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Interview with Michael Lewellen

Aired December 16, 2002 - 14:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Republican leader Trent Lott's political future is on the line, and he continues to come forward to defend it. Lott is set to tape an unprecedented interview on Black Entertainment Television today. Michael Lewellen, VP of communications for BET joins us now from Washington with more on this high-stakes gambit -- hello again, Michael.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, BET: Thank you, Kyra. Good to talk to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about how this came forward. Did you attempt -- did you ask him, or did he come to you?

LEWELLEN: Well, our BET news organization had been pursuing the senator literally since the issue first surfaced without success, really, up, I guess, until the last 48 hours or so, when it was clear that this had become quite the firestorm, and that it was critical that he find the best platform available to address the segment of the population affected, and appalled the most at what he said, and that's African-Americans. So he's on BET tonight 8:00 Eastern and Pacific.

PHILLIPS: Has he ever been on BET before? Has he ever been asked to come on BET before to talk maybe about race relations, or his area of expertise in his community?

LEWELLEN: Well, we've had a number of members of the Republican leadership, as well as the Democratic leadership on BET at different times. I mean, just here in the past 90 days we've had Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, just to name a few. And we have always, as a news organization, approached the leadership here in Washington when the issues dictated. But this clearly is a unique situation. It is certainly a volatile one as far as his political future, and tonight we are hoping that the senator will be forthright and honest and direct about what has happened, and why it happened. Ed Gordon for BET, who will be doing the interview will take a very no-holds-barred approach. There are no predetermined rules of engagement in play. We will ask the hard questions, and we hope the senator will give us the honest answers.

PHILLIPS: Michael, do you think that Lott is just using you to reach the black community?

LEWELLEN: Well, if he is, then he's smart, because BET is the leading platform for news, information and entertainment for African- Americans. But more importantly, I think, at least from our perspective, the senator really needed to address the individuals who were offended. Yes, there's a lot of political storm he is dealing with, and certainly his political future right now is in question. But even the other apologies, the other comments he's made in the main stream media, this is a direct address and a direct opportunity to talk with African-Americans on an African-American platform. So I think that's why he's here. Some people have tried to say it's a desperate ploy. I'm not going to question the senator's motives at this point. We are just glad that he is going to step forward tonight and hopefully give us an honest account of what has happened.

PHILLIPS: Do you think the black community really cares what he has to say?

LEWELLEN: In some ways yes and in some ways no. I think, just gauging the feedback that we've gotten from viewers since the announcement that he was coming on BET, you have a range of schools of thought. There certainly is a tremendous amount of curiosity about this. There will be a lot of people watching BET tonight who don't normally watch the network, as well as those who will be watching who are our loyal viewers, and they want to hear directly from the senator.

But there's also something else, I think, that everyone is watching for. You've seen the reports. People have questioned his sincerity. People have questioned whether or not he is really sorry, and if there ever was a night for his sincerity and his true apologetic feeling about what's happened to come through, that night is tonight on BET.

PHILLIPS: So Michael -- all right, let's look at what happened. These comments that were made, this whole firestorm that has been created. But let's be really honest here. There's a lot of good old boys in that network, OK, and probably some other people and leaders that may feel the same way he does, and have made comments in the past. Do you think it's important to get more -- let's say white leaders on your show having these discussions, talking about race relations, talking about being sensitive and being direct and being honest about how they feel and how politics should be carried out?

LEWELLEN: Well, Kyra, I think that's -- we're looking at, essentially, a dark side as to how our country handles race-related issues right now. It is one of those secrets that people don't want to talk about very much. It usually takes something near catastrophic -- in this case, something politically catastrophic, to serve as the catalyst to get the dialogue going, to get people interested, to raise the issue to the forefront again, and that's a shame because it's clear, from our perspective, as African-Americans that racism is still very much alive and well in this country. It just comes in different forms.

You mention that there are a lot of good old boys in the network. There are, but some of those good old boys have done some bad old things, and every once in a while, something steps forward that reminds us once more that we still have is a long way to go in this country, both politically, socially and economically where the state of race is concerned. PHILLIPS: Point well made. My final question, what does Lott need to say? He's already apologized a couple of times. What do you want to hear from him, Michael?

LEWELLEN: We're looking for a bit more honesty than we've seen so far that has sort of been embedded in the political speak that we've heard with the previous press conference. This is an opportunity for him to deal directly with the audience that's most affected, so I think the senator should talk to African-Americans, certainly in answering the questions that Ed Gordon will put forth. Immediately following the interview, we will have a panel of leading African-American journalists and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who will also offer their assessment and reaction to what the senator says, and perhaps doesn't say.

This is critical, and I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but I think if he is seeking redemption, this could well be the last opportunity, at least with our audience.

PHILLIPS: Michael Lewellen, VP of communications, BET. Thank you so much for your time.

