Like It Is (public affairs program)
Encyclopedia
Like It Is is a public affairs television program
focusing on issues relevant to the African-American community, produced and aired on WABC-TV
in New York City
between 1968 and 2011. It is one of the longest-running, locally-produced programs of its kind in television history. In spite of being aired only in the New York area, Like It Is achieved wide acclaim nationally based on the renown of its topics and interview subjects.
Like It Is was originally co-hosted by actor Robert Hooks
and WABC-TV news
reporter Gil Noble
. Noble eventually became sole host, and produced the series after 1975.
movements, the program was created by WABC-TV to fill a void in black-oriented programming. In its earlier days Like It Is focused primarily on black celebrities; later it would focus entirely on politically-related matters after Noble became sole host and producer. As host and interviewer Noble exercised a low-key style, often subtly playing devil's advocate
in an effort to get the most out of his guests. For a time Like It Is was also co-hosted by Melba Tolliver
. The program has won seven New York-area Emmy Awards.
Along with discussions on current events, Like It Is has featured full-length interviews with many prominent African
, African-American and Afro-Caribbean
political and cultural figures of the 20th Century during the course of its run. This list includes, but is not limited to:
Other episodes have featured Noble presenting archival material on figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
, W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X
, Paul Robeson
, Fannie Lou Hamer
, Jack Johnson
, Joe Louis
, and many others. Special episodes were also devoted to single topics, such as the Civil Rights movement, the Harlem Renaissance
, and the effects of drug use, particularly that of heroin, in the Black community.
and the Latino-focused Tiempo. This block is notable as most television stations no longer devote such a large amount of airtime to such programming, and if so relegate these programs to early-morning weekend time slots. WABC-TV schedules these three programs between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. on Sundays.
Like It Is was occasionally preempted for network sports coverage
, but preemptions became more common when ABC
acquired NBA
coverage (though corporate cousin ESPN
) for Sunday afternoons in 2002
. As a result, during basketball season Like It Is was reduced from a full hour to 30 minutes some weeks (to accommodate a pregame show), and did not air altogether on others. Largely due to the preemptions caused by basketball, rumors abounded that WABC-TV was being pressured by corporate parent Disney
to cancel the program. If that were the case, such plans were scrapped due to a large outcry from viewers and community leaders.
Like It Is was put on production hiatus in August 2011, after Gil Noble suffered a severe stroke. In October 2011 Noble announced that he would not return to the program, ending Like It Is 43-year run. The series concluded on October 16, 2011, with a tribute program hosted by Lori Stokes
. The episode featured appearances from past guests including Bill Cosby, Danny Glover
, and others who shared their memories and thoughts on the significant role Like It Is, and by extension Gil Noble, played in the advancement and preservation of the African-American experience. This program was repeated the following week.
WABC-TV is scheduled to debut a new African-American public affairs show, titled Here and Now, in the Like It Is time slot on October 30, 2011.
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
focusing on issues relevant to the African-American community, produced and aired on WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
between 1968 and 2011. It is one of the longest-running, locally-produced programs of its kind in television history. In spite of being aired only in the New York area, Like It Is achieved wide acclaim nationally based on the renown of its topics and interview subjects.
Like It Is was originally co-hosted by actor Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks is an American actor of films, television and stage. With a career as a producer and political activist to his credit, he is most recognizable to the public for his over 100 roles in films and television, as well as his political and civil rights activities...
and WABC-TV news
Eyewitness News
Eyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
reporter Gil Noble
Gil Noble
Gil Noble is an American television reporter and interviewer. He was the producer and host of New York City television station WABC-TV's weekly, Like It Is, originally co-hosted with Melba Tolliver...
. Noble eventually became sole host, and produced the series after 1975.
History
Within the backdrop of the Civil Rights and Black PowerBlack Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
movements, the program was created by WABC-TV to fill a void in black-oriented programming. In its earlier days Like It Is focused primarily on black celebrities; later it would focus entirely on politically-related matters after Noble became sole host and producer. As host and interviewer Noble exercised a low-key style, often subtly playing devil's advocate
Devil's advocate
In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who, given a certain argument, takes a position he or she does not necessarily agree with, just for the sake of argument. In taking such position, the individual taking on the devil's advocate role seeks to engage others in an argumentative...
in an effort to get the most out of his guests. For a time Like It Is was also co-hosted by Melba Tolliver
Melba Tolliver
Melba Tolliver is an American journalist and former New York City news anchor and reporter. She is best remembered for her defiant stance against ABC owned WABC-TV when she refused to don a wig or scarf to cover up her Afro in order to cover the White House wedding of President Richard Nixon's...
. The program has won seven New York-area Emmy Awards.
Along with discussions on current events, Like It Is has featured full-length interviews with many prominent African
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
, African-American and Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean
The term Afro-Caribbean applies to Caribbean people of African descent. It may also refer to:*British African-Caribbean community*Afro-Caribbean music*Caribbean Australian*Caribbean Brazilian*West Indian American...
political and cultural figures of the 20th Century during the course of its run. This list includes, but is not limited to:
- Ralph AbernathyRalph AbernathyRalph David Abernathy, Sr. was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following King's assassination, Dr. Abernathy took up the leadership of the SCLC Poor People's Campaign and...
