The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference is an event you don’t want to miss. And even if you can’t make it to Chicago this year, it’s an event you don’t have to miss! Log on to BlackEnterprise.com/events to see the live stream of the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.  We’ll bring you select sessions from the conference and interviews with panelist, attendees and your fellow entrepreneurs, including Daymond John, Beverly Johnson, and Marcus Samuelsson.

CLICK HERE to watch now.

Log on to BlackEnterprise.com/events to see the live stream of the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.  We’ll bring you select sessions from the conference and interviews with panelist, attendees and your fellow entrepreneurs.

See our schedule below and be sure to tune in!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

8:15 am – 8:30 am: Opening Remarks with Black Enterprise President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.

8:30 am – 9:15 am: One on One Conversation with Tavis Smiley

9:30 am – 10:45 am: Social Media X Factor: Take Your Business Marketing Strategy to the Next Level

With strategies and best practices you need to optimize your business development, this session will ensure that your social media strategy is about to get an upgrade!

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm: Small Business Awards Luncheon featuring a one-on–one conversation with world renowned chef, Marcus Samuelsson

7:30 pm – 9:00 pm: Going Up! The Elevator Pitch Competition is Back (Hosted by PepsiCo)

Entrepreneurs bring their best 60-second business pitch and go head-to-head with fellow attendees to compete for a $10,000 grand prize, plus an 8-week mentoring workshop with The CASHFLOW!

Friday, May 25, 2012

9:15 am – 10:30 am: Sourcing Capital  for Your Tech Startup

Amazon and Facebook are online institutions, but they began as startups. This session, led by tech experts and entrepreneurs, will tell how to raise money from venture capitalists, angel investors, and other funders to get your company where it needs to be.

1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m: BE Small Business Success™ Boot Camp—Mastering the Search Engine for $$$ (Facilitated by Google)

When customers Google the service or product you offer, will they see the name of your business pop up? If not, you’re losing potential sales by the thousands.

3:15 pm – 4:15 pm: BE Small Business Success™ Boot Camp E – Mobile Marketing

It’s time to make mobile work for your business!

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: BE 100s Anniversary Celebration & Awards Dinner (Hosted by Dell)

The response to that question was met with a touch of gallows humor among the staff of The Smiley Group Inc. throughout much of 2008. TV personality Tavis Smiley and his team were feeling the heat after a series of commentaries on The Tom Joyner Show in which Smiley criticized then-Sen. Barack Obama during his historic run for U.S. president for what he viewed as Obama’s reluctance to focus on issues of race.

For months, his office had been bombarded by missives, e-mails, and calls from friends and strangers alike—one vitriolic detractor labeled him “a sellout and a traitor to your race.” In fact, Smiley said staff members were “literally berated” by family and community members.

But such blows had more than an emotional impact. His media empire-in-the-making took some severe financial hits. “I went from making about $1 million a year in speaking fees to barely $100,000 because people stopped inviting me to speak in certain places,” he recalls. “Personalities like me have a Q rating, and mine dropped lower than Michael Vick’s after the dog fighting conviction. I couldn’t engage new sponsors or get the ones who have been with me to raise their spending levels.”

That was only the beginning of the perfect storm that pounded his company. Although he didn’t lose any sponsors over “the Obama drama,” the Great Recession caused blue-chip accounts such as Toyota and Nationwide Insurance to not re-up the next year. Amid the turbulence, Smiley also had to contend with sagging employee morale.

So what did Smiley do? He rallied his troops to “stay focused on the work” as he conjured up new ideas and led his team to launch a new radio program, publish a slate of books that became top sellers, and create a traveling museum backed by Walmart, a long-time sponsor, among other ventures to fortify the company. “He kept going full steam ahead.

He talked us through the hard times and we supported him,” says Kimberly McFarland, a long-time Smiley Group employee. “He told us: ‘We know what we have to do. When we make black America better we make all of America better… we’re doing work for the people.’”

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Smiley, who maintains that he didn’t lose a single employee during the Obama kerfuffle or the economic crisis—which he called “black people’s purgatory”—asserts: “We more than survived, we thrived. I now know if I don’t know anything else that my brand can take the heat. And nothing makes me more proud of having survived these four years than understanding the value and integrity of my brand.”

