lot more material
to tell those stories. Tony Coles, thank you so much
for stopping by and giving us a chat and thank
you for your vision for our network.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Thank you, and thank you for being such an important
part of it, right from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
With a twenty four to seven news cycle that never stops.
I'm Vanessa Tyler on the Black Information Network. You're home
for black news First, Mike back to you.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Thanks Vanessa Antoni, and continue to listen to the Black
Information Network, your number one source of black news.
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the Black community.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. We
are marking five years here at the Black Information Network.
We came on air at a time when America was
in a fight for black lives and we've been covering
what's been impacting the black community ever since. The Black
Information Networks. Vanessa Tyler sat down with the President of
the Black Information Network, Tony Coles to talk about the
(00:32):
network's beginning. Hello, it is to find a big boy.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Thank you for tuning into this important announcement. Heyj MV
what angela ye now go by.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
The name of Charlamgnea God and with the world most
Dangerous Morning show to Breakfast Club and today right now
it's a part of a completely new network.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
And with that, we were on the air on BION
station's nationwide Hey y'all, Steve Harvey and this is the
law of the first and colony all News Audio network
and by the Black community. Well, history was made five
years ago, a twenty four to seven news network solely
(01:13):
focused on reporting news impacting the black community. The president
of the Black Information Network, Tony Coles, welcome, thank you.
What timing is everything? Then launched at a time when
(01:33):
racial policing could not be ignored. I mean, we saw
a black man die right before our eyes, and I
just wanted to talk about how BI launched at that
time but was already in the works.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Talk about that absolutely. You know, it was tragic what
happened to George Floyd. It's tragic what had happened to
so many Black Americans. But the journey of BI and
the launch of the Black Information Network started long before
that moment. We had had so many conversations over the
(02:10):
years about how we truly serve the black community. We
own radio stations in black communities throughout America, and when
we look at how as a company we can provide
the best service to our listeners, news and information was
something that was missing, and we had had so many
conversations about the need for this, and as we saw
(02:33):
in our own research the growing belief in the phrase
fake news, that was deeply concerning, and so in twenty nineteen,
we made a mission to build a network that served
the communities that we lived in, served the communities that
(02:53):
we were a part of for many, many years, and
at the foundation of that was going to be a
network based in truth, in fact based reporting, but more
importantly having reporters and journalists and writers who reflect those cities,
and we're able to tell the stories of the day's
(03:14):
news from a black perspective.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I'm Bug Davis, I'm Terry McCready, I'm Mike Island, I'm
Esther Dillon, I'm Kevin Brown. With more than a dozen
top journalists located throughout the country, delivering news impacting the
Black community with fact based reporting. Bi N is a
news voice that stands apart and lately standing alone. This
(03:38):
is America's Black voice, no Black information network. When we launched,
there were also a lot of black voices on larger
national platforms than there are now. And I'm just thinking
about Don Lemon, Joey Reid, even Lester is gone from
the national news platform, and I'm just wondering, you know,
(04:01):
whether that makes our role I would think much more
important at this point, because here we are with a
national platform, in a national voice.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It's a really good point and a great question, you know.
I am really proud of the collection of black journalists
who call bi home. And as you mentioned, there are
so many incredibly talented and powerful black journalists who are
no longer a part of traditional forms of media, and
(04:36):
they're certainly doing amazing work in new platforms and new venues.
But when it comes to one home dedicated to black
journalism in America, we stand alone. At this point.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
You travel a lot. I'm just wondering the feedback you're
getting from people who listen to the network. What's been
the worried out there on the streets.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Feedback has been very, very positive and very powerful from
day one. Something that we've done over the past five
years to your point, is getting out into the communities
and making sure that the reporting on BION and the
work that we do is not limited to what it's
like to be black in Atlanta or what it's like
(05:23):
to be black in New York City, but really going
into so many of the communities that we serve. Our
vision from the beginning was to not only be in
cities with the largest black populations in America, but some
of the smaller cities that have the highest concentration of
(05:43):
African Americans, making sure that not only are we serving
but our news content reflects those communities, and I think
that that's part of the great feedback that we've gotten,
is the fact that you can listen to BI and
not only here about what's happening in Washington and how
that impacts Black America, but also telling the stories of
(06:07):
a black farmer in the rural South.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I'm Alexandria Acamoni on your Home for twenty four to
seven News nationals BI in ninety seven point five. I'm
Amber Payton on your Home for twenty four to seven
News Norfolk's b I in one o five point three.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
I'm Mike Island on your Home for twenty four seven
News memphisis BI. In the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We've always been rooted, as I said, in telling the
untold stories of our community. But what has been most
exciting to me and what I see evolving and will
continue to is is the depth of our reporting, again
being very intentional of telling the stories of black life
(06:48):
and how it looks in various parts of the country
and seeing that grow and develop. The partnerships and the
collaborations that we've made so that we're uncovering new aspects,
new stories, new perspectives every day, and that has really
changed and evolved, and I'm excited about the growth that
(07:10):
we've had in those areas.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
What is the future for the network? What do you
see some of the big things that are happening.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Really continuing to scale what we've done over the past
five years. I think that when you look at the
level of talent that we have as a part of
this network today, we started out with some incredible journalists.
We've continued to grow that, but really making sure that
(07:37):
we're making our content available wherever people are consuming news
about Black America. Looking at continuing our platform growth, the
markets that we serve, the way that we are delivering news,
whether it's through our network, which was the foundation, things
like providing news content now for Breakfast Club, working with
(08:02):
black owned newspapers throughout America, and sharing bion stories there.
Really just continuing to grow and scale and making sure
that wherever someone is in this country, they have access
to bi in news.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Tony Cole's, president of the Black Information Network, says the
future also holds collaborations.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
We are incredibly excited about the collaboration that we now
have with the Obama Foundation, and this is something that
we've worked on for quite some time. And we want
to do more of these kind of collaborations, specifically as
it pertains to the Obama Foundation and the Obama Presidential Center,
which is opening in twenty twenty six in Chicago. We
(08:49):
are always looking for what are those stories about work
that is being done in the Black community to help
build the next generation of leaders, not just political leaders,
but community leaders, activists, people who are having an impact
in the Black community. And when you look at organizations,
(09:11):
and there are a lot of great organizations doing this
work every day, but the Obama Foundation is doing some
of the most advanced work, some of the most aggressive work.
And really it goes beyond the building of the Presidential Center,
which is going to be incredible. I just can't even
(09:31):
tell you how excited I am to see the work
that they are doing. But the active engagement in communities
throughout America in building and developing great Black leaders, great
leaders in general, but especially great Black leaders, and being
able to collaborate with them to bring those stories to
(09:53):
light is something that we're really proud.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Of and it certainly gives us a lot more material
to tell those stories. Tony Coles, thank you so much
for stopping by and giving us a chat and thank
you for your vision for our network.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Thank you, and thank you for being such an important
part of it, right from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
With a twenty four to seven news cycle that never stops.
I'm Vanessa Tyler on the Black Information Network. You're home
for black news First, Mike back to you.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Thanks Vanessa Antoni, and continue to listen to the Black
Information Network, your number one source of black news.
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