LEWELLEN: My pleasure, Kyra.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 16, 2002 - 14:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Republican leader Trent Lott's political future is on the line, and he continues to come forward to defend it. Lott is set to tape an unprecedented interview on Black Entertainment Television today. Michael Lewellen, VP of communications for BET joins us now from Washington with more on this high-stakes gambit -- hello again, Michael.
MICHAEL LEWELLEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, BET: Thank you, Kyra. Good to talk to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about how this came forward. Did you attempt -- did you ask him, or did he come to you?

LEWELLEN: Well, our BET news organization had been pursuing the senator literally since the issue first surfaced without success, really, up, I guess, until the last 48 hours or so, when it was clear that this had become quite the firestorm, and that it was critical that he find the best platform available to address the segment of the population affected, and appalled the most at what he said, and that's African-Americans. So he's on BET tonight 8:00 Eastern and Pacific.

PHILLIPS: Has he ever been on BET before? Has he ever been asked to come on BET before to talk maybe about race relations, or his area of expertise in his community?

LEWELLEN: Well, we've had a number of members of the Republican leadership, as well as the Democratic leadership on BET at different times. I mean, just here in the past 90 days we've had Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, just to name a few. And we have always, as a news organization, approached the leadership here in Washington when the issues dictated. But this clearly is a unique situation. It is certainly a volatile one as far as his political future, and tonight we are hoping that the senator will be forthright and honest and direct about what has happened, and why it happened. Ed Gordon for BET, who will be doing the interview will take a very no-holds-barred approach. There are no predetermined rules of engagement in play. We will ask the hard questions, and we hope the senator will give us the honest answers.

PHILLIPS: Michael, do you think that Lott is just using you to reach the black community?

LEWELLEN: Well, if he is, then he's smart, because BET is the leading platform for news, information and entertainment for African- Americans. But more importantly, I think, at least from our perspective, the senator really needed to address the individuals who were offended. Yes, there's a lot of political storm he is dealing with, and certainly his political future right now is in question. But even the other apologies, the other comments he's made in the main stream media, this is a direct address and a direct opportunity to talk with African-Americans on an African-American platform. So I think that's why he's here. Some people have tried to say it's a desperate ploy. I'm not going to question the senator's motives at this point. We are just glad that he is going to step forward tonight and hopefully give us an honest account of what has happened.

PHILLIPS: Do you think the black community really cares what he has to say?

LEWELLEN: In some ways yes and in some ways no. I think, just gauging the feedback that we've gotten from viewers since the announcement that he was coming on BET, you have a range of schools of thought. There certainly is a tremendous amount of curiosity about this. There will be a lot of people watching BET tonight who don't normally watch the network, as well as those who will be watching who are our loyal viewers, and they want to hear directly from the senator.

But there's also something else, I think, that everyone is watching for. You've seen the reports. People have questioned his sincerity. People have questioned whether or not he is really sorry, and if there ever was a night for his sincerity and his true apologetic feeling about what's happened to come through, that night is tonight on BET.

PHILLIPS: So Michael -- all right, let's look at what happened. These comments that were made, this whole firestorm that has been created. But let's be really honest here. There's a lot of good old boys in that network, OK, and probably some other people and leaders that may feel the same way he does, and have made comments in the past. Do you think it's important to get more -- let's say white leaders on your show having these discussions, talking about race relations, talking about being sensitive and being direct and being honest about how they feel and how politics should be carried out?

LEWELLEN: Well, Kyra, I think that's -- we're looking at, essentially, a dark side as to how our country handles race-related issues right now. It is one of those secrets that people don't want to talk about very much. It usually takes something near catastrophic -- in this case, something politically catastrophic, to serve as the catalyst to get the dialogue going, to get people interested, to raise the issue to the forefront again, and that's a shame because it's clear, from our perspective, as African-Americans that racism is still very much alive and well in this country. It just comes in different forms.

You mention that there are a lot of good old boys in the network. There are, but some of those good old boys have done some bad old things, and every once in a while, something steps forward that reminds us once more that we still have is a long way to go in this country, both politically, socially and economically where the state of race is concerned. PHILLIPS: Point well made. My final question, what does Lott need to say? He's already apologized a couple of times. What do you want to hear from him, Michael?

LEWELLEN: We're looking for a bit more honesty than we've seen so far that has sort of been embedded in the political speak that we've heard with the previous press conference. This is an opportunity for him to deal directly with the audience that's most affected, so I think the senator should talk to African-Americans, certainly in answering the questions that Ed Gordon will put forth. Immediately following the interview, we will have a panel of leading African-American journalists and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who will also offer their assessment and reaction to what the senator says, and perhaps doesn't say.

This is critical, and I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but I think if he is seeking redemption, this could well be the last opportunity, at least with our audience.

PHILLIPS: Michael Lewellen, VP of communications, BET. Thank you so much for your time.

LEWELLEN: My pleasure, Kyra.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com