The Walter Kaitz Foundation celebrated its 40th-anniversary fundraising dinner Wednesday by raising more than $1.1 million toward the media and connectivity industry’s continued diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The dinner, co-chaired by Comcast executive VP and chief diversity officer Dalila Wilson-Scott and Revolt CEO Detavio Samuels, drew more than 500 industry executives to the dinner, which officially concluded the industry’s Diversity Week festivities that included the WICT Network Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference.

Proceeds from the dinner, including more than $50,000 generated through a silent auction during the event, will go towards fostering diversity programs from organizations supported by Kaitz, including The WICT Network, NAMIC, the Emma L. Bowen Foundation and the T. Howard Foundation.

During the dinner, the foundation honored The Hidden Genius Project and Hallmark Media’s Black-targeted Mahogany original content division with ChangeMaker Awards. Tied in with the dinner's anniversary, Wilson-Scott surprised Hidden Genius Project CEO Brandon Nicholson on stage with a $40,000 grant supporting the Oakland, California-based group's work mentoring Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship and leadership skills.

Spencer Kaitz addressed attendees by stating the cable industry should take pride in its diversity efforts, which began long before most other industries recognized the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. He added, though, that the industry still needs to continue its efforts to further build a diverse and inclusive 

“Martin Luther King challenged all of us with his dream of what America could be,” Kaitz said. “Tonight I believe that if the great Dr. King was here looking around this room, he would say that we have moved past the beginning of achieving his dream. But we are here tonight because we know we are nowhere near the fulfillment of that dream.”

NCTA: The Internet & Television Association president and CEO Michael Powell thanked Spencer Kaitz and the foundation for its diversity advocacy efforts, adding that companies have to remain committed to the ideals of diversity and inclusion to be successful. 

“We will continue to thrive if we preserve our strong pledge to the values and the mission of inclusion, and if we’re unafraid to let the sun shine in to reveal areas where we fall short,” Powell said.

NAMIC will look to shine a light on the advancement of the cable industry’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts during its virtual 35th annual NAMIC Conference, which launches Tuesday (Oct. 5) as part of the industry's Diversity Week festivities.

The theme of the three-day conference is “Removing Obstacles. Magnifying Opportunities” and will feature a lineup of industry leaders and experts discussing the pressing DEI issues facing the communications and cable industry, according to NAMIC.

The conference will open Tuesday with its L. Patrick Mellon Mentoring session featuring a discussion with Music World Entertainment president Mathew Knowles. Other conference highlights include NAMIC’s annual Next Generation Leaders and Luminaries Awards; the “Meet the Execs” panel session featuring Walt Disney Company VP, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Christian Divino, Kishshana & CEO CEO Kishshana Palmer, and Arrington Coaching LLC COO David Arrington; and the” Setting the Course of International Allyship” panel featuring WarnerMedia SVP, Equity and Inclusion MyKhanh Shelton and A+E Networks EVP, Corporate Brand Strategy and Chief of Staff Juliana Stock.   

NAMIC president and CEO Shuanise Washington spoke to Multichannel News about this year’s virtual NAMIC Conference goals and objectives and provided an early look at plans for the diversity organization’s in-person NAMIC Conference in 2022. An edited version of the interview appears below. 

MCN: What are your goals for this year’s NAMIC Conference? 

Shuanise Washington: Our 35th annual conference will provide a global platform for emerging and thought leaders to discuss topics ranging from culturally competent marketing to racial equity. Attendees will engage in professional networking sessions, delve into best practices with industry leaders, and learn the emerging industry trends that will shift the future of cable and communications. 

MCN: Has going to a virtual format for a second straight year helped or hurt attendance sign-ups? 

SW: Our registration numbers have already exceeded last year and people are still registering. A virtual format has expanded our ability to reach more people and in turn allowed more people to be a part of our conference. We are thrilled that the cable, media and entertainment  industry continue to rely on NAMIC and our annual conference for tools, strategies and professional connections to empower diversity, equity and inclusion in their companies. 

MCN: Has the virtual format made it easier to secure key speakers? 

SW: In some ways, it has. We have been able to expand the breadth and depth of our speaker pool because we do not have to contend with travel and a fixed timeframe, so to speak, as many of the sessions are pre-recorded. I am really excited about so many of our sessions and speakers this year, like the L. Patrick Mellon session on mentoring with Dr. Mathew Knowles. Dr. Knowles and Julissa Bermudez, television personality and actress at CLEO TV, will engage in a lively discussion about the importance of mentoring in establishing a successful career and legacy.  They will tackle issues many underrepresented employees feel might have already existed within their companies—even before the COVID pandemic: isolation, lack of support, barriers to access, and so on. 