Talk show host. Advocate broadcaster. Self-made entrepreneur. Smiley has created platforms to advance social, political, and cultural commentary and diversify the voices in media. Building a $12.9 million enterprise from scratch, he owns and produces vehicles where he can control the conversation as he finds unique ways to monetize the content. As evidenced by the Obama flap, his approach has produced a number of critics but has amassed a strong mainstream following. Now, he seeks to expand his personality-driven brand through the extension of new offerings.

Drive down Crenshaw Boulevard to Leimert Park in the heart of South Central Los Angeles and you’ll find the house that Smiley built. Once you enter his 6,000-square-foot office building, you’re immediately struck by the immaculate, contemporary facility that houses a radio broadcast studio—named after the late Sheryl A. Flowers, Smiley’s long-time executive producer who died in 2009 of breast cancer—and an array of striking black art and sculpture. It’s here where some of his team of 40 manages the operations that comprise TSG, a holding company dedicated to three core principles: to “enlighten, encourage, empower.”

His numerous holdings include:
• TS Media Inc., which produces the Tavis Smiley talk show that airs weeknights on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), viewed in 96% of U.S. households with approximately 400,000 viewers nightly.

• Smiley Radio Properties, producer of his radio programs, The Tavis Smiley Show and Smiley & West, which he co-hosts with Cornel West, a close friend and one of the nation’s leading black intellectuals, for Public Radio International (PRI). Together, the programs reach more than 500,000 listeners daily.

• High Quality Speakers Bureau, which, in addition to Smiley and West, offers lecture representation for approximately 17 social commentators and motivational speakers such as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Iyanla Vanzant, and Dr. Robin Smith. (Denise Pines, Smiley’s partner and marketing guru for 15 years, holds a minority stake in the company.)

• SmileyBooks, a co-publishing venture with Hay House Inc. that has published 22 books to date including several best sellers.

• Tavis Smiley Presents…, a unit that has managed and produced company-sponsored public events.

• SIVAT Productions, a company that develops documentary films.

• America I AM: The African American Imprint, a four-year traveling museum that has developed a number of spin-off publications and products.

The Tavis Smiley Foundation, the philanthropic arm that has raised $322,000 to teach youth leadership skills as well as Smiley’s investments in residential and commercial properties in California and his home state of Indiana are also under the TSG umbrella. He also owns a number of Marco’s Pizza franchises throughout Indianapolis.

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Learn, Leave, Launch
Smiley began his entrepreneurial journey through a pink slip. The Indiana University graduate who served as an aide to the late Tom Bradley, the first African American mayor of Los Angeles, gained a following in the late 1990s as a late-night talk show host known for his ability to secure high-profile interviews with the prominent and the powerful, ranging from poet Maya Angelou to President Bill Clinton. In 2001, at the height of his popularity, he was released from his contract by BET founder and CEO Robert Johnson for producing a segment for a competitor. “When Bob Johnson fired me at BET I realized then that this is the first and last time because I don’t want to endure this,” Smiley declares “I wrote down in my journal that when I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror I want all of my shareholders to like me. Thankfully, when I look in the mirrors these days all of my shareholders like me because I am the only shareholder.”

By owning his television and radio programs, Smiley generates revenues from sponsorship, domestic and international royalties, licensing and digital and video-on-demand offerings.

In designing his entrepreneurial future, he followed a number of self-imposed guidelines. Always drawn to public service—he once considered a career in politics—Smiley maintained that his pursuits would honor the legacy of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he considers “the greatest American this country has ever produced.” And he chose media as the platform to activate his mission of exposing issues such as poverty, education, and culture to the masses.

He developed an iron-clad rule from his experience at BET: “Control everything.” To ensure that he met this mandate, Smiley devised a process to understand the business and technical dynamics before he initiated any venture: “I call it the three Ls—learn, leave, launch. In every one of these areas I learned everything that I could and I eventually left. Sometimes I left on my own. I’ll put it this way: Sometimes I jumped, sometimes I got pushed.”

After exiting BET, for example, Smiley developed a radio program in 2002 for National Public Radio as part of collaboration between NPR and a consortium of African American public radio stations to bring greater diversity to public airwaves. He decided not to renew his contract with NPR in 2004 but used the experience to create his own vehicle and strike a deal with PRI to air the show nationwide on its 727-affiliate network.

