Last week, The Black News Channel announced that it was ceasing operations after two years. Now the cable news channel has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Florida.
The Tallahassee-based network detailed $10 million-$50 million in liabilities and assessed between 200 and 999 creditors are owed money.
“They filed for bankruptcy faster than they paid their employees the money they’re owed,” one former employee told TheWrap. “I received a partial payment this morning for two weeks of work. They still owe me for another week.”
That former employee was one of roughly 230 who was let go last week; the network plans to air repeats for the rest of this month.
Employees were informed by phone that the network was ceasing operations; President and CEO Princell Hair sent out a note to staffers saying he was “saddened and disappointed.”
“During the past few months, we have endured very painful workforce reductions at all levels of the network as we worked to achieve our financial goal of a break-even business. This has forced all of you to do more with less, and your contributions have been remarkable,” Hair said in the memo obtained by TheWrap.
“Unfortunately, due to challenging market conditions and global financial pressures, we have been unable to meet our financial goals, and the timeline afforded to us has run out.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
