Veteran journalist and commentator sees his four-year-old platform emerge as a key voice in independent Black-owned media
By Cynthia Littleton
(Source: Variety)
One of the biggest cultural trend stories coming out of last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago was the party’s warm embrace of social media creators and influencers. No social media maven on the ground at the United Center got more of a boost out of the DNC marathon than 12-year-old Knowa De Baraso of Atlanta.
The precocious pundit, who is home schooled and lives with his mother, went viral on Day 3 of the DNC after his encounter at the United Center with Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and vocal booster of former President Donald Trump. In an exchange that was conveniently shot on cell phone video from multiple angles, De Baraso made quick work of the hyperbolic Lindell as the latter spouted off supposed facts about election fraud in De Baraso’s home state of Georgia.
De Baraso’s memorable retort to Lindell was quickly converted to a tagline for his merch (T-shirts, tote bag, etc.): “So your source is ‘Trust me, bro?’” Video of the incident made it onto NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” and it landed De Baraso a guest shot on popular “The Breakfast Club” radio show and podcast during the DNC.
He no doubt also impressed viewers in the U.K. with his command of a three-minute live interview on Aug. 22 with Sky News anchor Mark Austin. Looking like a prep school student in a white polo shirt and khaki shorts, De Baraso showed that he’s fast on his feet and has a keen understanding of national politics, as well as the challenge of reaching and motivating younger voters.
“We get a two-for-one in this election,” De Baraso explained to Austin. “We get to defeat Donald Trump and we get a good policy maker in the White House. That’s why I’m all in.”
De Baraso ventured into the area of the United Center set aside as Media Row at the DNC in search of networking opportunities with other heroes, including veteran journalist and commentator Roland S. Martin. Martin had a large installation in the area for the production of his “Roland Martin Unfiltered” daily streaming series and other shows carried by his Black Star Network.
De Baraso’s meeting with Martin ended with Martin offering the preteen his own show on Black Star Network. De Baraso’s answer was a quick yes. Details about the format and frequency are still being worked out.
“It’s not just his knowledge of the issues. It’s his energy,” Martin told Variety. In De Baraso, he sees a kindred spirit. Martin set his sights on a career in media and journalism as a 13-year-old when he first stepped into a communications-focused magnet program at Houston’s Jack Yates High School in the 1980s.
“It’s all about the desire and the urgency of the individual,” Martin said. “This kid’s got it. You have to nurture that and develop that. Those of us in African American media have to leverage our platform to create opportunities for the next generation.”
De Baraso, whose social media handle is @KnowaWasTaken, is unabashedly pro-Democrat and pro-Kamala Harris. He credits his political awakening to a meeting in 2022 with then-Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. He saw an advertisement for an Abrams rally and pressed his mother to bring him. He made an instant connection with Abrams. “We had a nice conversation about policy,” De Baraso recalled. He wound up appearing in an Abrams political advertisement.
After that experience, De Baraso was hooked on electoral politics and key policy debates. He devotes most of his time as a content creator to promoting Democratic candidates in state and local races across the country as well as progressive causes. His primary social media platforms are X, TikTok and Instagram.
Most 12-year-olds do not spend their free time posting on social media about housing policy, child tax credits or HBCU funding. So, what motivates young Knowa?
“Democracy’s at stake – that’s why I do it,” De Baraso told Variety. He’s pretty sure he’s on a path to run for office one day. During his “Breakfast Club” appearance, host Charlamagne Tha God called him “the future governor of Georgia.”
For now, however, De Baraso said he’s focused on “the outcome of this election.”
De Baraso has proven himself to be a born networker. Over the past two years, he’s been to the White House twice; he met Harris for the first time in July. His social media work caught the eye of Jaime Harrison, attorney and chair of the 2024 DNC who invited De Baraso to Chicago as his personal guest. His social feed during the DNC was full of pictures of him with boldface-name Democrats (Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, Raphael Wornack, Rev. Al Sharpton, Pete Buttigieg, Terry McAuliffe, Barbara Lee) and a wide range of other candidates.
“Nancy Pelosi told me, ‘You’re taller than you look on social media,’ “ De Baraso said with a laugh.
For Martin, the ability to offer De Baraso a show on the spot is a measure of how far he has come as an independent proprietor in the six years since he planted his flag online.
The former news anchor for TV One and contributor to CNN went solo with his daily “Roland Martin Unfiltered” news and commentary program in September 2018. Two years later, Martin expanded his horizons with the launch of the Black Star Network, which features a rotating lineup of additional programs from other hosts. Today the platform still largely leans toward news and politics but also incorporates lifestyle, self-help and sports-related shows.
