[X]

NAACP report finds TV networks lagging in diversity

Lynn Elber

LOS ANGELES — Nearly a decade after the NAACP condemned a “virtual whiteout” in broadcast TV, the civil rights group said major networks have stalled in their efforts to further ethnic diversity on-screen and off.

Television shows of the future could be even less inclusive because of a failure to cultivate young minority stars and to bring minorities into decision-making positions, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said.

The effect on the country could be profound, Jealous said.

“This is America: So goes TV, so goes reality. We don’t think it’s any accident that before we had a black president in reality, we had a black president on TV,” he said, referring to the chief executive portrayed by Dennis Haysbert on Fox’s “24.”

A “critical lack of programming by, for or about people of color” can be traced in part to the lack of minorities who have the power to approve new series or make final creative decisions, said Vicangelo Bulluck, executive director of NAACP’s Hollywood bureau.

In a report released last Thursday, the NAACP calls on networks to revisit a 2000 agreement to diversify the ranks of actors, writers, directors and executives. It also seeks to establish a task force with network executives, the NAACP and other civil rights groups.

The report raises the possibility of political action if progress is lacking, including a boycott against an unspecified network and its major advertisers or class-action litigation against the networks and parent companies.

Particularly disturbing, Jealous said, is the course charted by the CW, born of two defunct networks — UPN and the WB — that had each featured a number of black-oriented series, including “Moesha” and “The Steve Harvey Show.”

“Those two networks provided an opportunity for young talent of color in this town,” Jealous said. “… They merged into a network which appears to have systematically cut programming targeted to communities of color.”

CW’s lineup includes white-oriented shows “Gossip Girl” and “90210,” although it also airs the black sitcoms “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game.”

A movie star such as Will Smith emerged because he could gain early exposure in the TV comedy “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Jealous said.

CW declined comment on the report, as did ABC, NBC and Fox. CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the heels of the 1999-2000 fall lineup of new shows that lacked any minority actors in lead roles — then-NAACP head Kweisi Mfume called it a “virtual whiteout” — the NAACP and Asian American, Hispanic and Indian civil rights groups formed a coalition to lobby networks.

Broadcasters agreed to create minority recruitment and training programs and to chart minority hiring among actors, writers, directors and managers.

The coalition groups have charted their progress with annual reports, although the NAACP has not always participated, often finding sharp underrepresentation of minorities in front of and behind the camera.

The four major broadcast networks have made “important strides” in increasing diversity, the new NAACP report said, including filling lead roles with actors such as Haysbert, now starring in CBS’ “The Unit,” and Laurence Fishburne, now on CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

However, using figures compiled by the networks and industry guilds, the NAACP found a less rosy picture overall.

The number of minority actors in prime-time shows has remained flat or even dipped in recent years, decreasing from 333 in the 2002-03 season to 307 in 2006-07, according to the report. The number of minority writers working during the 2006-07 season was 173, a drop from the 206 employed during the previous season, the report said.

Reality programming has dampened employment prospects for minority actors and writers, as it has for whites, but shows like “Survivor” and “American Idol” do offer a benefit: They are likely to be more diverse in casting than most scripted series, the NAACP noted, providing a truer national portrait.

(Associated Press)

related articles

The Black CNN?

"We hope to be the single destination for reliable, credible, informational resources for the African American community," said former congressman J.C. Watts, who is black. "The critical thing is to allow the community to create a platform to be involved in the economic, social and political debates taking place across the country." More »

Film star, activist Louis Gossett Jr. hits the Hub

The actor also said he feels the entertainment industry needs to better and more accurately reflect the country’s shifting, multicultural landscape. According to a recent survey conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, people of color comprise only 24 percent of regular series characters on NBC’s 2008-09 broadcast slate, 21 percent each on ABC and Fox, 20 percent on The CW, and 19 percent on CBS. More »

Tinseltown power broker invests in Image Awards

In his dual capacity as an executive director/producer of the NAACP’s Hollywood bureau and its heralded Image Awards show, Vicangelo Bulluck is dedicated to building bridges designed to provide opportunities to all qualified people of color. More »