MCN: Will you continue to feature virtual elements at next year's conference when it's back to in-person status? 

SW: Yes. The virtual format has been quite successful in expanding our reach and in making the conference more accessible. Accessibility is central to our mission. We are exploring ways to enhance the virtual experience so that we can draw attendees from every state in the nation—and from people committed to DEI work in the media, entertainment and cable industry around the world. 

The Oct. 4 WICT Leadership Conference kicks off the cable industry’s Diversity Week festivities, which for the second straight year will be held virtually and also includes the NAMIC Conference (Oct. 5-8) and The Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising event (Oct. 6). 

The two-day WICT Conference, with its theme of “Together We Shine, Together We Thrive,” will feature several sessions and keynote speakers that will look to empower its members as well as conference attendees to thrive in a challenging business environment. WICT President and CEO Maria Brennan spoke to Multichannel News regarding the organization’s outlook for this year’s conference. An edited version of the interview appears below.

Multichannel News: Are you satisfied with the attendance numbers heading into the virtual conference?

Maria Brennan: I'm more than satisfied. I said that I would be happy if we got more than 800 [attendees] by conference time and we are at 799 so I’m pretty confident we’ll get there. Last year as you may recall we set a record for attendance of about 840 -- it would be nice to get there, but I've been very, very pleased. I think it’s a really good indication that even though we may have some virtual learning fatigue, there's still always time to make the time for the Leadership Conference and Diversity Week. I think it’s a good sign that people still have it in them to participate in the work we do to bring Diversity Week to the masses, along with NAMIC and the Walter Kaitz Foundation.

MCN: You mentioned record attendance for last year’s conference. Has the industry been able to maintain the momentum for WICT's diversity and equality efforts from last year?

MB: Absolutely, and we're now at a very critical inflection point: women in terms of the workforce lost a lot of ground in a year and a half. In fact, the Women's Economic Forum has the last year and a half or two years setting back women in the workforce a good three decades behind what it was before the pandemic. That’s the bad news, but here's the good news:  we can also recover exponentially quicker with a bit of a course correction. That's why events like this are so important. We're certainly teaching and talking about the business of the business, but we're also teaching and instilling really good practices when it comes to recruiting, retaining and advancing women and people of color. The global pandemic hurt women in the workforce, but it can also help us get to parody quicker if we take these issues seriously and work collaboratively and collectively to try to stop that course. I know we work in an industry that believes in the diversity imperative, so we know that the companies we work with are going to put resources toward it. 

MCN: What are some of the highlights of this year’s conference? 

MB: I bet I say this every year, but I think this is one of the most extraordinary collections of speakers we’ve ever had. I’m really excited and proud about where we are and I think that’s why we’ve seen our numbers stay strong from year to year. We have some tremendous general sessions and keynote speakers, including [MSNBC President] Rashida Jones. One of the things that we know in terms of building diversity is that it starts in the C-suite. Women are going to get parity with men exponentially quicker when men are part of the solution. That’s why I’m excited about the CEO panel that we’re doing. There will be some real important CEOs who really are putting forward best practices when it comes to putting women at all different levels within the company, including [Cox Communications President and CEO] Pat Esser, [Altice USA CEO] Dexter Goei, [Urban One CEO] Alfred Liggins and [Charter Communications CFO] Chris Winfrey. I’m also a huge fan of our 'Pearls of Wisdom' session as well as our 'Beyond the Hashtag:#LoveIsLove' session. Niecy Nash is going to preempt the session with lovely remarks about her journey.

MCN: WICT is planning to hold the Leadership Conference in person next year. Does having gone virtual for two straight years present some challenges for the conference in 2022? 

MB: It does, but here’s the silver lining: I hope there will never be a WICT Leadership Conference that is strictly in person. I think we should always make it hybrid. We have to meet people where they are. Not everybody is going to want to get back in a crowded room right away. Also, some people just don't have the clearance to get on a plane and go to New York for a few days. We can really make this a more inclusive experience by reformatting it based on what we've learned in an entirely virtual scenario. 

The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) will launch its joint AIM/PAR Workforce Diversity Survey in November, with plans to release the findings during Diversity Week 2022.

The two-year joint workforce survey, which focuses on the current state of ethnic and gender diversity within the media and entertainment industry, was delayed from going out to industry companies earlier this year due to the pandemic, according to NAMIC and WICT officials. 

The 2019 AIM/PAR survey saw an increase in representation of people of color and women in executive and senior-level management positions by 3% and 2%, respectively, compared to the 2017 survey. Also, hiring rates for people of color exceeded the rate for white people by roughly 15% compared with the last survey, while hiring rates for women exceeded the rate of men by nine percentage points.

