Roland Martin has been with TVOne since 2005 and began hosting “NewsOne Now” in 2013. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
After a report said TV One is canceling “NewsOne Now,” Roland Martin has released a statement confirming it is true. Page Six reported Wednesday, Dec. 6 that the network will no longer air the program due to budget cuts.
“They called a meeting on Wednesday and told the staff they were canceling the show. They’re having significant financial problems and they have to scale back,” a source told the website. “There were lots of tears … The staff was completely caught off guard.”
In a staff memo, TV One’s interim GM, Michelle Rice, described the decision to end the daily morning news show as “difficult. She vowed to “continue our long-standing partnership with Roland Martin to ensure his important voice can be heard across all Urban One platforms examining issues of importance to the Black community.”
Martin, who was the host and managing editor of “NewsOne Now,” remained mum about the news for hours. Then on Wednesday night, he posted a Facebook status saying the report was true and thanked staff members.
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The last show will air Thursday, Dec. 21.
The news stunned fans just as much as it stunned the staff, as the network had expanded the four-year-old program to two hours in September.
Similar disappointment poured out on Twitter, too.
https://twitter.com/kymmy0609/status/938765974865698817
https://twitter.com/dj0nes/status/938608288899436545
https://twitter.com/DonDaven/status/938600763898679296
