T.J. Holmes was interviewed by The Root this week, and the departing CNN anchor — who will join BET next year — shed some light on his decision to make the move, saying “the timing was perfect” and he “couldn’t pass it up.” Holmes also opened up about some potential challenges in his path:
What will be your role in developing BET’s news coverage? What challenges do you see?
TJH: My role will be as a journalist. They brought me on because of my news background and for my news chops. I think many people in the black community would like to turn the TV on when they get home or even in the morning to see news coverage about things that matter to them, coming from people who look like them and talk like them. We have a great opportunity to do that next year, and I hope to play a huge role.
AdvertisementAs for the challenges, [BET] does not have the same type of newsroom, news capability or resources of a major news network that does nothing but news. I don’t know if those challenges will come up. I’m not anticipating that type of challenge, but it will be different from the day-to-day type of grind [at CNN], where we were live all around the world.