Read Also: WICT, NAMIC Surveys: Women, People of Color Increase Representation at Senior, Executive and Board Levels 

Leading up to the survey launch, NAMIC, WICT and the Walter Kaitz Foundation will kick off the Commit to be Counted campaign to garner awareness and a commitment from survey-eligible companies. The campaign will reinforce the value of participation in the survey and demonstrate how the data is a critical tool for the industry to improve its efforts to create inclusive workplaces, said the companies. 

The Walter Kaitz Foundation’s annual Hollywood Creative Forum event will focus its lens beyond diversity within the U.S. entertainment industry toward a more global perspective.

The virtual forum, which runs Aug. 11-12, will continue to champion culturally accurate representation across entertainment through its various sessions, conversations and screenings, but this year’s offering will also broaden its reach internationally to showcase content created beyond our boarders, according to Kaitz Foundation executive director Michelle Ray. 

“This year’s theme, ‘Stories from the Diaspora,’ acknowledges the industry’s global audience by exploring stories from the US and across the globe that speak to the human experience of any group of people who are living outside their place of origin, and how every diasporic experience deeply affects our individual and collective stories,” Ray said. “When you think about how globally influential media & entertainment is in shifting and shaping our perspectives, you recognize the huge opportunity, and some would even say responsibility, to expand the lens, to be sure that every story is told well, with authenticity and respect.”

Among the highlights of the Forum are “KaitzTalk” sessions with Africa Channel principle owner and Madison Media Management LLC chairman and CEO Paula Madison, and Revolt Media and TV CEO Detavio Samuels; a screening of documentary film Stateless, which looks at the history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and panel sessions focusing on navigating the original content pipeline and understanding the Native American voice in entertainment. 

Read Also: Virtual Diversity Week to Return in October

The 2021 Diversity Week event will again be held virtually, but will resume with in-person activities in 2022, according to WICT, NAMIC and The Walter Kaitz Foundation. 

The 2021 WICT Leadership Conference and the NAMIC Conference will be held online beginning Oct. 4. In a joint press release the organizations said that they hope to build on the success of 2020’s virtual Diversity Week conferences, which were held online due to the pandemic. 

Read Also: Diversity Week Spurs Virtual Conversations

WICT’s annual Leadership Conference will kick off this year’s Diversity Week festivities Oct. 4-5. “WICT is excited to usher in Diversity Week 2021 with its Leadership Conference. We plan to feature a mix of live networking activities and seamless presentations, panels and interactive sessions, which proved to be a highly-successful formula last year,” said WICT President & CEO, Maria Brennan in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with our diversity partners at NAMIC and the Walter Kaitz Foundation to provide the industry with a first-rate virtual experience.” 

NAMIC will hold its annual National Conference, titled Removing Barriers. Magnifying Opportunities, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8. “As people around the world continue to navigate these challenging times, NAMIC is exploring important new ways to build diverse and inclusive workplace communities,” said Shuanise Washington, President and CEO of NAMIC. “Our theme is bold, intentional, and recognizes the moment we are in societally and the role that all of us collectively can play. I’m confident that Diversity Week 2021 will be educational, engaging, energizing, and entertaining.” 

The Walter Kaitz Foundation, which will not hold its fundraising dinner for the second straight year, will host a virtual event to celebrate the industry’s collective and future-focused efforts. “In the spirit of unity, we are excited to be part of Diversity Week 2021 which renews our industry’s efforts in support of equity and inclusion,” said Walter Kaitz Foundation Executive Director Michelle Ray.

Ray added that the organizations are looking forward to a return of in-person events in 2022.  “Knowing how much we all crave personal interaction, and with an optimistic eye towards global progress, we are thrilled to be planning the return of a spectacular in-person Dinner in New York City on October 12, 2022.”

Read Also: Michelle Ray Keeps Inclusion Efforts Top of Mind 

The entertainment industry is examining its diversity and inclusion efforts as it continues to make inroads in recognizing the business rationale for greater representation on-air, behind the camera and in the C-suites. Future’s CultureX Conversations on Tuesday, March 16, will build on the dialogue through a series of keynotes, fireside chats, panels and awards that celebrate the industry’s inclusion efforts while searching for ways to improve both the mindset and the impact of decision makers to foster a more inclusive industry.

Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios chairman and CEO Byron Allen will serve as opening keynote speaker of the virtual conference, leading a roster of top industry executives, chief diversity officers, on-air talent and showrunners set to discuss the need for more diversity within all aspects of the industry, while revealing the strategies behind building a successful, diverse workforce. The conference is produced in partnership with The Walter Kaitz Foundation.

