The T. Howard Foundation will honor several industry leaders for their commitment to promoting inclusion at its annual Diversity Awards Dinner on April 10 in New York.

The diversity organization, under the event theme “We’re Paying it Forward Together,” will present its Executive Leadership Award to BET Media Group president and CEO Scott Mills, and its Executive Trailblazer Award to Accenture chairman and CEO Julie Sweet, T. Howard said.

Carlsen Resources founder and CEO Ann Carlsen will receive the foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, while Cablefax editorial director Amy Maclean will receive the organization’s Diversity Advocate Award. 

The fundraising event, hosted by CBS Saturday Morning co-host Michelle Miller, will also present Special Alumni Recognition awards to ABC News producer Jonathan McDougle (Rising Star) and Essence VP of communications Alexandra Ebanks (Career Influencer).

Asian consumers are seeing their images being reflected on the small screen in greater numbers across multiple platforms, according to a new survey from Horowitz Research.

According to Focus Asian: State of Consumer Engagement 2022 survey, 40% of Asian consumers reported seeing more Asian representation when it comes to TV content, including in shows such as Chicago Med, Squid Game, Pachinko, The Equalizer and The Cleaning Lady.

On the distribution front, 45% of those surveyed said that original content from streaming services had the best perceived representation of Asian people and their communities, while 41% see strong Asian representation from premium services, said Horowitz.

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In addition, nearly four in 10 consumers are seeing more nuanced portrayals of Asian characters and communities in scripted content, with dramas ranking as the top genre, according to the survey. Content from unscripted dating and lifestyle reality shows fared poorly in the survey, according to Horowitz.

Horowitz Research Chief Revenue Officer and Insights and Strategy Lead Adriana Waterson said that while the industry has been more focused on offering more inclusive programming across the board, there’s an opportunity to be even more inclusive with regards to the depth and breadth of multicultural images offered on TV.

Also: AIM/PAR Diversity Survey: Women Make Major Gains as Workplace Representation for People of Color Declines

“In the past few years, there’s been an important shift in focus on behalf of media companies and advertisers to do better when it comes to representation and inclusion in ads and content, which is being noticed,” Waterson said. “However, we are just at the beginning of the conversation about how to do diversity ‘right’. There is still a tremendous opportunity to be inclusive not just of Black and Latinx Americans who comprise the majority of multicultural America, but to reflect a broader multicultural sensibility that is inclusive of other cultural and ethnic communities — such as the very diverse Asian population in the U.S. — that do not get to see themselves portrayed on screen as often as some others do.” ■

This year’s Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner on October 12 will be the first in-person celebration since 2019 due to the pandemic. It's also the last will be presided over by the foundation's executive director, Michelle Ray, who is leaving the organization in December. 

During her 15 years as head of the foundation, Ray, a former NCTA–The Broadband & Television Asssociation staffer who joined Kaitz in 2006 as senior program director, has overseen the annual fundraising dinner, which overall has raised more than $23 million in grants toward cable industry diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. She also helped launch Kaitz’s annual Hollywood Creative Forum, which champions culturally accurate representation across the entertainment industry.

Ray provided her thoughts on the resumption of the Kaitz dinner and reflected on her accomplishments and legacy at the organization in a recent interview with Multichannel News, an edited version of which appears below. 

MCN: Why have you decided to leave the Walter Kaitz Foundation at this point in time? 

Michelle Ray: The truth is, over the last year I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal family health issues along with going through the whole COVID environment. I realized that I needed time for me to be the best me. It’s not even about the work. I believe in what we’re doing and I want to be able to give all of my energy to the work that we’re doing.

MCN: Looking back, have you accomplished the goals that you set for the organization as executive director? 

MR: I would love to say of course I did, but the truth is we’re not just trying to solve DEI for an industry, for an organization or even for our companies. We’re trying to make societal shifts, because that’s where the real work lies. I think there’s always going to be more to do. We’re not even close to solving all of the diversity, equity and inclusion issues that are part of society as a whole. The death of George Floyd really brought the issues of DEI front and center from a broad perspective as we thought about social justice movements and what we’re really doing as companies and individuals attacking these issues around DEI.

MCN: Having said that, do you think that the industry has at least taken the right steps forward toward dealing with DEI issues within its own ranks?

MR: Again, I don't want to say that we’re all doing great. The truth is we have to do more, and I think there’s a clear call for us to do more. What I have noticed is that I see a lot of companies really leaning in on social justice, especially on the content side. Those companies were focused on making sure that stories of marginalized and disparate people were being told by hiring people who could ideally tell those stories and then they brought those stories to life on our screens. Also, I saw broadband companies trying to deliver broadband to diverse communities who are largely rural. The issues around broadband deployments continue to be an ongoing effort, but I saw everyone picking themselves up and leaning more into addressing a lot of these issues, whether as a broadband company, technology company or content curator. 

MCN: Diversity Week is fast approaching, and the industry is gathering in-person for the first time in two years. What effect does being in-person have on the diversity discussion across the various events?

MR: I think being in-person and talking about these issues is more important than ever before. I think it will signal to our industry that as leaders, we all should be joining together for the discussion of diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly since it’s a gathering that’s so specifically curated for our industry. No other industry does this, so if you think about it, we just need to continue to do more of it. I think being around each other is an important aspect of what we’re trying to achieve. What I've realized within the COVID environment when we were largely at home and away from each other is that we needed that human touch. From an interpersonal standpoint, when you’re in a room with somebody, it’s so markedly different from being on a Zoom call or a telephone call. 

