Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Dec. 26, 2002, edition 1 / Page 12
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Johnson from page til ? minority owner in the NBA. K Johnson. 56. is the great jL grandson of a freed slave and w was the only one of 10 siblings J- to graduate from college. A ? ? Mississippi native, he grew up J! in Freeport, III., went to col M". lege at the University of Illi | nois and earned a master's ' degree at Princeton's Woodrow ? Wilson School of Public and v International Affairs. V Johnson, who now lives in j Washington. D.C., worked for 'i four years as a lobbyist for the I National Cable & Telecommu ' nications Association, a trade -t association representing cable '' companies, then started BET with $15,000 of his own | money and $500,000 from cable mogul John Malone. The network proved a financial hit. But it also drew , criticism from within the black ^ community that it catered to , lowbrow tastes and failed to project positive images for ! black Americans with heavy J programming of music videos ' and ghetto humor. "I thinly . Bob understands 1 B!u. the criticism," Lee said. "He's always been very committed to news and public affairs, but he's been very committed that it's a business first. He's always had the approach that we do the best programming we can within the budget that we have, and we continue to push advertising revenue." During the years BET was publicly traded. Wall Street seemed frustrated by Johnson's efforts to extend the BET brand into areas that ranged far from the core network. There were spinoff channels, movie production deals, plans for casinos and nightclubs and financial services companies. "After we went public with BET and we had money and opportunities to do other things, his first question was what other areas can we get into," Lee said. "Once you have a brand. you can put that on restaurants, on merchan dise. At one point we had 13 different subsidiaries." In fact, Johnson's initial interest in owning an NBA team - he tried to buy the then Washington Bullets in 1994 - was in part to provide pro gramming for BET. IMUMUm D..-L That kind of focus on syn ergy and brand expansion may be a primary reason why John son won the team over the group headed by Larry Bird and Boston businessman Steve Belkin. For. a media-savvy entity like the NBA, which has pushed the blurring of the lines between sports and entertain ment, Johnson is a perfect fit. At a news conference, Johnson described the NBA as "a dominant, influential kind of brand" and said, "For me to be associated with that is an extension of what I do well." Dean Bonham, a Denver based sports marketing con sultan^ said Johnson and the NBA are a great fit for each other. "This is somebody who has done his homework, who understands the connection of entertainment and sports, who understands the importance of a brand," Bonham said. In addition to son Brett, Johnson has an 18-year-old daughter, Paige, who is an accomplished equestrian. Johnson and his wife, Sheila, were recently divorced. I-III9 from page Bl er," Pitts said. "I had to be myself. I'm not a vocal type of leader. It wouldn't be me to be | serious all the time. But when B game time comes, I'm always J' ready." Most times during the season the attention was focused on the '! massive Carver offensive line, which featured four 300 pounders, Isaiah Thomas (6-4, 320). Matt Brim (6-6,310), Cody Mathews (6-0, 320) and Chris Williams (6-2, 310). And if the 1 spotlight wasn't on that unit, it was on the outstanding stable of running backs (Monte Anthony, Jayvon Biddle, Eric Eaton, j Charles Russell, Jason lowers) :i that helped the Yellowjackets rack up more than 300 rushing yards. However, Pitts came through a with several key games, passing the football that pushed the Yel land. Greensboro Smith and Greensboro Dudley during the regular season. He picked up his ettort in the' play o f f s , throwing the game winning touch down in the final two min utes of play to boost the Yel low I -J Wilkes jackets to a third-round win over LawndaJe Burns. "It seemed like his perform ance got