Warner Bros. Digital Networks SVP and general manager Diana Mogollon will headline a panel on the impact of diverse shows casts on programming acquisition and distribution, while WarnerMedia Inclusion SVPs Karen Horne and Samata Narra share some internal research and insights on implementing the inclusion process within a “merging” corporate culture.

Also Read: Michelle Ray Keeps Inclusion Efforts Top of Mind

Walter Kaitz Foundation CEO Michelle Ray will host a panel featuring diversity officers such as AMC Networks chief diversity officer Aisha Thomas-Petit and executive search executive Ann Carlsen of Carlsen Resources discussing their experiences and tips for ensuring equitable results in recruitment practices and hiring procedures.

Regarding on-screen diversity, GLAAD chief communications officer Rich Ferraro will release the organization’s latest report on LGBT characters and storylines on TV, while AARP VP of multicultural marketing Yvette Pena will discuss the impact of content targeting the multicultural maturing audience. 

A highlight of the conference is the CultureX Awards, given to individuals, organizations and programs for their outstanding commitment to inspiring cultural inclusion within the television industry. The ceremony is hosted by 2020’s CultureX award recipient, Julio Vaqueiro, the anchor of Noticias Telemundo Edicion Especial. This year’s award recipients include: Juanjo Duran, Head of Entertainment & Multicultural, Google; Juan Williams, Fox News Political analyst, co-host of Fox News Channel’s The Five; and Starz, for commitment to ensuring diversity and inclusion in the cast and storyline of many of its most popular series including Power, P-Valley and Outlander, plus upcoming series including Run The World, Blindspotting, Black Mafia Family, Shining Vale, Serpent Queen and the sequel to Power, Power Book II: Ghost. The award will be accepted by Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch.

For more information, or to register, visit the CultureX Conversations website.

The cable industry’s annual Diversity Week gatherings took place virtually last month, as major media companies continue their efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable environment both on-screen and in the employment ranks. 

Recent diversity initiatives such as the CBS Studios/NAACP content production partnership, which tapped industry veteran Sheila Ducksworth as its president, and the partnership between ESPN and the Alliance for Women in Media, which will award $10,000 scholarships for Black females pursuing careers in sports media, have kept diversity and inclusion themes at the forefront of the industry.

Michelle Ray, executive director of leading diversity advocacy group The Walter Kaitz Foundation, addressed those recent efforts in an interview with Multichannel News. Here’s an edited version of that conversation. 

MCN: NAMIC and WICT drew more attendees for their virtual events this year than they did for their traditional events last year. Is that a positive sign that the industry remains committed to its diversity and inclusion efforts?

Michelle Ray: Given that [diversity and inclusion] has been front and center and in the spotlight, I think people largely wanted to understand and see what these organizations were talking about and what they were doing to change the game. I think there was that aspect of people who normally would not come to a Diversity Week in New York because their companies wouldn’t approve travel. It allowed everybody to peek into these conferences without having to spend copious amounts of money. Even though we didn’t have our traditional dinner, the issues of diversity and inclusion still remain on the front burner for the industry.

MCN: With recent moves toward fostering diversity from ViacomCBS and others in the industry, are you encouraged companies will continue the diversity discussion both on-screen and in the employment ranks beyond Diversity Week?

MR: Yes. I think particularly now, when we’re hurting financially — remember, studios aren’t fully shooting new content — it's important that we find ways to pivot in terms of content curation. When we get back to some sort of normalcy, these [diversity and inclusion] initiatives will already be in place. Take the [CBS] scenario: they’re looking to align with some third-party organizations like the NAACP. So with a lot of our companies it’s about how they help to lean into this conversation as people who know diversity and civil rights. They know the issue of the day and can work with the content creators. 

I’m so glad that these companies are leaning even more towards diversity and inclusion because they’re really the barometers of the communities that they serve. So I like that the fact that this industry is showing up in this special time of need, and I’m so optimistic that at the end of the day, any one company or organization can tackle any of these prevailing issues, whether it's around race, gender, sexual health. I don’t think any one organization or person can own that narrative, I think we all have to lean into it individually and then come together collectively to collaborate when we need to amplify that voice. 

MCN: What does ‘normal’ look like in 2021 for the industry’s diversity initiatives? 

MR: I want to be optimistic, but it’s going to be a long runway with this. For me, it’s about being really intentional about the work and what we’re trying to do to achieve and to reshuffle the decks. It’s about having impact and collaborating with organizations that focus on benchmarking and tracking so that we know where we’re at, particularly in terms of employment. We’re getting ready to work on the [NAMIC
and WICT AIM/PAR Workforce Survey], and for us, it’s about scrutinizing
and questioning every­thing. 