MCN: What are you personally hoping to accomplish with this year’s Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner? 

MR: As we approached this year’s dinner, I thought because we hadn’t seen each other in years that we wouldn’t do the same things and show up in the same way that we showed up in previous years. My thought was, how do we come back to something that's different? So one of the things we’ve done is we’ve largely retired our Diversity Champion and Diversity Advocate Awards and created a new ChangeMakers Award. It’s really reimagining what we do in acknowledging someone for the seminal work that they’re doing. 

One of the honorees is an organization called Human-I-T, which focuses on social justice and works with a lot of companies within our industry to make sure that sustainability is at the forefront of the work that they do. They work closely with Cox, Charter and Comcast. The second honor we had was an individual, Daisy Auger-Dominguez, who is chief people officer at Vice Media Group. She’s an executive and game-changer that thinks about inclusive workplaces and what that should look like. So that was part of the reframing of the awards, if you will, and that will continue to evolve and change.

MCN: The Kaitz Foundation is working with WICT and NAMIC to present the AIM/PAR Diversity Employment Study next week. What should the industry take away from the results of that study as it pertains to its diversity efforts?

MR: It’s the only way that we’re going to be able to benchmark how we’re doing as industry. If we were to walk away from that, it would be a disservice to all of us because I think metrics are an important aspect of the work that we do. If we can’t measure something then we can’t see or understand it. That’s why the study continues to be relevant and important. It requires a lot of support and commitment from the industry and the industry has been very supportive of it. 

MCN: Have you considered what your legacy will be at the Walter Kaitz Foundation?

MR: It’s something I haven’t really thought about. I’m in the people business, whether it’s at work or personally, so for me legacy is about making sure that we make connections with people regardless of what aspect of work you’re involved in. So I hope to maintain those connections, and whatever I decide to do after this I hope it still involves touching people. ■

Inclusivity both in front of and behind the camera was a recurring theme during the August 8 to August 12 CTAM-produced portion of the Television Critics Association virtual summer tour as cable and streaming services showcased a bevy of BIPOC-themed scripted series and movies while addressing diversity issues within the TV industry.

The newly rebranded Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media Family Networks) unveiled details regarding its African-American targeted Mahogany movie franchise, which includes the August 28 launch of its first original movie, Unthinkably Good Things. Mahogany senior VP of programming Toni Judkins said the franchise  – based on Hallmark’s 34 year-old Mahogany greetings card brand targeting African-Americans – will continue to follow the earmarks of traditional Hallmark movies, but will be told from the authentic, unique lens of Black women.

Hallmark will launch two additional Mahogany movies in 2022, including one holiday film, according to Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly. 

“What was important was to fuse essential elements of the Hallmark brand with the Mahogany brand,” Judkins said. “The pillars of what Mahogany is … are sisterhood, friendship, connection and community.” 

The Mahogany films will also feature diverse talent both in front of and behind the camera, a combination which industry executives speaking at TCA say is still too rare. 

That dynamic however, can be seen in OWN’s original series Queen Sugar, which will launch its seventh and final season on September 6. The Ava DuVernay-produced series has featured more than three dozen female directors over its seven-season run, according to the network. 

DuVernay said when she started the series few television shows featured female directors, but after seven successful seasons of going against the grain and constantly pushing to have a female-exclusive directing team, it has now become more commonplace for women of color to prominently sit in the director’s chair.

“No one would ever need to do that now because you will be looked at sideways if you don’t have any women directing,” she said. “To have been there … when it was scorned and ridiculed, to the time now where it’s pretty much, ‘yeah, you got to include a lady somewhere in there,’ is a remarkable thing.” 

Starz has also announced a continued commitment to work with directors and writers of color for several upcoming series. On the heels of renewing its original series Raising Kanan – the third series in the Courtney Kemp-created Power franchise – for a third season, the premium network announced it will team with producers DuVernay and Tanya Saracho on new original series as well as musical artists Ne-Yo and Christina Milian on a new “premium take” on the Step Up movie franchise, according to network President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby. 

The shows follow earlier Starz announcements regarding new series from Marlon Wayans (Book of Marlon) and Dear White People producers Steven J. Kung and Justen Simien. 

Several streaming services also showcased new and diverse programming. Amazon Prime Video offered a look at a British-based series Jungle, which follows the  struggles and perspectives of several connected strangers uniquely told through hip hop and drill music. Executive produced by Junior Okoli and Chas Appeti, Jungle debuts September 30 on the service.

During BET Plus’s presentation for the second season of its Emmy-nominated comedy series The Ms. Pat Show, series co-creator Jordan Cooper said that services like BET Plus have opened up new avenues for diverse content to make it to the screen, offering greater editorial freedom and control to tell stories in a manner that might not be acceptable on traditional linear channels.

“I think that more is going to come from other artists who are going to come in and shake the table up a bit because we don’t want to see the same old stuff that we’ve seen for the past 50 years,” he said. 

Recently launched Spanish-language subscription streaming service ViX Plus showcased during TCA two of its new original shows – drama series Marea Alta and the Salma Hayek-produced film Quiero Tu Vida – as part of the TelevisaUnivision-owned service’s 10,000 hours of novelas, sports and other entertainment  offerings and 70 original series and movies it plans to offer during its first operating year. 

“There are almost 600 million people in the world who speak Spanish, and yet only a fraction of the global streamers’ content is originally produced in Spanish,” Vix Plus Executive Vice President and general manager Rodrico Mazon said. “We know Hispanic audiences everywhere are hungry to stream more native Spanish language content – this is why we are investing a massive amount of incremental dollars in original content and sports rights, above and beyond our existing linear businesses.” 

