Agreements Reached Between NAACP and Networks

Networks Discuss Racial Makeup of Shows

UPN's "Moesha"

Schwartz maintains that "City of Angels" has as good a shot at succeeding midseason as it would had it premiered in the fall. While the show has been reporting only average Nielsen ratings, its 8 p.m. Wednesday timeslot could make it a ratings winner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show has netted a 23 percent improvement over what CBS was averaging with sitcoms at that hour.

While outsiders view "City of Angels" as a minority show, Schwartz said the casting pertains to the show's premise, not to the overall need of the network to bring African-American actors into the fold. "The show is based in an inner city hospital, so it has to mirror that society," Schwartz said. "[City of Angels] is the most bold and aggressive attempt to put a show of that nature on TV."

Still, Ian Maitland, professor of film and television at New York University, says television's diversity efforts are lagging, especially when compared to the film industry.

"I believe the thrust [for diversity in film] came from the Screen Actors Guild, who check each film they are contracted on to see if blacks are seen in a positive role, and that they are featured as much as possible," Maitland said. "Television is far more worried about the ratings than the positive image."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, shows with largely African-American casts have had a difficult time succeeding with national audiences. The most recent one to achieve long-term success was NBC's sitcom "The Cosby Show," which followed the lives of the Huxtables, an affluent African-American family, for eight seasons.

Bill Cosby is currently featured in CBS's comedy, "Cosby." The fourth-year program follows the life of Hilton Lucas (Cosby), a former airline employee, as he interacts with family and friends. The show had decent ratings in its original Monday timeslot but has not fared well since moving to Fridays, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

UPN is another network that has also done well with African-Americans, coming in second behind CBS in African-American viewers in the TN Media study. The NAACP has said that it will also look to reach diversity agreements with UPN and the WB, according to The New York Daily News. But Paul McGuire, senior vice president of media relations at UPN, says the organization had not yet contacted the network.

McGuire says UPN continually tries to include minorities in its programs. He cited sitcoms like "Moesha" and its spinoff "The Parkers" as among those that appeal to African-American viewers. Both shows revolve around young, middleclass African-American women coming of age. The TN Media study found that both the WB and UPN sitcoms are between 15 and 18 times more popular among African-Americans than whites.

"Our network is always trying to reflect the nation [in its programming]," McGuire said. "I think it's more about what these shows are about that is the biggest draw."

The increased media attention to every development deal and diversity initiative does not bother the networks. While Brockman admits that "pretty much any deal gets covered these days," he acknowledged that diversity issues should be getting extra media coverage because of the important role they play in network programming and organizational structure.

Schwartz agrees. "It's an important issue. We are the mass media and we should be diverse. To the point that we're not [diverse] it's a problem," he said.

Meanwhile the networks are beginning to develop their programming for next season. While it's too early for network officials to know how their fall lineup will crystallize, all are confident that there will be no repeat of last year.

"We're just as committed to scheduling diverse programming now as we were before," Schwartz said. The NAACP will not be keeping a tally on the diversity of CBS's fall shows, according to Schwartz, but it will continue to work with the network to meet expectations.

White says the NAACP will check on the networks' progress by requesting information such as employment statistics and other records to which they have previously been granted access.

Canter says that while putting minority actors in lead roles is important for all of the networks, it is an ongoing process. Rather than having "token" minority characters onscreen simply to fill need, the networks are looking for quality. Canter says NBC wants the roles for its shows to be well developed and the characters to be good role models.

Tyrer believes the NAACP's involvement has had a positive impact on all of the major networks. "When [the networks] put together their schedules last May we collectively looked around and said, 'this shouldn't have happened,'" Tyrer said.

The NAACP hopes its efforts will eventually result in a permanent change in programming whereby shows are all-inclusive and representative of the nation as a whole.

"Ideally the end result would be that American television reflects American society," White said. "This would include all minorities, not just African-Americans."

UPN's "The Parkers"

Cosby Ending CBS Show