Ed Gordon, one of the most tactful and intense voices for black journalism, has made his way to Bounce TV, with an entertainment news segment called Ed Gordon.
The award-winning journalist interviews the comical group of actors from Girls Trip, which comprises Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish, who discuss their careers and reflect on the offerings or “muscle” as black women in Hollywood today. Jada, who recently voiced her opinions publicly about the inequity in Hollywood, with not just a cast, but a cast of black actors.
We haven’t seen Queen Latifah or Jada in a flick since the high-vultage film, Set It Off, when the girls were still somewhat hatchlings in theater. Gordon offered us feedback on what that energy was like during his interview without giving away so much since the show is airing in next to no time.
“As you’ll see that night, I’ve known three of the four of them for years. I’ve known Regina, Jada, and Queen for many years. I was just meeting Tiffany, and you will see in the segment, Tiffany’s little joke that she swears she’s seen me before; but you can see the comradery that they all have. Jada and Queen kinda take the lead in talking about the kinda dynamic muscle and nature of Black Women in Hollywood today.
If you think about Shonda Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, Issa Rae, and Sally Richardson, many of the Black Female Directors that are out there doing their thing, and what Oprah has been able to do-- Jada Pinkett talks about how Will Smith showed her, and opened the door for her, and now, she’s trying to do it for others. It was fun. There was one little play on words that Queen does when talking about something Jada does, and she said, ‘Yeah when Jada “set it off,” and they all started laughing. The hardest thing was to get them, not to all talk at one time during the interview cause we all sat down, out in L.A., and I sat down with all four of them… It really is a great interview. It’s fun at times, its poignant at times, and so… I think you’ll enjoy it.”
Gordon outlines the second chapter of Michael Strahan’s career as an NFL champ and television broadcaster. Michael shredded layers of life during the television show with Gordon, where he talked about his departure from the daytime talk show, “Live With Kelly and Michael,” which definitely landed Michael in an unsavory spotlight, because media swung it to meet their needs of hot-topic story-lines.
Omari Hardwick, Power’s heartthrob spoke with Gordon about the hit series, and the relationship with his wife. Omari shares how he juggles fame in the unacceptable and often times judgmental world of social Media.
Recently Omari had a bout on Instagram surrounding his wife and racism. Suffice to say, the segment with Gordon should be an intriguing dialogue at best.
“Just to give you an overview of the special; what we’ve done in the past and what we have upcoming, so July 17, it will be our third episode of the quarterly news magazine, Ed Gordon.
We decided that since it was summer, to go lighter than usual, and it is all celebrity-driven this go-around.
We do a sit-down with Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hugley, who are on tour right now, they talk about comedy in the age of Trump, and how he walked the fine line for something to be so serious, he’s still trying to be funny with it. They also talk about the death of Charlie Murphy who is on the current tour that they are on, and they talk about losing him and what he meant to them.”
Mr. Gordon shared that they are profiling congressional representative Maxine Waters, Steve Harvey, and Yara Shahidi, from Black-ish, in addition to Grammy winner, Gregory Porter for the segment in September.
Touching on a profound subject as it correlates with many African Americans right now, Gordon is doing an hour-long feature called, “Am I Black Enough For You,” the show should air in December of 2017.
“It’s taking a look at the definition, ‘What is black, and who defines this? Who gives you your black card? Why do we still have issues amongst ourselves as skin color and all of these things, so it will be really an in-depth look at, ‘Who defines black.’ We’re working on all three of these editions as we speak, and I’m very proud of it. Needless to say, the first [program] up is July 17, and we’re just very proud of the lineup.
As for the history of the television broadcast
“The first show, we sat down with ‘The Mothers of the Movement,’ and it was one of those shows of what I would call, defining television-- television at its best, and I say that humbly. It had nothing to do with me, it had everything to do with those mothers that came together and talked unvarnished, and we had close to a million viewers the first airing of that show. It was just tremendous.”
Gordon goes on to say that during that episode, he spoke with Nate Parker, who’s definitely not a stranger to controversy news.
During the second report, the feature surrounded the election, as well as the legacy of Ebony Magazine.
As a successor of the series, Ed Gordon is producing his own show on Bounce TV, and bringing the narratives to the table that requires thought and strong dialogue, whether light or heavy—these are conversational topics.
Ed Gordon airs July 17, 2017 at 10:00 P.M. ET on Bounce TV
Mr. Gordon spent about 30 years as a news correspondent, providing coverage for 60 Mintues, Todays Show, News, and Notes with Ed Gordon, BET, CBS News, and NBC News. He’s also a weekly contributor for the Steve Harvey Radio Show, just to name a few of those incredible accomplishments.
It’s said that Mr. Gordon worked as an intern at WTVS, before landing at the Detroit Journal. Pay was low, but his dedication to the craft of broadcast was an unbendable passion.
Although he probably won’t admit it, Mr. Gordon is a hero amongst journalist with melanin skin. Known as a man of upfront principle, his influence is wide-ranging.
Gordon received an Emmy Award, NAACP Image Award, and the prestigious Journalist of the Year award from the unparalleled, National Association of Black Journalists.
Gordon mentioned that while he’s been in the business, he’s witnessed a lot of journalist coming and going-- It seemed essential to ask how he feels about being under the helm of Bounce TV, with absolute credibility, and not shying away from his merits, but still being an audacious and critical voice in news reporting.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, I’ve been blessed to never stop working in the industry, and so it really doesn’t change for me. The venues change, and so… I’ve gone over the years from a program that a lot of people know about, and a program that people see, to programs that people didn’t see because it was syndicated and on strange hours. I was at a place that didn’t get the word out, or the show only lasted half a season. For whatever reason, the show got canceled. For me, my work has been the same. Obviously, the larger your platform, the better it is for you to get it seen, and get it out there.
I’ve always been of the belief that whether I’m doing it for one person, (one being me), or in this case, hopefully, to repeat what we’ve seen before, millions of folks—you just do the best you can do. I always try to stay in the mindset of, ‘Just doing the best you can do,’ and it really has nothing to do with the volume of viewership. It has more to do with the pride that you take in your work; so again, I go back to the idea of sitting down with people and making them talk to you, and making them feel comfortable in ways they discuss some things. Clearly, some of these folks, in most of the interviews, they’re going to conduct around Omari’s case, Power coming back, and the Girls Trip cast, talking about the movie. Most of the interviews will be based on those things. They know if they are going to sit down with me, they are going to talk in-depth (and) beyond just the project.
Cedric and I were talking after the interview, and he said, “Ed, I enjoy sitting with you because I know I’m going to get some interesting questions, and its not the same ole, same ole.”
You know, I just try to be insightful and smart about what we’re doing cause I think [that] too often, we dumb down the interview on television, and it becomes based on reality shows. TMZ is out there and I’m not going to front like I don’t watch TMZ because I do, and there’s space for that, but there should also be smart TV, with smart questions, some smart answers, and that’s what I’m shooting for.”
If we have to call a spade, a spade, Gordon is an overachiever though his humility is absolute just as he stated subconsciously without even knowing it.
Don't forget to set those reminders and watch the show.
Tune-In Monday, July 17 at 10:00 P.M (ET) on Bounce TV
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