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A quick study, Smiley discovered other ways to generate additional revenues from his properties through access and conversations with successful media entrepreneurs such as Prince (“content is king; he who owns the content is king and kingmaker”) and Oprah Winfrey, who told him to own all intellectual property rights including his show’s theme music. So every year PBS must cut Smiley a check for the theme music that accompanies the airing of each episode of Tavis Smiley. And when media outlets such as Vanity Fair needed to secure a photo of Harry Belafonte or when CBS network’s Kennedy Center Honors sought footage of his interview with jazz great Sonny Rollins, he received a tidy sum in licensing fees. Says Smiley: “They taught me that you can make money from your properties for years.”

Smiley concedes no formal training in business, having learned his financial management from his mother who raised 10 children. He quips: “I tease my mother that she invented the copper wire by stretching a penny.” That doesn’t mean all of his projects have been smart business decisions. For several years, he would jump at ideas to reach African American audiences through health fairs, technology summits, and financial literacy events. Even though he eventually secured prime sponsors such as Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo, the events lost thousands. “I realized one day what I had to do was just quit and not be the guy that’s going to take all of the risk.” Today, he doesn’t pursue any ventures unless Pines snares sponsorships and Operations Manager Eugenia Marshall runs a profit and loss statement to ensure profitability. “Even though Tavis says he is not in business to make money, we make sure that he doesn’t lose any,” asserts Pines, an M.B.A. who has held positions at Gap Inc. and AT&T and helped increase revenues by 20% annually over the past decade.

Smiley admits he’s managed to take the company further through his partnership with Pines, who met Smiley two decades ago. She says of their business relationship: “We’ve had this great friendship that we’ve been able to turn into a business; I’m profit-driven and he’s completely the social activist, and about black people 100% of the time. Even when he was flat broke and got a little money, he would tithe 10% of that.”

Marathon Man
Smiley is a man in perpetual motion with each hour of his day accounted for.

His day begins at LB4LB Boxing, where the 47-year-old, who gave up running for the sweet science, works up a sweat with owner Terry Claybon, a former boxer who’s trained, among others, Denzel Washington for his role as middleweight Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Smiley’s regimen includes a series of three-minute rounds sparring with Claybon in the ring and a “knockout drill” on the heavy bag that Claybon says brings out “the killer instinct.” For Smiley, the routine reinforces discipline, strategic thinking, and fortifies his quest for new challenges. “Boxing is like business,” he maintains. “You have to know when to be offensive and defensive. Every punch has consequences and repercussions.”

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The workout also gives him the stamina to handle the round of activities he has lined up across these two days in mid February. After his workout, he preps for an afternoon in which he tapes five episodes of his TV show back to back—a day after the Grammy Awards, he engages in one-take interview sessions with guests such as crooner Anthony Hamilton and rocker and actor Steven Van Zandt as well as former advertising executive and author Charlotte Beers. True to form, his evenings are devoted to reviewing mounds of research so that he’s ready for the next day, taping a series of segments for his radio shows. He will end one evening by assembling his staff at the Ebony Repertory Theater for his live narration and screening of a digital version of the successful American I Am black history exhibit, which ends its four-year run in Charlotte, North Carolina, this summer.

To keep track of it all, he makes time each Tuesday to gather the troops in his spacious office for an all-hands meeting. The heads of each division not only report on the objectives of individual units but identify ways to “connect the dots.” For example, Tavis Smiley Presents has secured speakers such as personal finance guru Suze Orman and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for a conference on women and poverty—an idea Smiley conjured up a month earlier at 3 a.m.—while Pines reeled in sponsors for the event during a recent trip to New York to review plans for the release of a new book on women’s health.

