BLACK SOCIAL TELEVISION

A media studies professor explores the intersection of television and social media in this debut nonfiction work.

Watching television “is always better when it’s done together,” writes Williams, noting that Black Americans in particular have historically consumed television as a collective experience, from communal viewings of Roots during the 1970s to mass engagement with major news stories like Magic Johnson’s AIDS announcement. In this well-researched, convincing study, the author argues that the nature of Black viewership underwent a monumental change in the 2010s that both challenged and fundamentally transformed the television industry. Calling this phenomenon “Black social TV,” Williams argues that “social media engagement by mostly Black audiences about scripted and unscripted shows with Black people” both connected Black viewers across the country and amplified their collective impressions on television media. Indeed, per the author, part of the success of some of the decade’s most popular shows—from gripping dramatic sagas like Empire and Scandal to reality TV programs such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta—was due to the social media engagement of Black Americans. The book’s early chapters provide historical context on Black viewership, media theory, and the representation of Black people (particularly women) in traditionally white-dominated media; the book’s second half explores case studies of specific TV programs. The final chapters look at how Covid-19-era quarantines further solidified Black social media engagement and address Elon Musk’s role in pushing Black media commentators out of their traditional home on Twitter to other social media platforms. Williams also discusses the continued exploitation of Black voices, particularly as the work of Black social media influencers remains largely uncredited and unpaid. An Assistant Professor of Journalism at American University, the author previously worked as a journalist in Mississippi and Ohio. Her text reflects both professional backgrounds—it’s impressively researched and offers readers an accessibly written and engaging narrative.

 A well-argued case for the power of Black Twitter.