Martin is proud of how Black Star has managed its growth over four tumultuous years for media and digital advertising. His overarching philosophy has been to focus on building audience show by show and to be disciplined about managing startup costs. “Roland Martin Unfiltered” has been a profitable venture since March 2020, per Martin.
His guiding principle: “Don’t get over your skis. We don’t spend money on lavish things,” Martin says. “We’ve been able to thrive by managing expenses.”
Based in Washington, D.C. Martin launched Black Star with $350,000 of his own money and the backing of a single sponsor, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Black Star is distributed free via YouTube and a patchwork quilt of online and social platforms. He offers his signature #BringTheFunk fan club subscription option for his most devoted viewers. It’s generated more than $2.5 million from about 30,000 donors since 2018, per Martin.
Black Star also generates revenue by creating custom and branded content for blue-chip clients that have included Netflix, Apple, the Coca-Cola Co., Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Novo Nordisk. All told, Black Star generated about $3 million in annual revenue from 2021 through 2023; this year he’s expecting it to be closer to $4 million.
Advertising and sponsorship deals are the foundation. But dealing with top advertising agencies has also been the biggest hurdle to growth. Martin and his team have had far more success through direct negotiations with corporations and large advertisers. It’s a huge source of frustration for Martin and has been the subject of litigation for Madison Avenue giants in recent years.
“The biggest issue I’m still dealing with is that advertising agencies simply do not respect Black-owned media,” Martin said. “It’s been a constant battle the last three years.”
Although YouTube is a pillar of his distribution, Martin does not sell much inventory through programmatic options either because of the attendant costs associated with such transactions. “With programmatic, you’ve got to spend $350,000 to drive the impressions to make $500,000,” Martin said. “It doesn’t work.”
It’s not lost on Martin that Black Star Network is growing at a time when other digital media ventures with far more financial backing have gone out of business — notably the short-form video site the Recount and breaking news venture the Messenger.
Martin spent 13 years with TV One as a news anchor and producer of news programs and specials. He was also a contributor to CNN from 2007 to 2013. Days after his “NewsOneNow” program aired its final episode on TV One in August 2018, Martin went out on his own, tapping free YouTube distribution for “Roland Martin Unfiltered.”
The show is a mix of Martin’s raw commentary on daily headlines – of late he has routinely referred to Trump as an “asshole” and an “idiot,” among other colorful terms – and virtual panels of Black journalists, commentators, artist, advocates, academics and other thinkers. The perspectives shared are predominantly progressive. For hard-core political and policy conversations conservative Black voices are brought in for perspective.
Martin credits his endurance with Black Star to his early training in all aspects of the media business, going back to his high school days in Houston. He made a point of learning all about the operations of every media company he’s ever worked for. He was closely involved behind the scenes in the early days of TV One in the mid-2000s, which was a great education.
Martin prioritizes taking his anchor “Unfiltered” show on the road to conferences, conventions and other public events that bring leaders in culture, politics, academia, sports and journalism. It cost him more than $55,000 to bring “Roland Martin Unfiltered” to the DNC, per Martin, but it was well worth the expense.
During the Aug. 19-22 span of the DNC, Martin’s show carried the live feed featuring the comments of every Black person that addressed the gathering. “I dare say that today alone I have had more African Americans on our broadcast than you’re going to see on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News combined for the week,” Martin told Variety on Night 1 of the DNC.
At 55, Martin is forging the kind of entrepreneurial path as an independent Black voice in news and media that was not possible before the advent of digital media and streaming platforms. And he’s doing so at a time when issues of race, identity, equity and inclusion have become a minefield amid the rise of Trump and the resurgent racism embedded in the hard-core MAGA movement. On the day of Trump’s disastrous appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists, “Roland Martin Unfiltered” delivered a two and a half-hour program with a range of commentators that unpacked Trump’s untruths and dissected in detail how the journalism organization might have better handled the situation.
After decades of consolidation of ownership of major media assets, from Hollywood studios to TV stations to daily newspapers, Martin’s Black Star Network now ranks as one of the largest news media operations in the U.S. that is wholly Black owned. The company has grown to about 15 full-time staffers, up from four in the early days.
Martin has been on a mission to use the power of communication tools to educate and inform Black communities since he was in the eighth grade. His primary venue is live TV, commentary, books and columns, reflecting his formative years as a writer for the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. De Baraso, on the other hand, is a child of the 21st century who speaks with a digital native tongue. That’s a big reason why Martin wants to connect in a deeper, mentoring way with De Baraso.
“I would love to provide him with my knowledge and experience so that he doesn’t have to build from scratch all the stuff that you have to go through to build a show,” Martin said. “Why should he have to reinvent the wheel? If he puts in the time and the work by the time he is 20 he will be in a position to be a next-generation media star.”