Which TV networks get the best report cards for diversity? If you are fan of "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy," you'll be happy. And if you are Latino, you'll be pleased about which group had the most progress.
The Mutli-Ethnic Media Coalition released its eighth annual television-network diversity report card Tuesday from September 2006 to May 2007, and it appears that efforts to hire more Latinos is "bearing fruit," while Asian-American and Native American hires continue to dwindle. A study on black hires was not provided.
"The diversity programs that were begun six and seven years ago are now bearing fruit, and it is not unreasonable to expect that the present numbers will continue to climb and that there will be no backsliding," says Esteban Torres, head of the National Latino Media Council.
Other coalition partners did not report as rosy a picture. The Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition is comprised of advocacy groups including The National Latino Media Council, The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, American Indians in Film and TV and the NAACP. The networks are given an overall grade and are also graded in the following categories: representation of actors of color in primetime; reality-show contestants; writers, producers and directors of primetime; program developers of color; procurement; entertainment executives of color; and the network's commitment to diversity initiatives.
"The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC) is disappointed in the degree of progress that has been made by the four major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC), none of which improved their overall grades from last year," says Karen K. Narasaki, chair of APAMC and president of the Asian-American Justice Center.
Also, "The American Indian remains invisible in many categories," says Mark S. Reed, national representative and spokesperson for American Indians in Film and TV.
The Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition also includes the NAACP, which, in addition to grading the networks on their inclusion of Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans, grades the networks on their inclusion of blacks. It plans to release its report within the next few months, says Vic Bulluck, executive director of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau.
The Network Grades
· ABC
The National Latino Media Council (NLMC) gave ABC the overall highest grade achieved by any of the four networks, an A-. (The NLMC gave CBS an overall grade of B and NBC and FOX came in third and fourth with a B and B-, respectively.)
ABC is home to "Ugly Betty," which stars America Ferrera, who won an Emmy for her lead role on the show. The ABC network has made significant strides in representation of Latinos both in front of and behind the camera. "There is a Latino in a regular role in every one of their most popular programs and, predictably, Latinos are watching ABC in larger numbers than they watch the other networks," says Torres.
The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, however, gave ABC an overall grade of C.
"Standout shows that have excellent roles for Asian-American actors are ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' and NBC's 'Heroes,'" says Narasaki. "'Grey's Anatomy,' which has Shonda Rhimes, an African-American woman as show runner, illustrates the importance of providing opportunities for talented minority writers, which helps to foster the creating of roles depicting minorities, including Asian Americans, as quality, non-stereotypical characters."
American Indians in Film and TV gave ABC an overall grade of a D while making note that the network features Native American actors who are series regulars on shows, such as "Pushing Daisies," "Women's Murder Club," "Dirty Sexy Money" and the reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
ABC's D was the result of F grades for its dearth of Native American writers, producers, directors of primetime television and lack of Native American program developers.
· NBC
The NLMC gave NBC an overall B grade.
"They increased their reality-program regulars by a whopping 800 percent," says Torres. "No other network has a number that even comes close to this percentage. And in the writers and producers category, NBC doubled their previous number [of Latino writers and producers]."
The APAMC gave NBC an overall C+ grade. In no category did NBC receive an A from APAMC, but the network did receive a B- for the number of Asian-American actors it hires, and B+ for procurement, executive recruitment and the network's overall commitment to diversity initiatives that affect the Asian-American population.
American Indians in Film and TV gave NBC a C- and noted that the network features Native American actors on "Law and Order," "Friday Night Lights" and "Las Vegas."
· CBS
NLMC gave CBS an overall grade of B+ and congratulated Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, for the addition of "Cane," which features Latino actor Jimmy Smits in the lead and is about a wealthy Latino family.
APAMC gave CBS an overall C grade. Its lowest scores came in the categories of Asian-American actors in primetime and Asian-American directors of primetime, in which the network received a D+ and D respectively.
While American Indians in Film and TV gave CBS an overall D grade, the eye network got four F's for its lack of Native American representation in reality shows, as writers and producers, directors of primetime and program developers.
· FOX
NLMC gave FOX an overall B- grade. FOX doubled the number of Latino actors who are series regulars and increased the number of Latino writers and producers by 57.1 percent.
APAMC gave FOX an overall C+ grade as the number of Asian-American actors in regular roles decreased from nine to seven and popular shows, such as "House," "did not have any regular or recurring roles for Asian Americans," says Narasaki.
FOX earned four F grades from the American Indians in Film and TV. As with CBS, FOX failed at hiring Native Americans for its reality shows and at hiring Native American writers and producers for primetime and as program developers.
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