Protestors marched outside the WABC-TV studios where “Like It Is” was produced and held the second press conference to denounce the “unacceptable and irrelevant” content of “Here and Now,” the replacement for Gil Noble’s legendary “Like It Is.”
The Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People gave a platform to several concerned community members who raised their concerns and spoke out, saying, “Preserve the legacy of Gil Noble’s ‘Like It Is’; we say no to ‘Here and Now.’”
“During the Kwanzaa season, continue to demand that Imhotep Gary Byrd be the host of [the new ‘Like It Is’],” said Omowale Clay.
Dave Davis, executive vice president of ABC News, came out of the television studios onto Columbus Avenue and spoke to some of the reporters in attendance while the crowd shouted that he and Disney were deceiving the community and were not negotiating in good faith.
Davis acknowledged speaking with Byrd, but said, “The offer to have him contribute to the programming was being considered and would be decided internally.”
City Councilman Charles Barron voiced the community’s feelings that the programming of “Here and Now” is insensitive to the community’s need for news that reflects its hopes and struggles, triumphs and travails. Barron spoke of the sentiment that WABC’s historical refusal to cover the many causes and consequences of disparity, discrimination and the remedies implemented by the community in its mainstream programming is a punitive response to the struggle for equality.