Allen Media Group and The Weather Channel chairman and CEO Byron Allen took the issue of onscreen inclusion a step further during AMG’s Thursday panel session by saying diversity in ownership is key to greater, inclusive representation on the small screen. Allen said it’s imperative for the industry to push for an environment that welcomes unfiltered voices and perspectives. 

“I think we have a situation where we do not have enough diversity and ownership – [women and people of color] do not own enough of the media outlets to control their image and how they are produced and depicted,” Allen said. “Until we have a stronger representation of diversity and ownership, we don’t have a true democracy.”■

Fox Corp. highlighted its inclusion and diversity efforts during a recent panel discussion in which talent from its news, sports and entertainment divisions cited the need for an inclusive and authentic approach to diversity issues.

Moderated by Harris Faulkner, host of Fox News Channel's The Faulkner Focus, the March 23 panel -- part of Fox Corp.’s Content Drives Commerce Brand Partnership Summit -- discussed the importance of authenticity in addressing on- and off-screen inclusion issues.

“Authenticity is the most important word when you’re talking about diversity,” Fox Sports on-air personality Joy Taylor said. “You can very much placate to diversity and check a box and create a scenario where you’re welcoming people, but if it’s not authentic, the people you are trying to include … are very quickly going to walk into the room and realize this isn’t really it.”

Miranda Kwok, creator and executive producer of drama series The Cleaning Lady, said she had concerns that distributors wouldn’t allow her to tell the story of an undocumented immigrant trying to provide for her family, but she found a willing outlet in Fox.

“I thought I was going to pitch it to cable and streaming where I thought these stories would land, but [series producer] Warner Bros. said there is a greater appetite right now for more diverse stories and different perspectives on broadcast television,” she said. “They [Fox] totally embraced the fact that it was a story about a southeast Asian woman who is an undocumented immigrant. So it’s been a very, very exciting time to have all of that support to tell a story [of someone who is] normally marginalized, pushed into the shadows and told they don’t matter."

The panel also said that the industry needs to continue to push for more diversity and inclusion in front of the camera and in the producer’s chair. “The more voices and background through diversity moving forward doesn’t just help us win, but it drives home the point that we count, especially when it's hard,” Faulkner said. “We bring something to the table that not everyone does, so let’s pull up some more chairs and create a bigger table. The power of the voice matters, and it can’t all be the same because then people begin to tune us out.”

Tammi Mac, host of talk show Business of Being Black with Tammi Mac on streaming service Fox Soul, also said that diversity needs to be the norm rather than the trend within the industry. “A lot of times when we experience a television show that’s diverse, we think of it as a trend … but that does a disservice to diversity and inclusion because that means that it's in and then it’s out,” she said. “You want to think about diversity for the long haul. This is how you will continuously include people of every race, age, gender to be a part of your program, and to tell those stories in an authentic way so that those people who are those people will be tied in.”

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Joel Kuwahara, co-founder of animation production studio Bento Box -- which Fox acquired in 2019 -- added the industry has to find ways to give more opportunities to people and voices who aren’t being heard. “I personally would like to be able to help these young artists, some of these diverse voices to help make something they may not know how to make in the animated space,” he said. “It can get very complicated to do the kind of work we do, but they need an opportunity.” ■

As the TV industry celebrates Black History Month, African-American viewers say they‘re seeing more of themselves and their stories on the small screen but want to see even more inclusive content that reflects their experiences.  

Today, there are nearly 50 scripted series on broadcast, cable and streaming services that feature Black leads or predominantly Black casts. While that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the 559 scripted TV shows offered in 2021, according to FX research, industry observers say it‘s certainly an improvement over what was on television a decade ago.

While several iconic and popular shows will leave the air this year (ABC’s Black-ish, OWN’s Queen Sugar, TNT’s Claws and Showtime’s Black Monday), there are plenty of new shows aiming to fill the gap (Amazon Prime Video’s Harlem, ABC's Queens, Starz’s Run The World and ABC’s The Wonder Years). Also on tap is the much-anticipated March return of FX’s original comedy series Atlanta, starring Emmy-winner Donald Glover.

Also: Black History Month: What to Watch (February 1-14)

Black viewers are noticing the increase in content. According to Horowitz‘s recent FOCUS: Black: Consumer Engagement report, 55% of viewers said that they are seeing more Black actors as lead characters in scripted TV shows. More importantly for distributors, two in three Black viewers say that seeing Black characters and communities portrayed in positive ways positively impacts their decision to watch a show or a movie, according to the report.

While the report shows that viewers are reacting positively to the increase in Black images currently on-screen, Horowitz Research chief revenue officer and insights and strategy lead Adriana Waterston said there’s a desire to see even more diversity and inclusion within those characters and storylines. Indeed, Horowitz reported that 66% of Black TV viewers wanted to see more TV shows and movies that showcase the diversity of the Black experience here in the U.S. 

“This is an audience that in itself is incredibly diverse in a lot of ways, including cultural diversity, religious diversity and lifestyle diversity,” Waterston said. “There are so many differences that can be celebrated, and consumers are now saying that it’s not just enough for the representation of Black audiences to be good in numbers and quality. They are saying, ‘I want to really see myself represented,’ and that requires a level of understanding of the audience and a level of nuance.” 

Shows like Netflix‘s French-produced series Lupin, about a Senegal-born man looking to avenge his father’s death in Paris, and CBS‘s Bob Hearts Abishola — which takes a comedic look at immigrant life in America — have begun to help shine a light on diversity within the African-American community. 