Diversity and inclusion was spotlighted during the annual Walter Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner, which raised more than $1.6 million on Sept. 27 to support the industry’s diversity initiatives.

One of the brightest lights during the festivities was hip-hop mogul/entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, who exemplifies what diversity and inclusion looks like for the industry, as well as how far it still needs to travel to reach its goals.

Yes, the industry should be applauded for the positive results generated from the bi-annual WICT PAR and NAMIC AIM employment surveys, which showed that women and people of color continue to hold more top-level positions in greater percentages than in previous years. But Diddy reminded attendees that the hard work is not over.

While he didn’t waste an opportunity to tout his music-themed Revolt TV network in front of a captured crowd of MVPD executives — “This is like a dream come true, I’ve been trying to get meetings with all of y'all,” he declared — he wasn’t there to do a hard sales pitch. Instead he spoke poignantly about his own climb up the corporate ladder, from being raised by a single mother who emphasized a strong work ethic, to honing his entrepreneurial skills though hustling to get a paper route at age 12 even though he was too young to work, to eventually becoming one of the most successful entertainment moguls.

He lamented not seeing positive African-American images on television growing up. “These images really affected me, just like they affect millions of kids out there now who don’t feel they have a position or a voice because of the lack of diversity in films, media, network ownership and also distribution,” he said.

Indeed, Diddy is one of an embarrassingly few number of people of color who own media properties. Such individuals would have a major say in what images and stories appear on the screen, as well as who’s telling those stories behind the camera. Diddy challenged the industry to do better.

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of success, but I would be lying to you if I told you that we have enough diversity within the cable industry.” he said. “True diversity is having a fair and equal chance to compete. This is not about charity but about opportunity.”

Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The Walter Kaitz Foundation

The Walter Kaitz Foundation will honor HBO and nonprofit organization Girls Who Code during its 34th annual Fundraising Dinner on Sept. 27, the company announced Monday.

HBO will be honored as a 2017 Diversity Champion, an award given to organizations that act as catalysts for diversity throughout the cable industry, while its Diversity Advocate award will go to Girls Who Code, a group dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by providing girls with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities, according to Kaitz. 

“Since its founding, HBO has cultivated an environment that values divergent voices, encourages innovative thinking and expression, and rewards both individual and collective accomplishments,” said David Porter, executive director of the Kaitz Foundation in a statement. “Girls Who Code is a 21st century organization that is harnessing technology and making it real and usable for girls. The young women trained here will be instrumental in helping us to continue to revolutionize our industry.”   

Pat Esser, president, Cox Communications, and Ken Lowe, chairman, president & CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive, will serve as dinner co-chairs for the dinner, which will be held in New York City . Other executives sitting on the dinner committee include Rocco Commisso, chairman and CEO, Mediacom Communications Corp.; Nancy Dubuc, president & CEO, A&E Networks; John Evans, chairman & CEO, Evans Telecommunications Company; Peter Rice, chairman & CEO, Fox Networks Group; Richard Sjoberg, president & CEO, Sjoberg’s, Inc.; Robert Stanzione, executive chairman, ARRIS; and David Zaslav, president & CEO, Discovery Communications. 

Funds raised during the dinner will help support the programs and initiatives for three key industry organizations, including the Emma L. Bowen Foundation, the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT).

HBO garnered more 2017 NAMIC Vision Awards nominations than any other television network, The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) announced Wednesday night.

HBO drew 12 NAMIC Vision Awards nominations, which honor original and digital programming content that depicts the lives, spirit and contributions of people of color, said the diversity organization. ESPN and BET Networks drew eight Vision Awards nominations, while History Channel, CNN, ABC, ABS-CBN International, Discovery Latin America, Disney Junior, Food Network, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Starz, TV One, VH1 and Viceland all garnered multiple nominations, according to NAMIC.

Nominations for the 2017 NAMIC Vision Awards were announced as part of the Hollywood Creative Forum 8.0 VIP Reception hosted by The Walter Kaitz Foundation.

"NAMIC is honored to continue the tradition of honoring original content that defies stereotypes, while telling compelling stories of cultural diversity and life experiences," said Eglon Simons, president and CEO, NAMIC in a statement. “This year's nominees must be applauded for their excellence and commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion on and off screen."