- Muhammad AliMuhammad AliMuhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
- Arthur AsheArthur AsheArthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...
- Amiri BarakaAmiri BarakaAmiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism...
- Yosef Ben-JochannanYosef Ben-JochannanYosef A.A. Ben-Jochannan was born in Gonder, Ethiopia), also known as Dr. Ben, is an Afrocentric historian. He is notable for his writings and teachings about Black Jews and ancient Africans, and how Europeans, notably white Jews, appropriated their culture and legacy...
- Maurice BishopMaurice BishopMaurice Rupert Bishop was a Grenadian politician and revolutionary who seized power in a coup in 1979 from Eric Gairy and served as Prime Minister of the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada until 1983, when he was overthrown in another coup by Bernard Coard, a member of his own...
- H. Rap BrownH. Rap BrownJamil Abdullah Al-Amin , also known as H. Rap Brown, was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s, and during a short lived alliance between SNCC , later the Justice Minister of the Black Panther Party...
- Jim BrownJim BrownJames Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
- Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)Stokely CarmichaelKwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
- John Henrik ClarkeJohn Henrik ClarkeJohn Henrik Clarke , born John Henry Clark, was a Pan-Africanist American writer, historian, professor, and a pioneer in the creation of Africana studies and professional institutions in academia starting in the late 1960s.He was Professor of African World History and in 1969 founding chairman of...
- Bill CosbyBill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
- Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
- Louis FarrakhanLouis FarrakhanLouis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
- Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
- Billy EckstineBilly EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
- Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
- Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- Leonard JeffriesLeonard JeffriesLeonard Jeffries Jr. is an American professor of black studies at the City College of New York, part of the City University of New York. He achieved national prominence in the early 1990s for his controversial statements about Jews and other white people...
- Michael ManleyMichael ManleyMichael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
- Robert MugabeRobert MugabeRobert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
- Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
- Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was an American politician and pastor who represented Harlem, New York City, in the United States House of Representatives . He was the first person of African-American descent elected to Congress from New York and became a powerful national politician...
- Max RoachMax RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
- David RuffinDavid RuffinDavis Eli "David" Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968...
- Al SharptonAl SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
- Fred ShuttlesworthFred ShuttlesworthReverend Fred Shuttlesworth, born Freddie Lee Robinson, was a U.S. civil rights activist who led the fight against segregation and other forms of racism as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama...
- Chuck StoneChuck StoneCharles Sumner "Chuck" Stone, Jr. is a former Tuskegee Airman, an American newspaper editor, columnist, professor of journalism, and author. After completing his service in World War II, Stone already had been admitted to Harvard University but chose to matriculate at Wesleyan University...
- Billy TaylorBilly TaylorBilly Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...
- Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanSarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
- Andrew YoungAndrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
Other episodes have featured Noble presenting archival material on figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer was an American voting rights activist and civil rights leader....
, Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson may refer to :*Jack Johnson , one of Wyatt Earp's possemen during his "vendetta ride"*Jack Johnson , first African-American heavyweight boxing world champion...
, Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, and many others. Special episodes were also devoted to single topics, such as the Civil Rights movement, the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
, and the effects of drug use, particularly that of heroin, in the Black community.
Scheduling
Like It Is aired on Saturday, and later Sunday afternoons. More recently, it was part of a dedicated two-hour block of public affairs programming on WABC-TV, paired with Up Close with Diana WilliamsDiana Williams
Diana Williams is a news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City, where she currently co-anchors the 5 p.m. Eyewitness News broadcast with Sade Baderinwa and hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program Eyewitness News Up Close with Diana Williams, which airs on Sunday mornings at 11am...
and the Latino-focused Tiempo. This block is notable as most television stations no longer devote such a large amount of airtime to such programming, and if so relegate these programs to early-morning weekend time slots. WABC-TV schedules these three programs between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. on Sundays.
Like It Is was occasionally preempted for network sports coverage
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
, but preemptions became more common when ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
acquired NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
coverage (though corporate cousin ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
) for Sunday afternoons in 2002
2002-03 NBA season
The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4-2 in the 2003 NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
. As a result, during basketball season Like It Is was reduced from a full hour to 30 minutes some weeks (to accommodate a pregame show), and did not air altogether on others. Largely due to the preemptions caused by basketball, rumors abounded that WABC-TV was being pressured by corporate parent Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
to cancel the program. If that were the case, such plans were scrapped due to a large outcry from viewers and community leaders.
Like It Is was put on production hiatus in August 2011, after Gil Noble suffered a severe stroke. In October 2011 Noble announced that he would not return to the program, ending Like It Is 43-year run. The series concluded on October 16, 2011, with a tribute program hosted by Lori Stokes
Lori Stokes
Lori Stokes is co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning and Eyewitness News at Noon alongside Ken Rosato on WABC-TV in New York City...
. The episode featured appearances from past guests including Bill Cosby, Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, and others who shared their memories and thoughts on the significant role Like It Is, and by extension Gil Noble, played in the advancement and preservation of the African-American experience. This program was repeated the following week.
WABC-TV is scheduled to debut a new African-American public affairs show, titled Here and Now, in the Like It Is time slot on October 30, 2011.