“Current statistics and research substantiate that the U.S. Black population is not monolithic,” said One Caribbean Television president of sales and marketing Mark Walton. “At a time when Black-themed content is in demand, telling the stories of Black immigrants, primarily from Africa and the Caribbean, and their descendants, undoubtedly provides an opportunity to attract millions of viewers, many of whom rarely see themselves reflected in the narrative of being Black in America.”  

Waterston added: “The awakening to the dangers of stereotypical representations that was so damaging for so long has made people become more sensitive to on-screen portrayals. The next phase is not only being sensitive but being inclusive.” ■

Marcus Riley, senior director of content strategy for Scripps Local Media's northern region has added "inclusive journalism" to his title, with a charter to oversee the company's effort "to place more emphasis on inclusive journalism and representing all sectors of our audience in our newsrooms," according to Sean McLaughlin, VP of news for Local Media.

E.W. Scripps is one of the largest TV broadcast groups in the country, with 61 TV stations in 41 markets.

In the wake of the country's racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd, companies across the spectrum have been looking to heed that call for change. Scripps said it has been conducting research to "learn how to be more inclusive in its news coverage and connect better with the people who live in our communities."

McLaughlin said that Riley will be working with all of Scripps' local news operations to implement its research findings.

“Content strategy is about more than how to cover news,” Riley said. “It’s about how to engage with a community and connect on new and important levels so we’re reflecting our audiences – how they look and how they feel. Scripps is committed to getting better and better at that, and I am committed, too.” ■

The Tegna Foundation, the charitable organization sponsored by broadcaster Tegna Inc. in partnership with its local TV stations, said Tuesday that it has awarded 234 Community Grants to help support several critical community programs and needs.

The Foundation’s Community Grant amounts average between $1,000 and $5,000 each and this year supported community initiatives like providing shelter and support for those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, education programs for at-risk youth, and programs supporting and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

According to Tegna, the majority of 2021’s Community Grants support the following UN Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) goals: Good Health and Well-Being (42%); Quality Education (22%); and Zero Hunger (20%).

“Our stations’ continued commitment to empowering their local communities through fundraising and grantmaking is invaluable and inspiring,” Tegna CEO Dave Lougee said in a press release. “We are honored to support all of our local partners who share our values and commitment to serving those in need.”

Among the grants awarded were:

The Foundation also approved four special grants to support diversity, equity, and inclusion and local journalism, including:

· George Floyd Memorial Foundation Scholarship Fund: In partnership with KARE, Tegna’s NBC affiliate in Minneapolis, a grant was made to provide scholarships to deserving high school students accepted to 2- or 4-year colleges and/or universities.

· Hispanic Heritage Foundation: Supporting programs to identify, inspire, prepare, and connect Latino leaders in the community, classroom, and workforce.

· NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF): Providing general support for LDF, which seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve equality.

· Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Supporting the Local Legal Initiative, specifically supporting local journalists in defending their rights to gather and report the news.

Tegna Foundation Community Grants are vetted by a committee of employees at each station, including the station general manager, and approved by the Tegna Foundation Board of Directors. To learn more, click here. ■

About a year after accelerating its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across its service territory, Comcast offered an update on its progress, adding that its programs targeted to help low-income communities and minority-owned enterprises have helped thousands of students, employees and small businesses, and are on track to do more this year and beyond. 

Comcast said in June 2020 that it would accelerate its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, which occurred one year ago Tuesday (May 25), and in that time has made strides to support businesses owned by people of color and create new job opportunities.

In the past year Comcast has opened hundreds of Lift Zones across the country and expects to connect more than 1,000 this year, helping students, seniors, veterans, and others have access to free internet and the tools needed to complete homework, participate in digital skills training, and apply for jobs. The company added that its Comcast RISE program, which launched last fall, will award 13,000 small businesses owned by people of color across the country with grants, technology upgrades, and marketing services by 2022. 

Comcast has also worked to improve employment diversity throughout the company at every level, pointing to its NBCU Academy, launched in January, which provides underrepresented students with training, experience, and scholarships. In addition, the company noted it has committed $1 billion over the next 10 years to help close the digital equity gap, reaching an additional 50 million low-income Americans in that timeframe to ensure that communities of color have the skills and tools necessary to succeed in the digital economy. 

“Ultimately, across all that we do, our mission remains the same – we connect people to what matters most,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a blog post. “We use our platforms and resources to help elevate potential and provide everyone with access to the opportunities they need to succeed.”

The themes of diversity and inclusion resonated throughout several virtual panels during the opening week of CTAM’s portion of the Television Critics Association Winter Tour.

The first of a scheduled two weeks of virtual presentations from more than a dozen cable networks and streaming services showcased a number of new programs featuring diverse casts and producers. Network executives, producers and talent said the shows continue the industry’s efforts to offer more on-screen representation that reflects the diverse audiences that watch television.

The need to create more diverse on-air content for Hallmark Channel was the message conveyed during the network’s TCA executive panel, led by recently appointed Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Wonya Lucas, as well as executive VP of programming and network publicity Michelle Vicary. Hallmark — which has been criticized for not featuring diverse characters in lead roles in its original movies — is now moving toward providing more diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera, according to Lucas. 

“The significant achievements made in the D&I space in 2020 laid the groundwork for us to branch out in our storytelling to approach the complexity of what it means to love and be a family in a more authentic, varied and inclusive way,” Lucas said. “We continue to strive to defy common stereotypes and give our characters more depth and dimension … to more broadly represent the human condition.”

