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ABC leads the way as top networks pass diversity test

Greg Hernandez, Los Angeles Daily News

Published December 5, 2005 at midnight

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LOS ANGELES - The four biggest broadcast networks received passing grades Thursday from two media watchdog groups for promoting diversity, but ABC was placed at the head of the class for increasing Hispanic presence both on-screen and behind the camera.

ABC is the only network with Hispanics as title characters in two shows: The George Lopez Show and Freddie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. Additionally, top-rated Desperate Housewives has Hispanic actress Eva Longoria as one of its five principals, and all three shows have additional Hispanic cast members.

The National Latino Media Council and the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition released their sixth annual report cards on the diversity efforts of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. The grades were for the 2004-05 television season and based on information provided by the networks themselves. They did not grade the smaller WB and UPN networks.

"ABC has done an excellent job of bringing Latino regulars to their prime-time shows," said NLMC Chairman Esteban Torres, whose group rewarded ABC with a solid grade of "B." "Kudos to (ABC Entertainment President) Steve McPherson and his executives for presenting us in an organic, three-dimensional fashion." The NLMC rewarded NBC, CBS and Fox each with C+ overall grades, but Fox rated a C- in both actors and entertainment executives.

ABC also led in the writer-producer and program-development categories and tied with CBS for the highest number of Hispanic executives.

"Achieving true diversity across the entire network both in front of and behind the camera is a high priority for us, and we appreciate the acknowledgment of our effort by both the (NLMC) and the (APAMC)," Robert Mendez, senior vice president of diversity for the Disney-ABC Television Group, said in a statement. "That said, while we have made significant strides in certain areas, we fully recognize that we still have more work to do."

APAMC Chairwoman Karen Narasaki said ABC deserved an overall grade of C+ for its efforts to include more Asian-Pacific people in front of and behind the camera. She credited the diverse cast of the hit drama Lost for lifting the network's overall grade from last year's C- but wondered why a show like Boston Legal wouldn't have Asian-Pacific actors, given their numbers in both the legal profession and in Boston.

Meanwhile, NBC and Fox slipped from B- grades to C+.

ABC and CBS brought their marks up from a failing grade of D+ to a C-.

CBS said in a statement that its commitment to creating a more diverse organization in front of and behind the camera continues to be a "top priority." "Significant progress has been made," said a network representative. "More can always be done, and we are committed to doing so." NBC did not return a call seeking comment on its diversity grade.

Mitsy Wilson, senior vice president of diversity for Fox Entertainment Group, said Thursday that despite the grade drop, she's proud of the efforts made by her network.

"As a company, we support the goals laid out four years ago in the memorandum and are working steadfastly to address the issues of diversity in front of the camera, behind the scenes, below the line and in the procurement aspect," Wilson said.

Wilson also believes the grades don't fully reflect any network's overall diversity efforts, since they don't include numbers for black, disabled or gay figures.

"It appears at times that when you look at the reports, they focus heavily on individual agendas as opposed to diversity in the greater whole," she said. "I don't allow the grades to discourage me." The coalition came together after the networks unveiled schedules for the 1999 fall season that were virtually absent of ethnic-minority characters. It has given annual report cards on each of the network's progress after all signed memorandums of understanding pledging to better diversify.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People led the battle that year but stopped participating in the coalition's report cards in 2002.

"The diversity programs that were begun four and five 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," said Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "We want to make it very clear to everyone that diversity programs are fine but we grade on performance, not solely on good intentions."