The 2017 NAMIC Vision Awards Nominees are as follows:

Animation

Doc McStuffins - Disney Junior

Miles from Tomorrowland - Disney Junior

Sanjay and Craig - Nickelodeon

Sofia the First - Disney Junior

The Loud House - Nickelodeon

Awards & Honors

47th NAACP Image Awards - TV One

BET Awards 2016 - BET Networks

Black Girls Rock! - BET Networks

Dear Mama - VH1

Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens - VH1

Trailblazers Honors - Logo

Best Performance – Comedy

Don Cheadle: House of Lies - Showtime

Issa Rae: Insecure - HBO

RonReaco Lee: Survivor’s Remorse - Starz

Teyonah Paris: Survivor’s Remorse - Starz

Tichina Arnold: Survivor’s Remorse  - Starz

Best Performance - Drama

Anika Noni Rose: Roots - History Channel

Forest Whitaker: Roots - History Channel

Gabrielle Union: Being Mary Jane - BET Networks

Kerry Washington: Confirmation - HBO

Malachi Kirby: Roots - History Channel

Malik Yoba: Bad Dad Rehab - TV One

Regé-Jean Page: Roots - History Channel

Children's

All in with Cam Newton - Nickelodeon

Game Shakers - Nickelodeon

Nina’s World - Sprout

Sesame Street - HBO

Stuck in the Middle - Disney Channel

Comedy

Ballers - HBO

black-ish - ABC

Fluffy Breaks Even - Fuse

Insecure - HBO

Survivor’s Remorse - Starz

Daytime

SuperSoul Sunday - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

The Talk - CBS

Digital Media - Short Form

Change Agents: History in the Making - TV One

Harlem on My Plate - Powerhouse Productions

One Heritage, Two Generations: Amelia Morán Ceja and Dalia Ceja - NBC Latino

This is Birth with Lisa Ling - CNN

Voices - NBC Asian America

Documentary

Eyes on the Prize Then and Now: A WORLD Channel Special -  World Channel

Fault Lines: The Lives of Black Women - Al Jazeera English

Roots: A New Vision - History Channel

Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four - Investigation Discovery

We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World - CNN

Drama

Being Mary Jane - BET Networks

East Los High - Hulu

Grey’s Anatomy - ABC

How to Get Away With Murder - ABC

Secret and Lies - ABC

Foreign Language

Pancho Villa: Se Busca Vivo o Muerto - Discovery Latin America/US Hispanic

Texas Trocas - Discovery Networks - Discovery Latin America/US Hispanic

Lifestyle

Ayesha’s Homemade - Food Network

Design + Story - ABS-CBN International

Patti LaBelle’s Holiday Pies - Cooking Channel

Smollett Eats - Food Network

Special Projects: Breakthrough Women - CNN

Spice to Life - ABS-CBN International

News/Informational

Arab and Queer: Lebanese Singer Pushes Boundaries - NBC Out

BA Election Day Coverage 2016 - ABS-CBN International

NewsOne Now with Roland Martin - TV One

Special Projects: Impact Your World - CNN

Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement - BET Networks

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman - National Geographic

Original Movie or Special

All the Way - HBO

BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration - BET Networks

Black Girls Rock! - BET Networks

Rock the Runway - ABS-CBN International

Special Projects: Amalgam Comics - CNN

Reality

Black Market with Michael K. Williams - VICELAND

SC Featured: Chubbtown - ESPN

SC Featured: Inky Johnson - ESPN

SportsCenter: Mother of Hampton Lacrosse - ESPN

Sunday NFL Countdown: Jarrius Robertson - ESPN

Reality - Social Issues

E:60 American - ESPN

Gaycation with Ellen Page - VICELAND

Rise Up: A SportsCenter Special - ESPN

Vice News Tonight - HBO

Vice: “Viva Cuba Libre” - HBO

Sports

E:60 Mike Evans - ESPN

SC Featured: The Meaning of Miyah - ESPN

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel - HBO

Terrance Crawford: My Fight - HBO

VICE World of Sports - VICELAND

Variety/Talk Show   

All Def Comedy - HBO

Being: Brandy - BET Networks

Lemonade - HBO

StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson -  National Geographic

VH1 Live! - VH1

Wednesday’s 33rd Annual Walter Kaitz Foundation dinner raised nearly $1.7 million as the pay TV industry honored A+E Networks and the National Association of Independent Latino Producers (NALIP) for their efforts to foster diversity, NCTA said today. Money raised by the Kaitz dinner supports the Emma L. Bowen Foundation, the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications and Women in Cable Telecommunications.  

A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc accepted the Diversity Champion award for the programmer’s efforts to promote women and minorities in leadership roles. The programmer, which includes networks like History Channel, Viceland and Lifetime, has used its influence – it reaches 330 million TV watchers worldwide and 500 million digital users – to touch on topics like racial diversity and sexuality. History’s remake of Roots was a success this year and brought the groundbreaking story of slavery and individuality to a whole new generation. At Viceland, programs like travel documentary Gaycation explore sexual orientation and the cultural dynamics of foreign LGBTQ communities.  