Lucas took over in July after former Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Bill Abbott stepped down last January, following the network’s controversial move to pull a commercial featuring a kissing scene involving a same-sex couple. She referenced as an example of the network’s increasingly diverse slate a 2020 original holiday film — Christmas Comes Twice — which featured a biracial female astrophysicist as a lead character. Vicary also cited the movie Mixed Up in the Mediterranean, debuting Feb. 20 and featuring Hallmark’s first gay lead character.

“I would say probably 25% of our movies had diversity in them,” Vicary said.

Lifetime, National Geographic, HBO, OWN  and other networks touted new shows with characters that defy stereotypes often associated with characters of color. HBO Max’s Genera+ion, which follows a diverse group of high schoolers testing the boundaries of race and sexual identity in a conservative community, looks to depict today’s teens in an authentic way, according to 19-year-old executive producer Zelda Barnz. 

“Something that’s real and authentic is intersectionality, and the people who identify across the gender and sexuality spectrum, and with different races and different ethnicities,” Barnz said of the show, which debuts March 11. “We drew a lot of inspiration from authenticity and real-world influence when we were writing and creating the show.”

OWN’s new legal drama Delilah provides a rare look at an African-American lawyer and the unique challenges she faces from a race and gender perspective, said lead actress Maahra Hill. The series, from Greenleaf producer Craig Wright, premieres later this year. 

“I think she reflects Black women and Black America in ways that we haven’t seen on a consistent basis,” Hill said. “I do think that she’s an accurate reflection of women who are trying to balance their lives, as well as fight for things that are meaningful to them in their life.”

HBO’s revival of In Treatment also features an African-American female lead in Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), in the role of the therapist originated by Gabriel Byrne. Executive producer Jennifer Schuur said the new series moves the original show — which ran from 2008-2010 — into the present day and deals with issues prevalent in today’s culture. 

“We have an opportunity to say some very important things about our particular time,” Schuur said. “We have racial justice movements and the Me Too movement happening; we talk about toxic masculinity and addiction. We cover a lot of topics all set in the present day.” 

When the New Year’s Eve Ball dropped, ending 2020, the television industry was left licking its proverbial wounds after a year that saw a once-in-a-century pandemic leave an unprecedented mark on show productions and business operations. 

A silver lining through all the disruption was the growing influence of African-American images and storylines on those productions that did make the air. Sparked by the industry’s continued inclusion efforts both on- and off-screen — and fueled in part by last summer’s protests against social injustice — African-Americans continue to increase their presence across a wide spectrum of platforms and genres.

ALSO READ: Black History Month: What to Watch

“What we are seeing are more stories being told that reflect the African-American experience, and as such you are getting more positive representations of African-Americans,” OWN president Tina Perry said. “By the nature of it being more, you are absolutely getting more positive [portrayals] and better quality [content].”

Indeed, African-Americans have found success across the television spectrum both in front of and behind the camera. At last September’s 72nd Emmy Awards, African-American actors and actresses set a record for Emmys won in major acting categories for comedy, drama and limited series with seven. 

The achievement was led by Zendaya, who at age 24 became the youngest performer ever to win lead actress in a drama series for her role in HBO’s Euphoria, and Regina King, who picked up her fourth Emmy — tying Alfre Woodard for the most acting Emmys won by a black performer, according to the Los Angeles Times — for her leading role in HBO’s limited series Watchmen. 

More Representation, More Awards

African-American producers, directors and actors contributed to the 2021 awards-season buzz with several critically acclaimed original movies in 2020, including Netflix’s war drama Da 5 Bloods, directed by Spike Lee, as well as the Denzel Washington-produced film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman in his final role. More recently Amazon Prime Video’s One Night in Miami … produced by Regina King, has also received rave reviews.   

Black actors blazed their way into the superhero genre, with King’s Emmy-winning lead role in Watchmen, based on a 1986 DC Comics series; Anthony Mackie’s co-starring role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a Marvel Studios limited series launching on Disney Plus in March; and Javicia Leslie’s genre-shattering role as the female Caped Crusader in The CW’s Batwoman. 

Leslie said at last month’s CW Media Day that it’s frustrating that in 2021, her turn in Batwoman makes her the first African-American lesbian to star for a major studio. Breaking through that barrier now will only open the door for others to follow, she said. 

“When I was growing up I didn’t see versions of myself on the screen, especially a superhero, [in] movies and television shows,” she said. “I think that representation is so important, and I think that we deserve to have representation.”  

African-Americans also made strides in the horror/sci-fi genre, with directors such as Jordan Peele and Misha Green (Underground) producing HBO’s critically-acclaimed series Lovecraft Country — which on Feb. 3 picked up a Golden Globes nomination for best drama series —  and Whoopi Goldberg starring in the CBS All Access adaptation reboot of Stephen King’s The Stand. In 2021, Amazon will debut horror event series Them from director Lena Waithe (Showtime’s The Chi) as well as Ava DuVernay’s sci-fi thriller Dawn, based on Octavia Butler’s 1987 book.

Overall, Black actors accounted for the highest total share of screen among any racial minority group at 18%, exceeding their estimated 14% share of the U.S. population, Nielsen said in its December 2020 report Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation and Inclusion on TV.  The report, which examined the 100 most-watched shows each on broadcast, cable and SVOD services in 2019, also showed that 92% of those programs had some level of diversity — including women, people of color and/or LGBTQ+ individuals — in its cast.  

