The taping of the 1st Annual BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, GA will be Michael Lewellen’s last event as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for the network.
Nina Henderson-Moore, one of the network’s top Black female executives, will also leave the BET Networks. Both media veterans are planning to pursue different interests.
Lewellen’s staff is concerned about his departure and possibly even their own jobs. BET has a long history of whacking staff when they make programming changes.
Prior to joining BET he was VP of Media Relations for New York-based FOX Sports Network and the PR director at Turner Sports.
Lewellen’s departure is said to raise immediate questions regarding the future of the network, which has been creeping more and more toward its old programming tactics that made so many viewers unhappy.
Insiders note that BET has remained a leader in the industry largely because of Michael Lewellen, and with new competition from TV One and the rising Black Family Channel, the timing of this replacement couldn’t be worse.