Via phone, SmileyBooks chief Cheryl Woodruff discusses the marketing strategy for another title: Soula Coaster: The Diary of Me, a new autobiography by singer R. Kelly; Smiley pushed his television production team to quickly develop a promo to coincide with the airing of Kelly’s Valentine’s Day special on BET’s Centric and to schedule the entertainer to appear on his television and radio programs at the time of the book’s release. The team, a mix of Gen X veterans and Millennial professionals, appears tight-knit, focused, and devoted to the company’s agenda and, more importantly, the boss. Smiley has done much to breed loyalty, constantly communicating the mission of empowerment while, despite his need for control, giving members the autonomy to run their divisions. He’s also shrewd enough to recruit top business and technical talent. For example, Smiley hired Jacoba Atlas, the former PBS executive who oversaw his late-night talk show at the network, as executive producer and  writer of his slate of prime-time specials. Atlas decided to join the TSG fold because she found him to be “incredibly collaborative.” Staffers say that he wants concepts to be fully fleshed out and has little tolerance for factual inaccuracies, especially in the digital age when information can become viral. But he also promotes professional and personal development. Take McFarland, one of the managing partners of the Speakers Bureau who served as Smiley’s executive assistant for several years. He promoted McFarland to her current position as encouragement for her  to complete her M.B.A. Moreover, when he taped his special on China last year, he arranged for his entire staff to visit the country.

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Now, the challenge for the company is how to expand its presence beyond a brand of one. Rhonda Nelson, director of brand integration and partnerships, says she has had to learn how to market the qualities of a personality after years of developing ad campaigns for inanimate products such as automobiles. Her emphasis today is to use social media to help the Smiley brand of social activism connect with Millennials as well as repackaging content for global markets. And Pines disclosed such extensions as the development of programs, publications, and events for the Latino markets—ventures in which Smiley would not serve as the front man—as well as diversifying the Speakers Bureau.

Sponsors continue to be drawn to TSG’s multiplatform approach. “It’s more than a media buy,” says Tony Rogers, senior vice president of marketing for Walmart. “We gain access to the TV show, America I Am exhibit, community outreach, and other ventures as a holistic brand. We’re investing in Tavis.”

New developments will not keep Smiley from being outspoken on issues of race and social justice or from initiating projects such as his recent Poverty Tour with West, however. The new ventures, products, and associations must be consistent with TSG’s mission and message. “You have to put out a high-quality product. And that product has to stand the test of time,” he says. “People have to see that it’s the real deal. They have to come to trust you, to believe you, to appreciate your integrity and your intellect. There is no shortcut to brand value. It takes time to build that.” BE

Millennials team up to create a youth-oriented online community (Image: FWD Nation)

The historic election of President Obama in 2008 brought political activism among young adults to an all-time high. In an effort to sustain the millennial generation’s engagement, Brandon A. Lucas and Jeremy James Berry launched FWD Nation.

Endorsed by Dr. Cornel West, the youth-oriented online community caters to twenty -and early thirty somethings with the goal of “‘amping up’ the voices of the fast-paced, text-messaging, word-abbreviating millennial generation.”

Both Lucas and Berry, employees of PBS broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author Tavis Smiley, felt driven to create an online portal that merges politics, business, technology and pop culture, among other hot topics. As the presidential election kicks into full gear, FWD Nation will have bloggers from across the nation reporting on the latest news.

“We live in a ‘FWD Nation’: the most multicultural, multiracial, multi-ethnic America ever,” said Berry. “It is our belief that where old media fails to depict this reality, new media will prevail!”

CEO and Founder of Buzz Marketing Group Tina Wells thinks the online space is ripe for a community like FWD Nation.

“Millennials are sharp,” said Wells.  “A forum for this technologically-savvy generation, such as FWD Nation, will further display the rapidly emerging attitude of Generation Y, an attitude that will not allow them to simply stand by and watch life happen. Millennials are making waves, starting movements, and ensuring their voices are heard.”

Also, in this week’s On The Record segment, Hill deals with the topic of gender justice and the struggle to keep men and women equal on all levels with gender activist and filmmaker Byron Hurt, University of Pennsylvania Assistant Professor and TheRoot.com contributor Salamishah Tillet and Colorlines.com columnist Akiba Solomon.

Our Slice of Life segment profiles Leshell Hatley and YouthLab, the after-school program she created to expose African American and Latino students to education and opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). A certified K-8 teacher, Hatley is the founder and executive director of Uplift, Inc., and its Research Center for Learning and Educational Media (CLEM). Through YouthLab and other education programs powered by Uplift Inc., Hatley teaches robotics, game application design and computer programming to youth in the Washington, D.C. area.