The data correlates with what has been a continual increase in the number of African-American images on-screen. The share of roles for Black actors on scripted shows during the 2018-19 TV season increased to 18% from 15.7% on broadcast; 18.2% from 17.5% on cable; and 11.9% from 10.1% for subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services compared to the year prior, according to UCLA’s 2020 Hollywood Diversity Report: A Tale of Two Hollywoods.

Demand for Inclusive Content

While African-American viewers have always over-indexed in television viewing — Nielsen’s Total Audience Report for First Quarter 2020 showed that Black viewers watched more than five hours of programming per day,  well above that of Hispanics (2 hours, 40 minutes), Asians (1 hour, 54 minutes) and Whites (3 hours, 43 minutes) — their representation on screen is beginning to reflect the reality of TV’s audience, according to Nielsen VP of diverse insights and partnerships Charlene Polite Corley. 

“With the demand growing for inclusive content, I think the trend of including Black talent on-screen is here to stay and I hope we see more of it,” Corley said. “What our data shows is that there’s so much opportunity to tell even more stories and to provide more opportunity for diverse talent, including Black talent.”

Eric Deggans, TV critic for National Public Radio, added that African-American viewers want to see themselves reflected on the screen, so it behooves distributors to provide inclusive content to draw not only black viewers, but all viewers. The 2020 Horowitz Research Group State of Viewing & Streaming survey reported that 64% of all viewers found it appealing to watch TV shows that tell the stories of diverse communities different from their own. 

“We’re at a point now where cable and broadcast television especially can’t
afford to take any viewers for granted, so it makes more sense for them to offer shows that feature Black casts,” said Deggans, author of Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation.

While African-Americans have experienced other blips of increased representation on TV only to see them dissipate over time, actress/comedian Kym Whitley said this time the movement within the industry feels like more than just a trend.

“We’re at the beginning of something great, so therefore there are opportunities I feel that have opened up,” said Whitley, who last year appeared in BET’s Twenties. “I believe that after all the [social injustice] protests and the speaking out of people saying that what we’re seeing is wrong, I think it’s becoming more evident that this moment has to take place. I believe the world has opened up and now everyone is looking.” 

Indeed, last summer’s protests sparked by the May killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers helped influence the further infusion of African-American talent both in front of and behind the camera. Industry executives said the movement and its focus on issues regarding racial inequities in education, law enforcement and employment have energized content producers to create programming that better reflects the voices and images of their audience. 

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In the aftermath of the protests, industry executives said diversity initiatives such as last July’s CBS Television Studios and NAACP content production partnership‚ which sees CBS work with the civil rights organization to acquire, develop and produce more diverse programming — has fostered opportunities for more inclusive programming for years to come. 

“The industry has been talking about diversity and inclusion for some time now and we would have gotten to this point eventually, but I do think the George Floyd death last May quickened the pace and made everyone think more about race issues and racial justice in America as well as issues about diversity,” OWN’s Perry said. “In our industry people took it to heart, and some of the results we are seeing are about people being more thoughtful about those issues in light of a lot of the protests and conversations that happened last year about racial injustice in America.”

Added Nielsen’s Corley: “I think after a year like 2020, it can’t all help but be connected. We have seen audiences gravitate to content not just for entertainment but also a way to help be informed about some of the things that were happening, particularly after the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.” 

Will Progress Stick? 

Still, some executives are not sure that the industry is fully committed to inclusion. 

“We’re seeing strides in the right direction, but I feel it’s too early to say if there is a real change happening or a moment coming out of everything that happened over the summer last year,” producer/writer and showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll (The CW’s All American) said on a panel during WarnerMedia’s January virtual Sundance experience. “This industry has so much to make up for because it’s been so systemic for so long that the jury is still out until I see where we are a few years from now.” 

OWN’s Perry said one way to assure that African-American images and stories remain at the forefront of the industry is for the top executives at the major studios and production companies to be inclusive.

“Inclusion and diversity has to be at the forefront of all hiring and programming decisions — that means writers, producers, directors, network and studio executives,” she said. “Empowering those people is the first step to ensuring that diverse stories are pitched, purchased, developed and presented about African-American life.”

Added Whitley: “I remember an executive producer told me that we hire who we know, but now you have to do a little extra work. Just because you don’t know us, we’re there. When you know better, you’ll do better.” 

Comcast said Wednesday it has promoted Dalila Wilson-Scott to EVP and chief diversity officer, reporting to chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts. Effective Wednesday (Oct. 7), she will oversee all diversity, equity, and inclusion activities for Comcast, as well as continuing to lead the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and the company’s community impact work. 

“Dalila is a fantastic leader and passionate advocate and supporter of our corporate social responsibility efforts, which have been at the heart of our company for decades,” Roberts said in a press release. “In her new role, she will build on our strong foundation, partnering with leadership teams across our organization to continue to make our company and culture more inclusive, and to help us drive substantive change.” 

Wilson-Scott joined Comcast in 2016 to lead the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and community impact work. She will continue to spearhead Comcast NBCUniversal’s charitable giving and philanthropic strategy, including its $100 million commitment to advance social justice and equality. Wilson-Scott also has been deeply involved in the company’s digital equity efforts. She will continue to be instrumental in helping identify and build partnerships with organizations to provide the skills training and resources needed for under-resourced communities to succeed in an increasingly digital world. 

Prior to joining Comcast, Wilson-Scott spent more than 16 years at JPMorgan Chase, where she served as head of global philanthropy and president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. Prior to joining the Office of Corporate Responsibility, she served in the firm’s Corporate Merger Office as an integral member of the team managing the integration of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One.  

