For Byron Allen, owning a major media company is about more than making money.
As a Black man, it also comes with the responsibility of being a role model to Black entrepreneurs and using one’s platform to push for greater diversity in the business world, according to the media mogul.
The 60-year-old head of Allen Media Group — parent owner of theGrio — sat down with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Lee Cowan to discuss these two roles and additional topics in an interview which aired Sunday.
Allen’s media empire includes The Weather Channel, three dozen television stations, 12 cable networks, six streaming platforms and various distribution companies.
“There are kids out there who look like me that, when they see that … it’s going to change their perspective of themselves,” Allen said in an interview clip.
It’s been nearly four years since Allen purchased The Weather Channel and made history in the process by becoming the first Black American to own a 24-hour mainstream cable news network.
Earlier this month, he announced plans to bid for the Denver Broncos, which, if successful, would make him the first Black majority owner of an NFL franchise.
Allen told Cowan he views Allen Media Group as a powerful vehicle to help increase media programming centered on Black issues and maximize Black economic inclusion.
“Do we or do we not have economic inclusion?” Allen asked Cowan during their interview. “And the answer is, ‘no.’ … We have to correct the greatest trade deficit in America, which is the trade deficit between white corporate America and Black America.”
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