Our World with Black Enterprise is the award-winning weekly 30-minute program, hosted by Marc Lamont Hill, providing a fresh mix of interviews with today’s top newsmakers and celebrities, eclectic roundtable discussions concerning the hottest topics affecting African Americans, and profiles of some of the world’s most intriguing people.

Click here for times and stations where Our World with Black Enterprise airs in your area.

Roland Martin (Image: File)

Though the number of black faces among mainstream media outlets in the past decade has been limited, there are still a number of journalists, activists, politicians and educators who have transitioned to become news pundits on issues that affect our community. Some have their own shows, appear on major networks such as CNN and MSNBC or remain active in their communities, addressing the concerns of the everyday citizen and seeking out solutions.

Check out NewsOne‘s list of the most influential and important black news pundits on the air today, and become familiar with the experts who ensure that the black voice is heard all over the world:

1. Roland Martin: And coming in at number 1, there is no bigger personality on the TV screen than CNN contributor and TV One host, Roland Martin. The American author and syndicated columnist, Martin, shot to fame during the 2008 election’s with his straight to the point commentary injected with his down south flavor.

The 2008 elections skyrocketed Martin into stardom.

Martin is a commentator for TV One and the host of Washington Watch with Roland Martin, a one-hour Sunday morning news show on the network. He is also a CNN contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull, The Situation Room, Anderson Cooper‘s AC360, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and many others. In October 2008, he joined the Tom Joyner Morning Show as senior analyst.

Read more at NewsOne …

Blair Taylor, president & CEO of  the Los Angeles Urban League, spoke before an audience of roughly 300 business, government, non-profit and academic leaders, sharing his thoughts on building blocks for tomorrow’s workforce. He told them about taking a delegation of students from Crenshaw High School to China to observe commerce and culture within the superpower.  While in Beijing, the group visited one of the country’s top-ranked high schools, gaining an up-close view of its advanced level of instruction and dedication to academic excellence.

After the group completed the tour, Taylor said one Crenshaw student asserted: “We can do what they do. We just have to work harder.”

That message, one of continuous skills upgrading fused with unyielding persistence, was delivered by participants of our 20/20 Vision Forum: Job Creation and Career Opportunities in the Next Economy, one of a series of such events presented by BLACK ENTERPRISE in partnership with Walmart.  The LA event, like one held in Washington, DC in early 2010 and another in New York this past June, was designed to bring together the best minds to conjure up constructive options to put a dent in short-term unemployment and propel long-term career advancement for African Americans.

Of course, African Americans have suffered the hardest blows in this economy. The Black unemployment rate continues to hover around 16%, twice the rate of Whites. And we continue to witness a government solution to the jobs crisis paralyzed by political gridlock. As President Obama continues to push the American Jobs Act—first as an expansive $447 billion package and then as the first $35 billion “bite-sized” piece to employ teachers and first responders—has been blocked by Senate Republicans. Now, the President is planning to use executive action to move his program forward because “we can’t wait.”

Keynote Speaker Tavis Smiley says that as individuals seek the path to employment and entrepreneurship to “define their mission.” He, however, took the opportunity to challenge the President on his vigilance to solve the jobs crisis.

Alicia Villarreal, Regional Representative for Labor Secretary Hilda Solis who provided the market outlook, says the president has “drawn a line in the sand”regarding the jobs act. Also, she says the Labor Department has a number of initiatives to expand opportunities including “one-stop career”operations like the Compton Worksource Center which can screen applicants and “serve as employment agencies for companies.”

Others seek remedies to not only address Black unemployment but expand ranks of high-ranking officials. For example, BET founder Robert Johnson, who owns three BE 100s companies, recently proposed what he calls the “RLJ Rule,” calling for the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies to voluntarily consider a more diverse pool of qualified candidates when filling top-level job vacancies and contracting suppliers. His proposal is similar to the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” a 2003 directive mandating pro teams to consider minority candidates for senior positions.

Tavis Smiley adds his thoughts to the discussion

To fill the power pipeline, Arnold Donald, president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, the pre-eminent organization of top-ranking African American corporate managers,  announced last week a call to action for corporate America  to increase the ranks of African Americans CEOs or C-Suiters by 500 and collective number of Black board members by 200 within the next five years.