NALIP executive director Axel Caballero accepted the Diversity Advocate award for the organization, which was formed 17 years ago to advance the professional interests of Latino content creators.

Under Caballero, who joined NALIP three years ago, the organization has expanded its outreach by creating “incubators,” a series of initiatives that allow Latino content creators to gather together, share their best work, network and receive training that take their careers to the next level. Combined with NALIP’s array of mentorship programs, media summits and showcases which bring together key players in the cable, media and entertainment worlds, the organization has expanded the meaning of what being a producer means.

The dinner, held at the New York Marriott Marquis (the theme was Inclusion. Impact. Inspiration) on Sept. 21, was hosted by CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield. The dinner committee was headed by Turner Broadcasting System chairman and CEO John Martin and Charter Communications chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge.

NAMIC, WICT and The Walter Kaitz Foundation on Monday (Sept. 19) will partner to offer a panel discussion on the successes and challenges of women of color in business, one of several conversations on inclusion within the cable industry during its annual Diversity Week.

The week’s festivities — which will include Women in Cable Telecommunications’ day long Leadership Conference and Touchstones Luncheon on Monday, the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications’ 30th annual conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the annual Kaitz Foundation fundraising dinner Wednesday evening — will be highlighted by a Monday afternoon, jointly presented general session titled “Leadership Lessons for Women of Color.”

The event will feature some of the industry’s top female executives providing insights and strategies on how to transcend the challenges facing women of color in the workforce and make it to the top of their respective fields, according to the organizations. Slated to appear: Monica Diaz, vice president of diversity, inclusion and wellness at ESPN; Tamara Franklin, executive vice president of digital for Scripps Networks Interactive; Susan Jin Davis, senior vice president of operations and compliance for Comcast; and Michelle Rice, executive vice president of content distribution and marketing for TV One.

Dr. Ella Bell, associate professor of business administration at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and founder of nonprofit organization ASCENT-Leading Multicultural Women to the Top, will moderate the panel, which will provide a strong, informative kickoff to the rest of the Diversity Week activites, Maria Brennan, president and CEO of WICT, said.

“We will be presenting a perspective from women of color and looking at what are the common denominators of these powerhouse women in the industry who have really overcome the statistics and really risen through the ranks inside the media world,” Brennan said.

Overall, executives from WICT, NAMIC and Kaitz said that the industry’s focus on diversity during and beyond this week continues to make good business sense as its subscriber base becomes more diverse.

“Whenever we talk about diversity we couple it with inclusion because there’s nothing inside of the research that says diversity and inclusion is bad for business,” Brennan said. “It’s quite the opposite — if you ignore the research and the data, you would be doing so at your own risk and probably at your own peril.”

Added Kaitz Foundation executive director David Porter, “Diversity Week is a critical industry effort that allows us to recognize excellence while fostering leadership development and networking opportunities for our employees.”

Here are some of the highlights of Diversity Week:

WICT Leadership Conference: Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee and Comcast Corp. senior executive vice president and chief diversity officer David Cohen will be the guest speakers at the opening general session of the conference, which will feature several keynote speeches, master classes, talks, interactive roundtables and think tank discussions.

“What’s unique about the Leadership Conference is that we deliver the teaching in many different learning platforms, and we do that because everyone learns differently,” Brennan said. “By breaking up the formatting and the content, we have the best chance of ensuring that people assimilate the information and it sticks with them.”

The Leadership Conference’s tent-pole event, The Touchstones Luncheon, will feature as its keynote speaker Danai Guira, co-star of AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead. During the luncheon, WICT will honor Kathleen Finch, Scripps Networks Interactive chief programming, content and brand officer, as its Woman of The Year. The organization will also highlight its Women to Watch honorees, Laura Gentile, ESPN’s senior vice president of espnW and Women’s Initiatives, and Mary McLaughlin, Comcast Cable’s senior vice president for the Beltway region.

NAMIC Conference: NAMIC will field a star-studded lineup of speakers for its conference. The two-day event will kick off Sept. 20 with a general session keynote address delivered by Reggie Love, former assistant to President Barack Obama, NAMIC said.

ABC News’ 20/20 co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas will be the special guest speaker for NAMIC’s 2016 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon, in partnership with WICT and Kaitz.

Music industry icon and New Edition/Bel Biv Devoe member Michael Bivins will discuss his career and BET’s upcoming New Edition biographical miniseries during the conference’s Excellence in Multicultural Marketing Awards presentation, according to NAMIC.

In between the high-profile keynoters, the conference’s theme, “Diversity 3.0: Innovation Through Inclusion,” will be executed through sessions aligned with three educational tracks of Business Solutions, Leading and Learning, and Content and Imagery, said the network.

