Tony Brown (journalist)

{{Short description|American journalist, academic and businessman (born 1933)}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Tony Brown.jpg

| caption = Brown in 1981

| name = Tony Brown

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1933|4|11}}

| birth_name = William Anthony Brown

| birth_place = Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Journalist, College Dean - Hampton University, President/CEO - Tony Brown Productions, academian, comedian, businessman

| spouse =

| website = {{url|http://tonybrown.com/}}

}}

William Anthony Brown (born April 11, 1933) is an American journalist, academic and businessman. He is best known as the commentator of the long running syndicated television show Tony Brown's Journal.{{cite news |url=http://tv.nytimes.com/show/160684/Tony-Brown-s-Journal/overview |title=Series Overview |work=The New York Times |accessdate=August 7, 2015}}

Early life

Brown was born April 11, 1933, to Royal Brown and Catherine Davis Brown in Charleston, West Virginia. He attended the public schools where he excelled in academics, joined the track team, and performed in various school plays. His experience of segregation and poverty as a child later fueled his activism and view on the U.S. government as an adult.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 20, 2020|title=Tony Brown|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tony-Brown|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=September 26, 2020|website=Britannica}}

Personal life

He joined the Republican Party in 1990.{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7wDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Producer Tony Brown Joins Republican Party |work=Jet |page=39 |date=August 12, 1991 |accessdate=August 7, 2015}}

Accomplishments

1953 - 1955, he served in the U.S. Army
1959, he received a BA in Sociology from Wayne State University.
1961, he received an MA in Psychiatric Social Work from Wayne State University. He is a former faculty member at Central Washington University and Federal City College.
1962, he became a drama critic for the Detroit Courier
In 1971 he became executive producer (and sometime host) of the monthly TV program Black Journal.
1972, he became the founding dean of Howard University's School of Communication.
In 1977 Black Journal was renamed Tony Brown's Journal.
In 1988 he wrote, produced, and directed the film The White Girl, which dramatized an African American student's struggle with cocaine addiction.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D01EFDF153AF932A25751C0A966958260 |title=The White Girl (1990) |last=James |first=Caryn |work=The New York Times |date=February 11, 1990 |accessdate=August 7, 2015}}
1998, wrote Empower The People: A 7-Step plan to Overthrow the Conspiracy that is Stealing Your Money and Freedom
2002, he was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver Circle.
2004, he became the dean of Hampton University's Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. He held the position until 2009, when he stepped down.

Bibliography

1995 Black Lies, White Lies: The Truth According to Tony Brown. 1997 reprint {{ISBN|9780688132705}}
1999 Empower the People: Overthrow The Conspiracy That Is Stealing Your Money And Freedom. {{ISBN|9780688157623}}
2004 What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life. {{ISBN|9780060188696}}