Our event offered urgency for employment and advancement of large number of African American managers as well as rank-and-file. When it comes to near-term job creation, long-term career reinvention or development of the next generation of talent, our forum participants revealed three critical drivers: the competitive impact of globalization, application and connectivity of information technology, and entrepreneurial development. These issues become more pressing in an environment with an increasingly high VUCA rating—“volatility, unpredictability, complexity and ambiguity”—a concept framed in That Used To Be Us, the recently-released book authored by columnist Thomas L. Friedman and international affairs expert Michael Mandelbaum.  Despite such uncertainty, Johann Schleier-Smith, co-founder of Tagged, a social discovery site with more than 100 million users worldwide, says “there’s a huge risk for not doing anything.”

Click here to continue reading on page 2…

Hajj Flemings breaks down the difference between a brand and commodity

One panelist Bishop Noel Jones, senior pastor of City of Refuge and the force behind the public-private partnership United Job Creation Council in Los Angeles, maintains the first step is “to be global in our thinking because technology has shrunk our world.”  So he stresses training an emerging and existing workforce with a focus on competition that is no longer national but global.  For quite some time, contenders have not been contained to California, New York or Illinois but can be found in China, India, Brazil and other parts of the world—across a range of industries.

In fact, Taylor’s assessment was more frank: “African Americans are the only group in this country with no connection to the global economy,” citing as one example the stronger ties the Chinese government and businesses have with Africa.

That’s why it’s important, Taylor says, to learn languages such as Spanish and Mandarin to expand your portfolio of opportunities. To make his case, he offered the example of a bilingual American broadcast journalist who was able to find employment in China as a news anchor.

Identifying hot spots like IT, mobile services, healthcare, green jobs, genetics and elderly services can prove to be a smart move. In most cases, you need the right skills demanding “years and years of preparation,” says Curtis Silvers, area director of the Southern California region of UNCF. Large numbers of mid-career workers can gain retraining to become employable in such fields. But Silvers, along with Jones and Taylor, believe the next generation will gain the best shot at being positioned to advance and innovate within such occupations—that is, if they gain sufficient education in K-12 and at the collegiate level.

Always use new technology to your advantage though.  Social media strategist Hajj Flemings demonstrated how to bolster your personal brand to remain relevant in his comprehensive tutorial on how to use social media and online tools.  He maintains that inviduals must develop a personal branding map, a visual representation of your relationships and “how you are wired positions you for greater impact in the space you desire to dominate. ” How do you achieve this goal? Create an idea, develop quality content, follow a detailed strategy and pursue it with passion. Says Flemings: “You should own your genius.”

Black Enterprise CEO Earl "Butch" Graves, Jr. (second from left) poses with a few of the day's panelists

Another key to job creation and advancement: entrepreneurship, of course. Panelist Magnus Greaves, founder and CEO of TheCASHFLOW and advisory board member of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, described his model to foster business development. Greaves’ incubator includes selection of winners of his business pitch competition who receive $10,000 in capital and mentorship to boot.  BLACK ENTERPRISE has partnered with Greaves’ organization in producing the Elevator Pitch Competition at our annual Entrepreneurs Conference.

Greaves says one size doesn’t fit all: different types of entrepreneurs need different skills. However, all must have passion, dexterity and guidance to create sustainable enterprises: “Entrepreneurs must develop skills and platforms to pass on to other entrepreneurs.”

To achieve that end, Schleier-Smith advises budding entrepreneurs to take an “honest assessment of their skills and to set yourself up with a great mentor.” He speaks from experience: Schleier-Smith’s was counseled by one of the co-founders of LinkedIn.

Timothy A. Reese, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the Minority Angel Network, has identified crucial steps: Attend business forums to discover how financiers make investment decisions and “learn the difference between equity and a paycheck.”

Don’t fret about setbacks. Our panelists admitted that they found the path to success through failure. Says Reese: “I was fired once and that was all it took for me to become my own change agent.”

The Root's study shows distinct differences when it comes to race and reasons for tipping (Image: Thinkstock)

Why We Tip: Survey Shows Racial Divide

When African Americans dine out, the service had better measure up if the server is expecting a good tip.

That’s among the findings of a recent poll by The Root on attitudes and habits regarding tipping.

