TV One will only cover Obama, not McCain

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — TV One will cover the Democratic National Convention because — and only because — the party's nominee is African-American.

And yet, oddly enough, some of the people who will be involved in that coverage took umbrage at the suggestion that the cable/satellite network is, um, covering the Democratic National Convention only because the nominee is Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"Yes, Sen. Obama running for president is a huge deal at TV One as it is in the African-American community," said Johnathan Rodgers, the CEO of the network that, in his words, "targets African-American adults."

According to Rodgers, "African-Americans have fallen in love with his candidacy, his family, and what it means to our community." Thus, TV One will cover the convention "which is not normally part of what we would do at TV One."

In addition to coverage of the convention itself, the channel plans a nightly telecast tentatively titled "TV One Live: DNC Afterparty," which will be "a ceremonial, historical, irreverent, celebratory look at the process and a look at Sen. Obama and what it means to the African-American community."

"With Barack Obama being the nominee, there is the unique dynamic of history not only for African-Americans, but for all of America," anchorwoman Jacque Reid said. "So, it's a very special occasion, and so that's why TV One decided to cover this particular convention in this way because of the uniqueness of it and how, for the first time, I think, a lot of African-Americans will be tuned in to the Democratic National Convention."

To be clear, no one gathered here at the Television Critics Association press tour questioned TV One's interest in Obama and, thus, the Democratic convention. But no one on the panel seemed to want to answer a perfectly legitimate question about whether TV One's coverage wouldn't create the sort of racial divide that Obama has sought to avoid — that a "black" TV channel covering the convention only because of the candidate's race flies in the face of the candidate's effort to be "post-racial."

To be blunt — which the questioners were not — isn't it possible that this unprecedented coverage by TV One could provide ammunition for those who want to make Obama's candidacy into a question of race instead of a question of politics and policy?

And if not, just tell us why not.

"I think we don't want to be post-racial. We want to be post-racist," said Michael Eric Dyson, the author/writer/commentator/minister who will co-host the "DNC Afterparty." "We want to get beyond racism, not race identity."