false 3192838 1 <P>Launched in 1980, cable network Black Entertainment Television (BET) has helped make blackness visible and profitable at levels never seen prior in the TV industry. In 2000, BET was sold by founder Robert L. Johnson, a former cable lobbyist, to media giant Viacom for 2.33 billion dollars.</P><P>This book explores the legacy of BET: what the network has provided to the larger US television economy, and, more specifically, to its target African-American demographic. The book examines whether the company has fulfilled its stated goals and implied obligation to African-American communities. Has it changed the way African-Americans see themselves and the way others see them? Does the financial success of the network - secured in large part via the proliferation of images deemed offensive and problematic by many black communities - come at the expense of its African-American audience?</P><P>This book fills a major gap in black television scholarship and should find a sizeable audience in both media studies and African-American studies.</P> 3225888 4 10 2007 Pimpin' Ain't Easy: Selling Black Entertainment Television total:2|4:1|2:1| 2 6 5 0 3192838 0415976790 9780415976794 2 0 3.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192838.Pimpin_Ain_t_Easy_Selling_Black_Entertainment_Television 0 0 false Sat Feb 07 12:03:38 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 12:03:38 -0800 2009 3192838 0415976790 9780415976794 2 0 3.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192838.Pimpin_Ain_t_Easy_Selling_Black_Entertainment_Television 0 0 false Tue Feb 03 07:34:31 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 07:34:31 -0800 2009 3192838 0415976790 9780415976794 2 0 3.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192838.Pimpin_Ain_t_Easy_Selling_Black_Entertainment_Television 2 0 false Tue Feb 03 07:30:56 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 08:56:34 -0800 2009 3192838 0415976790 9780415976794 2 0 3.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192838.Pimpin_Ain_t_Easy_Selling_Black_Entertainment_Television 0 0 false Tue Nov 11 20:16:17 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 20:16:17 -0800 2008 3192838 0415976790 9780415976794 2 0 3.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3192838.Pimpin_Ain_t_Easy_Selling_Black_Entertainment_Television 4 0 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Apr 12 15:35:28 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 12 15:35:28 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3192838