Cable networks’ original holiday movies will deliver the gift of diversity, with many of this year’s offerings featuring actors of color in lead roles.

From OWN’s first-ever original movie, One Fine Christmas, to Lifetime’s A Sweet Christmas Romance to UP TV’s Snowbound for Christmas, these movies will aim for viewers who are underserved by the popular seasonal genre.

“There’s a formula to holiday films: You have a nice-looking couple, they end up falling in love, there’s a happy ending, fa la la la la,” Marc Berman, editor of TV industry website Programming Insider, said. “What’s always been missing from that formula are people of color — there has been an enormous lack of diverse holiday programming.”

As cable networks ramp up the number of original holiday films — nearly 90 will debut between the last week of October and the end of December — network executives said they’ve made a more concerted effort to diversify the characters and storylines.

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With African-Americans in particular watching more than 50 hours of live and time-shifted television per week during the first quarter, per Nielsen, holiday-themed scripted programs — which touch on traditions of family, food and gifts — will play well with diverse audiences, TV One senior vice president of original programming and production Brigitte McCray said.

“Black audiences are not monolithic and storytelling for this audience should be as diverse as they are, including holiday programming,” McCray said. TV One in December will air Dear Santa, I Need a Date, starring Ray J, Reagan Gomez-Preston and Anna-Marie Johnson.

“African-Americans and people of color love all types of genres and it’s no surprise that feel-good content is appealing during the holiday season,” McCray added.

BET and BET Her will simulcast four Christmas- themed movies across four straight Saturdays beginning Nov. 30: Christmas Belles, Hip Hop Holiday, ’Twas the Chaos Before Christmas and Holiday Heist.

“At BET, we know that binging on holiday movies can be comfort food for the soul, and our audience is no exception to this viewing phenomenon, so we’re proud to present our new original holiday programming to bring that holiday cheer to our audience,” said Maureen Guthman, BET senior vice president, content strategy.

OWN, which targets African-American women, will jump into the original movies arena for the first time with three holiday-themed movies debuting in November: One Fine Christmas starring Rick Fox and Vanessa Williams; Carole’s Christmas, featuring Jackée Harry and Kimberly Elise; and Baking Christmas, starring Tim Reid.

“We’ve created scripted programming that’s relatable and reflective of the lives of our African-American female audience, and we feel that it’s a natural extension for us to go into the holiday movies space,” OWN president Tina Perry said. “We will be telling the same stories that are relatable, that reflect her life and experiences at that time of the year.”

Networks targeting more general audiences are also diversifying their holiday fare. Nearly half of Lifetime’s 28 planned movies will star people of color, including Tatyana Ali (The Christmas Hotel), Kim Fields (You Light Up My Christmas), Kelly Rowland (Merry Liddle Christmas), Loretta Devine (A Sweet Christmas Romance) and Keshia Knight Pulliam (Radio Christmas).

Hallmark Channel will offer four holiday films with lead actors of color, including the Tamera Mowry-Housley starrer A Christmas Miracle, Crown Media Family Networks CEO Bill Abbott said.

The cable and communications industry has made major strides in the hiring of women and people of color, but the industry is struggling with retaining women and people of color at the same pace as men and whites, according to industry diversity employment studies from NAMIC and WICT.

The results of the biennial study — revealed this morning at a Town Hall meeting in conjunction with the WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference — offered offered encouraging news on hiring and promotion of people of color and women compared to the last conducted reports in 2017.

Among the companies that participated in both the 2017 and the 2019 surveys, the 2019 AIM/PAR Workforce Survey reported that representation of people of color at executive/senior managers levels increased to 28.4% from 25.1% over the two-year period. In addition, the percentage of people of color at board of director levels increased to 16.8% from 15.3%. Compared to whites, the hiring percentage rate of people of color is 15.4 percentage points higher, said the survey.

Overall, people of color representation within cable industry increased at all levels for both operators and programmers, according to the survey. 

“It’s encouraging to see that people of color are making advancements in the industry,” says NAMIC President and CEO Shuanise Washington.

The survey also reported that female representation at the executive/senior management level increased to 34.9% from 32.7% compared to 2017, as well as at the board of directors level, to 25.2% from 16.8%. The overall promotional rate is higher for women than for men.

“We are grateful that we work in an industry that allows WICT and NAMIC to measure workforce diversity and inclusion,” said WICT President & CEO Maria E. Brennan. “Knowing where women and people of color stand is step-one in ensuring progress. As the survey results show, for women, closing the gaps in hiring and employee retention are central to achieving parity with men.”

The surveys also raised several red flags for the industry. Promotional rates for people of color are lower than whites, and young white professionals under the age of 36 are promoted at more than two times the rate of young professionals of color, according to the survey. For women, the survey reports that the turnover rate for women is 7.3 percentage points higher than for men.

“Clearly more needs to be done, particularly in the area of retaining and promoting people of color,” Washington said. “Companies need to shift from focusing solely on diversity to also focusing on inclusion. That’s where you are going to start to see real progress because diversity without inclusion is not effective in the long term.”

Brennan added that the data will help fortify the industry’s efforts to become more diverse and inclusive. “Like our partners at NAMIC and The Walter Kaitz Foundation, we will use this data to help companies strengthen their practices and policies to improve recruitment and retention of women within their workforce.” 

The AIM/PAR Workforce Survey was administered by research company Mercer and financially supported by The Walter Kaitz Foundation. A total of 21 organizations representing 75.5% of the industry workforce participated in the online survey of cable and communications companies, which employ more than 245,000 people, according to the organizations.