Read more at The Root…

Hotel Housekeeper Tells Magazine of Her Encounter with Strauss-Khan

The Sofitel hotel housekeeper, who accused Dominique Strauss-Khan of sexual assault, is going on the record. She recently gave a long and tearful interview, with her full name and picture attached, that provides her detailed account of the May encounter — including that Mr. Strauss-Kahn told her “You’re beautiful” as he attacked her.

Read more at the New York Times…

Smiley and West Launch Bus Tour Critiquing Obama

(The Associated Press) Black activists Cornel West and Tavis Smiley are planning a 15-city “Poverty Tour” to bring attention to the needy and to what they say are the failings of President Barack Obama.

West, a Princeton University professor, and Smiley, host of a TV talk show, expect to begin the bus trip Aug. 5 at a Native American reservation in Wisconsin. With visits to soup kitchens, housing projects, farms, families and low-wage workers, they say they hope to create momentum for large-scale job creation programs and put poverty on the 2012 election agenda.

Read more at The Grio…

LinkedIn Launches Button That Lets You Apply for Jobs

LinkedIn just made it easier to apply for a job, thanks to the launch of its new “Apply With LinkedIn” button.

The business-oriented social network is billing the new feature as “the future of job applications.” The company’s goal is to make the job application process as simple as a click.

Read more at Mashable…

(Images: File)

Last week, A-list stars and fans alike descended upon Chicago to wish talk show and media icon Oprah Winfrey farewell during the taping of her final episodes of the Oprah Winfrey Show before going off the air for good. In addition to stars ranging from Madonna and Beyoncé to Halle Berry and Tom Cruise, tens of thousands of spectators, including BlackEnterprise.com’s own Karen Taylor Bass, took to the United Center to witness the end of an era. After taping her final show, which airs Wednesday May 25, Winfrey will continue building her media empire with cable TV’s OWN network and its roster of programming.

After 25 years on the air, the question remains: Who could possibly take the baton being passed by the $2.7 billion-dollar mogul and work toward becoming the new queen (or king) of media? Many have mentioned white media personalities, including Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, and Ellen Degeneres. But, BlackEnterprise.com came up with five African American candidates who could be worthy heirs to Oprah’s throne or just savvy enough to build successful media empires of their own. 

WENDY WILLIAMS

Unapologetic, bold and honest, Williams first made her mark on radio, attracting 12 million listeners in more than 10 markets to tune in to The Wendy Williams Experience for its celebrity gossip and social commentary. Now, the self-professed “Queen of All Media” and Radio Hall of Famer has expanded her multi-million-dollar brand into two New York Times bestsellers and Debmar-Mercury’s top-rated daytime talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. Initially launched as a six-week limited trial run, the show was renewed for its third season this year due to high ratings among women ages 18-34. After increasing her brand exposure as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, Williams also hosts GSN’s Love Triangle, which premiered this past April. Wendy clearly has a following and her best friend personality makes her a charming distraction for those going through Oprah withdrawal.

TYRA BANKS

Supermodel-turned-entrepreneur Banks has built a more than $90 million multi-media brand—from having a successful five seasons of Emmy award-winning The Tyra Banks Show; to executive producing the CW/UPN network’s America’s Next Top Model (in its 16th season); to co-producing ABC’s True Beauty; and several other projects under the umbrella of her Bankable Productions company. She recently upgraded her Web presence, adding to her brand with typeF.com, a fashion and beauty platform that offers interactive applications, content and advice from industry experts. More recently, Banks enrolled in Harvard Business School, taking an executive education course geared toward entrepreneurs—a definite boss move that will help propel her into the ranks of successful media maven.

TAVIS SMILEY

The talk show host, author, and activist’s resume boasts a range of media highlights, including host of BET’s top-rated Tonight with Tavis Smiley; host of NPR’s The Tavis Smiley Show, where he interviewed President Barack Obama, among other notable figures; and commentator on radio’s top-syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. Today, Smiley continues building his brand as host of a PBS late-night show that bears his name, and with his company Smiley Radio Properties, which recently teamed up with Public Radio International in a deal for weekly broadcast of Smiley and West, his radio program with Princeton professor, Cornell West.