better as the season went along," Wilkes said. "When we really needed a big play, he was always there throughout the season." Pitts finished the season with more than 1,400 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. He also ran for seven touchdowns even though he shared the starting job with D'Angelo Gray for much of the regular season. "Those two guys were pretty even during the regular season," Wilkes said. "But Pitts stepped it up dur ing the conference games, and that put him in position to get most of the snaps during the playoffs." Even though his statistics didn't match those of Weaks dur ing his senior season, Pitts was the steadying influence the team needed to earn its second state title in five seasons. "It wasn't an individual thing for me." Pitts said. "I just wanted to do all 1 could to help the team win. I accomplished a major goal that I set for myself and the team, and that's the important thing." I File Pho<o Robert Johnson poses at the 20th anniversary ceremony for BET with Stevie Wonder and net work executive Debra Lee. O t ^tth Annual ' Sunday, January Charlotte, Car Charlotte Colittu M (Tip Off at 4:31 pi kSKJETBALL iy / Johnson C. Smith University Vs. Winston Salem State University North Carolina Central University V* i' North Carolina A&T State Unlvers^flE Bt Marianne Addington Wanda Alexander ? Archie Allen ? Lois Allen ? Cheri Andrews Esther Arrowood ? Sherrin Badger ? Ken Banner 'Jonathan Barnes ? Marshall Bass ? Neal Bedinger ? Becky Belcher ? Alice Blankenship ? Esther Brinldey ? Tim Brooker ? Dean Browder ? Donna Brown Ed Brown ? Michael Brown ? Angie Bullins Fay Byrd ? Carmen Cannon ? Leanne Cecile ? Jane Chambers ? Donna Chamblin ? Bonnie Chapman Linda Choate ? Donna Clinard ? Max Coley ? Larry Combs John Cooper ? Linda Crews ? Elizabeth Curtis ? Jeff Davis E.L. Davis Jr. ? Walker Douglas ? Wilson Douglas ? William H. Dunn ? Linda Enscore ? Jennifer Evans ? Tammy Ferguson ? Jerri Gammons ? Ellen Garvin ? Rebecca Gibson ? Gary Gilbert ? Margaret Greenwood ? Jodie Griffin ? Cathy Guthrie ? Linda Hall ? Brenda Harper Jamesia Harrigan ? Mike Hauser ? Erica Helms ? Annette Hill ? S.O. Hinkle Jr. Anne Holland ? Gwynn Hooks ? Bruce Humphries ? Marilyn Hunter ? Terri Ingleston ? Steve Keiger ? Dwain Kimel ? Mary Knesel ? John Lakeman ? Gale Lauwers Debbie Lentz ? Cynthia Lupo ? Rebecca Mabe ? Susan Mabe ? Bob Martin ? Jolene McKenzie ? Ann Mecum ? Vickie D. Mikeal ? Elaine Miller ? Sandy Miller ? Brandy Mitchell Michele Mitchell ? Nick Mitchell ? Kaye Mustin ? Larry Nance ? Stephanie Nelson * Susan Norris Grant Overby ? Lisa Owen ? Ellen Parsley ? Teresa Parsons ? Sherry Phillips ? Sherry Price ? Diana Proffit ? Debbie Redding ? Adriola Reed ? Debora Ruggiero ? Don Rumley ? Valerie Ryan ? Robert Sanders ? Jeff Scott ? Mary Seal ? Kimberly Shafit ? John Shermer ? Brad Shinaman ? Renee Shipley ? Brenda Sink ? Jeanene Sink ? David Smelcer ? Cindy Smith ? Irene Smith ? Terresa Solomon ? Larry Stephenson ? Elaine Stevenson ? Doug Stewart ? Karen Stoltz ? Lora Stout ? Walter Stroud ? Dianne Thrift Michael Thrift ? Wendy Vannoy ? Wendy Vines ? Joan Voss ? Ric Wagner ? Linda Wall ? Rhonda Wall ? Cynthia Warren Keith Weber Tammy Webster Pat Whiteheart Clarence Wolfe ; ' ? From each and every one of us, we wish you House. We invite you to show your support the warmth of home and family this holiday by purchasing a six luminary kit for $5.00. season. This year, please join us as we help For sales locations or more information, please hrino hrJirlov ,r. ?,k? ?II -r-nnno frs w?_n L D __7 ,.r V need it most - the critically ill children and their families touched by Ronald McDonald l_au / 1.J-KJJ.Z.O, CXl.UU. WC II DC lighting luminaries in hopes that next year, all these families will be healthy and home for the holidays. mpim zCatlozn omthe i.Phnnol Matt Brim 1 I {rSI PiedmoHi FEDERAL Winston-Salem ? KernersviUe ? Clemmons ? North Wilkesboro ? Boone 336.770.1000 ? www.piedmontfederal.cofn Member FDIC teammates.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Dec. 26, 2002, edition 1
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