BET Digital’s shift toward video is drawing attention after written news articles reportedly disappeared from BET.com.
HuffPost Deputy Editor Philip Lewis reported Friday that BET Digital removed its digital news archive. The change followed BET’s decision to prioritize video across its redesigned platform.
“BET Digital has permanently removed all its digital news articles from its website to ‘prioritize video content,’ I’m told,” Lewis wrote. “Years of news articles are now gone forever. Some writers were able to save their stories; some weren’t.”
Orchid Richardson, BET’s senior vice president of digital, previously outlined the company’s new direction.
“We’re leading with video, and we’re putting community storytellers at the center of BET News,” Richardson said.
The redesigned BET.com now directs visitors to video content through its BET News section. YouTube also features prominently across the platform.
BET.com highlights video series, television programming, Paramount+ titles and digital shows. The company said its August relaunch would make content easier to access.
BET Digital Erases BET.com News Archive To Shift To Video Reports
BET also said the new experience would reduce text-heavy browsing. Audiences would instead find quicker access to videos, events, premieres and social content.
However, the announcement did not detail the fate of BET’s previous written journalism. That has become a key concern following the reported archive removal.
BET launched in 1980 and developed a longstanding role in documenting Black entertainment and culture. Its digital newsroom later expanded that coverage across news, music and cultural reporting.
The disappearance of archived stories could affect readers, researchers and journalists. It could also leave writers without accessible records of their published work.
Lewis reported that some writers saved copies of their articles. Others were unable to preserve their work before its removal.
BET has not publicly explained whether the stories remain stored internally. The company also has not indicated whether the archive could return.
The network is simultaneously expanding its multimedia journalism efforts. BET Digital announced a Community Reporting Initiative following the BET.com relaunch.
The program seeks journalists in several U.S. markets. Its focus is original video reporting from journalists working within the communities they cover.
The strategy reflects a broader shift toward digital video news consumption. Still, BET’s transformation raises a question beyond its new format.
What happens to the journalism that helped document Black culture when the digital record disappears?
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