NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans’ own Wendell Pierce and a group of investors announced their partnership to attempt to buy radio station WBOK in New Orleans.
According to a statement announcing the partnership agreement, WBOK 1230 AM is Louisiana’s only African-American news talk radio platform.
WBOK is currently owned by Bakewell Media, a Los Angeles based company.
“Through all the substantial change New Orleans has faced in recent history, WBOK has served as a steadfast and indispensable platform for our community,” Pierce says in a written statement announcing the bid. “The people trust them, they depend on them, and they believe in them. WBOK Radio is the glue that brings and holds our city together.”
The group’s other investors are Cleveland Spears, III, the president and CEO of the Spears Group, Troy Henry, of Henry Consulting, and Thomas Media Founder Jeff Thomas.
Pierce is a New Orleans native and is known for his acting roles in the HBO series Treme and The Wire. More recently, Pierce has dedicated much of his time to the Tom Clancy inspired series Jack Ryan available on Amazon Prime.
The group says it would finance part of the purchase themselves along with a loan from Liberty Bank.
“This investment team wants to not only invest in WBOK but in the next 300 years of our great city,” Henry says in the announcement of the bid. “We see WBOK as a platform for future generations to learn and grow into their careers as journalists and media professionals in New Orleans.”
The announcement did not disclose the price that the partners bid to buy the radio station or whether the current owners accepted the offer.