Photo caption: Hermene Hartman
“N’DIGO Studio” premieres for fifth season October 1
Renaissance businesswoman Hermene Hartman is falling in love again, transferring her passionate feelings for journalism from print to broadcast with her latest foray into television.
With two Emmy nominations under her belt, Hartman, multifaceted publisher, author, political pundit and talk show host, is filled with excitement about the upcoming fifth season of her television talk show, “N’DIGO Studio,” which features exclusive interviews and conversations on contemporary culture.
It premiered on NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV) on Sunday, September 30, 2023, at 1:00 A.M (CT), following the longtime award-winning hit comedy show, Saturday Night Live. The 30-minute talk show also aired on WYCC TV (Channel 25) on Monday, October 2 at 8:00 PM. It is such a hit on WYCC that the station has placed it in rotation to air several times during the week. It will also stream on VON.TV.
“The show is set in a “living room where genuine conversations take place. I am taking the viewer into my living room so that we can just sit and talk to a variety of people from politicos, to entertainers and authors with true storytelling about their lives and passions” says Hartman.
A prominent influencer, Hartman initially made her name in publishing, launching N’DIGO Magapaper in 1989 and becoming one of a handful of African American women to own a newspaper. She is determined to keep up with the changing face of news media platforms, yet remain true to N’DIGO’s storytelling mission, bringing to light stories untold, mistold and those that need to be retold, particularly about Black America.
Pursuing a career as an educator after graduating from college, Hartman started as an intern at the City Colleges of Chicago. Later, she was an instructor teaching behavioral science. She rose to become the first female vice chancellor of External Affairs of the City Colleges of Chicago.
It was while teaching for the City Colleges that Hartman was recruited by an executive team at CBS. She became the producer and assistant community affairs director for WBBM-TV, producing the public affairs show “Common Ground.” That show won two Emmy awards.
Hartman was also active in the civil rights arena during her college years, moved by the times as Black Power activism began to transform Chicago politics. She worked with Reverend Jesse Jackson, founder of Chicago’s Operation Breadbasket. At Operation Breadbasket, she was the Culture Coordinator for Black Expo, one of the largest expositions of its time promoting Black-owned businesses, Black culture and entertainment. The exposition was an original concept where Hartman collaborated with business and cultural leaders of the day.
Her second career as a publisher developed full time in 1989.
That year she launched her N’DIGO Magapaper publication with the mission of telling the often-untold stories of Chicago’s Black community. It was not an easy undertaking.
Over time she strategically partnered with the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune to advance N’DIGO. By 2017, recognizing that print media had passed its glory years as advertisers pulled away, she reluctantly shifted to digital media.
It was a move she now embraces. In 2019, Hartman expanded N’DIGO Magapaper into television with the creation of N’DIGO Studio. Utilizing a talk show format Hartman conducts exclusive interviews with newbies, notables and newsy persons, about contemporary topics.
In this fifth season N’DIGO Studio is expanding its programming. The season usually consists of 12 episodes, however due to popular demand, this season Hartman has added four programs honoring Black History Month.
N’DIGO STUDIO has been nominated for two Emmys for the best talk show in the Midwest.
“I am promoting Black intelligentsia,” said Hartman, highlighting a goal of the show.
“That is what I am always looking for. I am trying to change the narrative, to promote Black intelligentsia with real life people. Too often we view the game show, the comedian, the ignorant and the bitchy real-life housewives, but we miss the reality of the actuality of what people are doing and saying. At N’DIGO Studio, we bring an “authentic” aspect to television.”
The excitement surrounding the fifth season has transferred to the production team. Staff members say they appreciate the show’s content and its special guests.
“She has proven to me she’s got what it takes, and she has proven to me that it is about Black greatness,” said Erik Hammond, CEO of Clear Vision Multimedia in the Chicago area. He has been filming, producing and directing the show since its inception.
“It is the way she delivers her questions, and about the guests that are showcased. It is so important to me to be capturing Black heritage. She has some of the most important people on the show to talk about history and current situations. You hear it firsthand, instead of hearing it watered down. You are hearing it from someone who has sometimes been a witness or participant, and that is very special.”
Hammond added, ”For us to be nominated for an Emmy two years in a row is a powerful statement. That is why every season I invest even more in my company because she deserves it. To be a part of five seasons, to be a person with her to start the movement surrounding her vision, and to see it grow to this point, is awesome. She is so true to the game when it comes to African American forwardness. I have to say that because, after these years of working with her, I have seen it.”
Viewers and former guests share similar good feelings about Hartman and N’DIGO Studio.
“Hermene’s show, without a doubt, is insightful and inspiring. It is greatly needed, especially for the times in which we are in,” said Reverend Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church in Chicago.
“She brings pedigree,” said Perri Small, herself a noted Chicago radio talk show host, who was a guest on one of the shows that received the Emmy nomination. “She is passionate about journalism and delivers it from an era that lifts people up…an authenticity and passion that is inspired by God.”
Father Michael Pfleger, a nationally renowned priest and social activist who has been a guest on the show, agrees.
“Hermene brings substance to issues, and her voice is a gift to the community,” Pfleger said.
“We live in a kind of hardcopy day when everything is 30 and 60-second sound bites, and Hermene’s show allows us to look beyond the headlines and examine what is behind the issues. She shines the light on things that mainstream media does not find important, especially issues in the Black community, and challenges facing marginalized folks of Chicago. It is delivered in a way that only Hermene can deliver it, and we look forward to more of the same this season on N’DIGO Studio.”
For additional information on N’DIGO Studio, visit the show’s website at https://ndigo.com/.To arrange an interview with Hermene Hartman, contact Jerry Thomas at [email protected], or call (312) 804-7999.