LOS ANGELES (AP):

Black Entertainment Television's provocatively titled Hot Ghetto Mess, which drew sharp criticism and overshadowed the rest of the cable channel's new schedule, is getting an upbeat new name.

We Gotto Do Better is the title the series will have when it debuts, BET spokeswoman Jeanine Liburd told The Associated Press on Monday.

"We've decided to change the name because we want to highlight the show's real intent, which is to offer social commentary in a context that sparks dialogue, debate, and most importantly, change," BET said in a statement.

The show's content remains unaltered, Liburd said.

The half-hour video clip show is based on the website hotghettomess.com, which shows examples of outrageous fashion and behaviour, mostly in the black community. The BET show will combine viewer-submitted and BET-produced content.

BET is characterising the show as "pure social commentary". But critics have said it risks holding blacks up to ridicule and perpetuating negative stereotypes.

The new title echoes the "we can do better" slogan of the website, which was founded by black lawyer Jam Donaldson of Washington, D.C., who is an executive producer on the BET show.

On her site, she calls for a "new era of examination" by blacks.

Whether the name change satisfies detractors remains to be seen.

A blog and audio podcast, whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com, which focuses on how black women are depicted in popular culture, has been a vocal critic of "Hot Ghetto Mess." In a posting Monday, it said the change avoids further promotion of an "abominable and disgusting" website.

Gina McCauley, who created the blog, said she's willing to give the show a chance.

"If they can pull off what they say they're trying to pull off, then I think it has value. So I'm willing to wait and see what it (the show) is," said McCauley, an attorney in Austin, Texas.

In its statement, BET acknowledged that its other shows, including "Sunday Best," an "American Idol"-like talent show for gospel singers, were being overlooked because of the furore.

The newly renamed "We Got to Do Better" was characterised by BET entertainment chief Reginald Hudlin last week as an effort to take "a hard look at some dysfunctional elements of our community."