“NAMIC is honored to present such a distinguished line-up of speakers and session facilitators. Our sincere thanks is extended to this year’s planning committee co-chairs and all of the sponsors that have provided support for this milestone 30th anniversary conference,” said Eglon Simons, NAMIC president and CEO.

Kaitz Foundation Dinner: Inclusion, impact and inspiration are the themes for Kaitz’s Sept. 21 annual fundraising dinner, which is on track to raise more than $1.6 million to fund diversity-themed programs and organizations within the cable industry. CNN’s Weekend Edition anchor Fredricka Whitfield will host the gala, which will feature on-stage appearances from dinner co-chairs John Martin, Turner chairman and CEO, and Tom Rutledge, Charter Communications chairman and CEO, as well as Michael Powell, CEO of the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.

Kaitz will honor A+E Networks with its Diversity Champion Award and The National Association of Latino Independent Producers with its Diversity Advocate Award, Porter said.

The latest scorecard on ethnic and gender diversity at companies in the cable industry is coming this week (Sept. 29) as a centerpiece of the industry’s annual Diversity Week.

Every two years, the Women in Cable Telecommunications PAR (Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources for Work/Life Integration) initiative and the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement) effort do surveys at about two dozen cable-TV providers and programmers. Surveys for the upcoming report were conducted beginning in January.

The surveys released in 2013 found the percentage of women as full-time employees was 34%, down from 39% in 2003 when WICT began its PAR research. The NAMIC AIM research found people of color comprised 38% of the surveyed groups, up 5 percentage points from 2011 – but at the executive or senior level of manager or executive, the percentage had declined to 15% from 19%.

The report from surveys in 2013 noted that people of color were promoted less frequently, and had a higher turnover rate (or left companies) more often than white employees – but concluded that robust hiring, if it continued on the pace seen in 2012 (when the surveys were done), would keep overall minority employment levels at around 25% over the next five years. The new results may shed light on whether that proved true.

The research will be announced and debated at the joint town hall session with industry leaders including National Cable & Telecommunications Association CEO Michael Powell; Gail Greenfield, PhD, principal, Mercer; Suzanne Malveaux, anchor, CNN;  David Cohen, executive vice president, Comcast; Pat Esser, president, Cox Communications; Mary Meduski, executive vice president & chief financial officer, Suddenlink; Stacy Green, executive vice president, Global Human Resources and Facilities, A+E Networks, and Paul Richardson, senior vice president, HR, ESPN, and chief diversity officer, The Walt Disney Co.

NAMIC’s 29th annual conference will continue throughout the day and into Wednesday, focusing on the continued growth and importance of diversity in an ever changing television industry, NAMIC president Eglon Simons told Multichannel News. Keynote speakers for the conference include legendary television producer Norman Lear; heralded filmmaker Spike Lee and New York Times best-selling author Eddie Huang.

"A sea change is occurring in our industry with the emergence of unscripted content, OTT, TV everywhere and other distribution alternatives,” Simons said. “We are pleased to present a cross-generational roster of diversity champions who are at the forefront of this change, with sessions that will inspire our members and all of the diversity champions in attendance to keep fighting for diversity and seeking opportunities to educate and adapt to evolving business models.”

Spanish language broadcaster Univision will be feted during The Walter Kaitz Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner on Wednesday as the organization’s “Diversity Champion.” Kaitz Foundation executive director David Porter says the program will emphasize and encourage individual action to help further foster diversity within companies.

“If everyone takes one action to have a positive effect on diversity, that collectively will make all the difference in the world,” Porter said. “Whether it’s choosing someone to mentor or taking someone out to lunch that is new to the company and is different in some way from you, one action really does make a difference.”

Kicking off the week on Monday will be WICT’s Leadership Conference, which will feature a lineup of industry leaders and shakers from opening keynote speaker Hoda Kotb, of NBC’s Today, to closing session speakers TV One chairman Alfred Liggins; TLC personality Stacy London; Suddenlink chief programming officer Kathy Payne; HGTV host Egypt Sherrod and FBI agent Joe Navarro.

Filmmaker Leslye Headland will be the featured guest at WICT’s sold-out Touchstones Luncheon, which also honors Woman of the Year Ellen East (Time Warner Cable) and two Women to Watch, Bernadette Aulestia (HBO) and Rachel Welch (Time Warner Cable).

“Our goal for the WICT Leadership Conference and all Diversity Week activities—as always—is to educate and increase the pipeline of women leaders in the cable industry,” WICT CEO Maria Brennan said. “Given the anticipated audience and the superlative program our conference committee has put forward, we believe we will achieve that goal.”