Roland Martin (journalist)

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Roland Martin
Martin in 2017
Born
Roland Sebastian Martin

(1968-11-14) November 14, 1968 (age 55)
OccupationNews reporter
Notable credit(s)Chicago Defender, CNN
Spouses
Deborah Duncan
(m. 1993⁠–⁠1999)
Jacquie Hood Martin
(m. 2001)
Websitewww.rolandsmartin.com

Roland Sebastian Martin (born November 14, 1968)[1] is an American journalist. He was a commentator for TV One, the host of News One Now, and Washington Watch with Roland Martin.[2]

He was also a CNN contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including The Situation Room, Anderson Cooper's AC360, and many others. In October 2008, he joined the Tom Joyner Morning Show as senior analyst. He currently hosts a web series, Roland Martin Unfiltered on YouTube.

Books authored by Martin include Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America,[3][4] Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith and The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as originally reported by Roland S. Martin and, " White Fear: How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds"

Life and career[edit]

Martin was born in Houston, Texas. His maternal great-grandparents had migrated from Haiti to Louisiana, where his family originates.[5] He graduated with a B.S. in journalism from Texas A&M University and a master's degree in Christian communications from Louisiana Baptist University.[6]

He is the former executive editor of the Chicago Defender.

From 2005 to 2008, Martin hosted a morning radio talk show on WVON in Chicago, and was with CNN as a contributor from 2007 to 2013.[7] He guest-hosted Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull while Brown was on maternity leave in April and May 2009.

He became the host of TV One's first Sunday News show Washington Watch with Roland Martin in 2009. It ran for 4 years and is currently off the air.

In March 2013, Martin announced on Twitter that he was leaving CNN.[8] His last day was on April 6, 2013.[9]

It was announced on July 9, 2013, that Martin would be the host of TV One's first live one-hour, weekday morning news program titled News One Now.[2] The program premiered on November 4, 2013.[2] On December 7, 2017, Martin announced on air that TV One had canceled the show due to low ratings from Black viewers, but that he would still remain involved with the network. On January 14, 2018, it was announced that Martin had won two NAACP Image Awards for the show.

Also, Roland hosted a three-hour radio show called The Roland Martin Show.[10] He currently hosts a web series, Roland Martin Unfiltered on YouTube.[11]

Issues[edit]

Martin has defended Michael Steele and other black Republicans against charges of being "Uncle Toms", arguing that the label is inappropriate.[12]

Controversy[edit]

On February 5, 2012, Roland Martin's Twitter account responded to an underwear advertisement featuring the association football player David Beckham, stating "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!" GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) responded on its website: “Martin’s tweets today advocating violence against gay people weren’t an accident — they are a part of a larger pattern for Martin. Anti-gay violence in America is a serious problem". In response to the tweets, it was reported that Roland Martin had been suspended by CNN for the controversial remarks.[13] His suspension was lifted on March 14, 2012.[14]

In 2016, Martin was revealed to have leaked CNN town hall questions to former DNC Chair Donna Brazile, who then leaked them to Hillary Clinton’s camp when he was acting as guest-moderator. According to Politico, in an email the day before the March town hall to senior Clinton staffers, then DNC Chair Donna Brazile wrote: “From time to time I get the questions in advance” and included the text of a question about the death penalty. An email later obtained by Politico showed that the text of the question Brazile sent to the Clinton campaign was identical to a proposed question Martin had offered CNN.[15]

List of broadcasts[edit]

Articles[edit]

  • "What to really do?"[16]
  • "The new reality for Bush and the Democrats"[17]
  • "Obama Birth Issue is Nutty"[18]
  • "Roland Martin is on Watch"[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Date of birth found on the Texas Births, 1926-1995, under MARTIN, ROLAND SEBASTIAN, on November 14, 1968.
  2. ^ a b c Bibel, Sara (July 9, 2013). "Roland S. Martin to Host 'News One Now', TV One's First Daily News Program". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ Martin, Roland S (2002). Speak, Brother!: A Black Man's View of America (First ed.). Dallas: Martin Media Group. ISBN 0-9719107-0-7.
  4. ^ "CNN's Martin to be honored". Archived from the original on October 10, 2008.
  5. ^ Roland Martin (2009). Roland Martin of CNN is Proud of His Haitian Heritage. USA: Smith Georges. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  6. ^ Vanderberg, Marcus (June 6, 2012). "SO WHAT DO YOU DO, ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND HOST OF TV ONE'S WASHINGTON WATCH?". Mediabistro. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Roland. S Martin joins CNN as contributor" (Press release). Inside Cable. March 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  8. ^ Washington, Laura (March 24, 2013). "Roland Martin isn't leaving CNN quietly". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  9. ^ Zakarin, Jordan (March 19, 2013). "Roland Martin Leaves CNN". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  10. ^ Jenkins, Venita (January 13, 2017). "Roland Martin Keynote Speaker for Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration". University of North Carolina Wilmington News. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Barefield, Valerie Fields Hill Allana J. (December 31, 2020). "Roland Martin makes strides with digital newscast". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. ^ "Steele, Black Republicans Not Uncle Toms or Sellouts". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  13. ^ Coscarelli, Joe (May 4, 2010). "CNN Suspends Roland Martin for Super Bowl Tweets - Daily Intelligencer". Nymag.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  14. ^ Wemple, Erik (March 13, 2012). "Roland Martin's suspension from CNN is over". The Washington Post.
  15. ^ Gold, Hadas (October 31, 2016). "Brazile under siege after giving Clinton debate question". POLITICO. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  16. ^ Roland Martin CNN Contributor (April 24, 2007). "Martin: What would Jesus really do?". CNN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ mbarnesdesign, ToSon BT (November 17, 2006). "Black America Today / ROLAND S. MARTIN: The new reality for Bush and the Democrats". Blackamericatoday.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  18. ^ Roland S. Martin CNN Contributor (July 22, 2009). "Commentary: Obama birth issue is nutty". CNN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2013. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ Electronic Urban Report. "Black Entertainment News - EURWeb.com". EURweb. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

External links[edit]