May 1, 1997

Cable Access

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Cable Access

A television magnate uses the money network.

#78 Robert L. Johnson, 50, Washington, D.C. Party: Both. $194,358 total contributions.

View Johnson’s itemized contributions.

Robert Johnson Robert Johnson is an American success story. Raised in a poor family in a rural Illinois town, he now runs the parent company of cable giant Black Entertainment Television. Johnson’s estimated worth: more than $200 million. He says he spread his money around to candidates who helped pass the 1996 bill that will deregulate cable rates. Because of it, Johnson and other cable network executives are now freer to manipulate their prices.

Photo Credit: Katherine Lambert

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This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

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