AT&T didn’t take long to step up to the plate with regards to improving inclusion and diversity efforts within its new WarnerMedia division, pledging Wednesday to commit to further diversifying its future TV, movie and digital projects both in front of and behind the camera.

Three months after completing its $108.7 billion purchase of Time Warner – which includes cable networks TNT and HBO – AT&T released a policy statement outlining WarnerMedia’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Among the policy's initiatives, WarnerMedia says that in the early stages of the production process, “we will engage with our writers, producers and directors to create a plan for implementing this commitment to diversity and inclusion on our projects, with the goal of providing opportunities for individuals from under-represented groups at all levels.”

WarnerMedia will launch its initiative with Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy Warner Bros. Pictures project. Jordan (HBO's Fahrenheit 451) has already adopted inclusion riders for new projects within his production company Outlier Society.

“Inclusivity has always been a no-brainer for me, especially as a black man in this business. It wasn’t until Frances McDormand spoke the two words that set the industry on fire — inclusion rider — that I realized we could standardize this practice,“ he said. “The WarnerMedia family has introduced an approach that accomplishes our shared objectives, and I applaud them for taking this enormous step forward.”

In its policy statement, WarnerMedia says it has a “historic and proven commitment to diversity and inclusion … but there is much more we can do.”

Indeed, in a 2017 Directors Guild Of America survey, The Warner Bros. Companies and HBO ranked sixth and seventh among the top 10 largest TV studios in hiring women and minority directors.

WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said the diversity policy is the “next logical step to improve our content and cement our leadership in contributing to positive change in the industry.”

Added Warner Bros Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara: “I’m proud that Warner Bros. and our sister companies, HBO and Turner, are willing to state unequivocally that this is where we stand on diversity and inclusion. Our policy commits us to taking concrete action to further our goals, to measure the outcomes and to share the results publicly.”

The industry will certainly be monitoring WarnerMedia’s progress. As the company states: "it is essential that our content and creative partners reflect the diversity of our society and the world around us."

The full policy statement reads as follows: 

WarnerMedia companies, Warner Bros., HBO and Turner, have long been committed to diversity and inclusion as moral and business imperatives. It is essential that our content and creative partners reflect the diversity of our society and the world around us. Together with other production companies, networks, guilds, unions, talent agencies and others in the industry, we all must ensure there is greater inclusion of women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities and other underrepresented groups in greater numbers both in front of and behind the camera.

For our part, WarnerMedia pledges to use our best efforts to ensure that diverse actors and crew members are considered for film, television and other projects, and to work with directors and producers who also seek to promote greater diversity and inclusion in our industry. To that end, in the early stages of the production process, we will engage with our writers, producers and directors to create a plan for implementing this commitment to diversity and inclusion on our projects, with the goal of providing opportunities for individuals from under-represented groups at all levels. And, we will issue an annual report on our progress.

The companies of WarnerMedia have a historic and proven commitment to diversity and inclusion. But there is much more we can do, and we believe real progress can be made in the industry. We will work with our partners in the entertainment community to make this commitment a reality.

Women in Cable Telecommunications and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications are once again partnering for their biennial employment survey, which measures gender and ethnic diversity in the cable industry.

This valuable research is unique to cable and has significantly raised awareness about the importance of workforce diversity while providing empirical data to inform key strategic decisions. As our consumer and employee base becomes increasingly diverse, the industry’s ability to attract and retain the best possible talent is ever more critical to profitability and sustainability. And aren’t profitability and sustainability among your primary business goals? If so, then you should take part in the survey.

The survey is being administered by Mercer, a global leader in talent development. And because the Walter Kaitz Foundation is generously underwriting the cost, there is no charge for companies to participate. In exchange, participants will receive a wealth of information — all confidential — to help inform their diversity and inclusion tactics. The investment companies will make is the staff time required to complete the survey, but there is much to be gained. Each participant will receive a custom report from Mercer to benchmark its performance.

As part of this confidential diversity scorecard, Mercer will produce benchmarks reflecting the demographics of the key labor markets in which participants operate. In addition, Mercer will provide an Internal Labor Market (ILM) map showing the flow of women and people of color throughout each organization and projections of how the diversity make-up at management levels can be expected to change over the next five years. Also, for the first time, Mercer representatives will be available post-survey for 60-minute private review sessions to explain findings from the confidential scorecards.

Created in 2003, WICT’s PAR Initiative has evolved into a comprehensive advocacy program that examines the status of women in cable based on three critical criteria success: pay equity, advancement opportunities and resources for work/life integration. Companies continue to use the valuable collective research and resources from WICT’s PAR Initiative to set goals, measure progress and adopt effective policies and programs.

NAMIC’s AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) is the latest iteration of the association’s employment survey launched in 1999.  The survey, which provides rich data central to understanding the state of multi-ethnic diversity in the cable telecommunications industry, is a key resource for sustaining the pipeline of professionals of color. NAMIC’s flagship education initiatives, the Executive Leadership Development Program and the Leadership Seminar, are key outgrowths of the employment research. 

The survey opened on Jan. 29; data will be collected until March 20. NAMIC and WICT will reveal the results of the survey in a joint Town Hall Meeting on Sept. 29 as part of Diversity Week in New York. At that point, we will know if we have made progress since the last survey in 2013.

We urge all MSOs, programmers and vendors to take part. After all, aren’t you striving to increase profitability and ensure the long-term health of your company?

Maria E. Brennan is president and CEO of WICT. Eglon E. Simons is president and CEO of NAMIC.