MO’NIQUE

Veteran comedienne. Top-rated host. Academy and Golden Globe award-winning actress. Mo’Nique has star power in her favor, giving her the potential to continue climbing up the television and entertainment ranks. After starring in multi-seasons of UPN’s The Parkers, host of Showtime at the Apollo, and appearances on Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam, Mo’Nique has continued her ascent as host and executive producer of Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance, a beauty pageant for plus-sized women, and host of VH1′s successful reality TV franchise, Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School. In 2009, she became the first African American woman with her own late-night talk show, The Mo’Nique Show, created along with her husband, Sidney Hicks, via their production company, Hicks Media. The show had more than 1.5 million viewers watching its October 2009 premiere alone, and continues in its second successful season.

CATHY HUGHES

Hughes is a media powerhouse, having taken her company, Radio One Inc., co-founded with her then-husband, Dewey Hughes, in 1979, and building a multi-million-dollar media empire. The company owns 53 radio stations in 16 urban markets and Reach Media, Inc., (think radio’s uber-successful Tom Joyner Morning Show). Radio One went public in 1999, making it one of the few Black-owned companies listed on the NASDAQ. Keeping the success rolling, in 2004, the company launched TV One, creating the nation’s largest Black-owned cable TV network, with a roster that includes the top-rated Lisa Raye: The Real McCoy and Hughes’ own show, TV One-on-One, where guests have included President Barack Obama, Queen Latifah, and Aretha Franklin.

Making headlines (Courtesy of Thinkstock)

Internet Repaired in Egypt, While Unrest Continues

• Nearly a week after Egyptians reported a country-wide Internet outage, service has been restored, according to the Huffington Post. Social media powerhouses Twitter and Facebook, which have been linked to the rise in the nation’s Web-based activism, are now up and running. The Egyptian government, under President Hosni Mubarak’s rule, ordered the cancellation of Web service six days ago.
• Violence continues a day after Mubarak refused to yield to protesters’ requests to step down immediately, instead, agreeing to hand over power following the fall elections. Pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters clashed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square when the president’s supporters approached the anti-government demonstrators yelling chants, throwing stones and ambushing them on camel and horseback.

Smiley and West Lock Down Weekly Radio Show

• Broadcast veteran Tavis Smiley, Smiley Radio Properties and Public Radio International announced today that Smiley and West is now an official weekly public radio program. After taping a four-month pilot available in over 60 markets, including major markets such as New York and Los Angeles, Smiley, alongside Princeton professor Cornel West, built a strong enough following to secure a permanent hour-long slot on the airwaves.
• “Smiley and West underscores PRI’s commitment to offer new places to discover our diverse, interconnected world, and to stimulate important conversations in American society, and we are excited to distribute it to audiences nationwide,” President and CEO of PRI Alisa Miller said, in a press report.
• Thus far, the duo have featured comedian Garry Shandling, bluesman Buddy Guy, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, funkmaster George Clinton and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on their social conscious news format show.

CNN Hires a Black EVP/ Managing Editor

• Earlier this week, CNN named Michael Whitaker, former senior vice president and Washington Bureau chief at NBC, as executive vice president and managing editor. Whitaker will start this newly created position on Feb. 14.
• President of CNN Worldwide, Jim Walton, will work closely with Whitaker and is excited to have him come on board. “Mark is a distinguished journalist and news executive who is experienced in leading large enterprises, and I am pleased that he will help direct our long-term editorial approach and strategy,” said Walton.
• Previously, the Harvard graduate worked for the digital division of The Washington Post Company and Newsweek, during which time the publication received more established editorial awards than at any time in its history.

Verizon Customers Can Pre-order iPhone 4

• The hype surrounding Verizon’s iPhone debut just got a little crazier with Apple confirming the service provider will accept pre-orders for existing Verizon customers starting at 3 a.m. on Thursday.
• Pre-orders are available on a first come, first serve basis and accessible through the Apple Store and Verizon Wireless site.

For related content, read:

• In the News: Mubarak Won’t Run; Raven-Symone Back on TV; New York Daily News Names Black Managing Editor
• In the News: Turmoil in Egypt Continues; Martin Luther King III Addresses Mets Rumors; Vick’s New Deal
• In the News: Mandela Released From Prison Hospital; Will Smith & Jay-Z in Business; Egypt Can’t RT