TheMutual Black Network (MBN) was an Americanradio network founded by theMutual Broadcasting System in 1972 as the first national full-service radio network aimed atAfrican Americans; it was initially branded asMutual Reports Network (MRN)[1] before the branding change to MBN. With 98 affiliated stations across the United States, including flagshipWNJR in New York,[2] the network broadcast an hourly five-minute newscast at 50 minutes past the hour. It also aired sports and feature programs, and for one year beginning in the spring of 1974, a 15-minute daily soap opera calledSounds Of The City.
Some of its special programming focused onAfrican-American history, much of which was researched, written and narrated by MBN news anchor Ben Frazier. Other MBN news anchors includedGlen Ford, John Askew and Ed Castleberry; Castleberry also hosted a celebrity interview program,Soul of Entertainment.
In 1979, the Mutual Black Network was purchased by Sheridan Broadcasting, an African American-owned company which had been a minority stockholder in MBN, and renamed theSheridan Broadcasting Network. In 1991, SBN merged with the rivalNational Black Network, forming the present-dayAmerican Urban Radio Networks.
Also, as indicated in an earlier request which had been granted by the Chief, Broadcast Bureau pursuant to delegated authority, some stations affiliated with either the MBS or Mutual Reports (Black) network, in markets where another station is carrying one or the other of these games, may wish to carry delayed broadcasts of earlier MBS or Mutual Reports newscasts which have been fed prior to the game.
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