The early reviews are in for the new television season, and they are decidedly mixed, sprinkled with such terms as "disappointing" and "needs work."
These assessments come not from the critics, but from some participants in a year-old effort to monitor the representation of different ethnicities and races on primetime TV.
"Nobody can tell us that, in the whole of United States creation, you can't find one (American) Indian to be in front of the cameras, or to write on these shows," said Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "That's how silly it's become."
Nogales' group belongs to the National Latino Media Council, which, along with the Baltimore-based NAACP, the Asian-Pacific American Media Coalition and Indians in Film and Television, make up a coalition that is pressing networks on the issue. The group intends to offer a more detailed critique later this month.
"If you look at the fall schedule, you see an increase in lead roles or substantial roles," says NAACP spokesman John White. "You also see an increase of (black) writers and those behind the camera. There still needs to be work done, though, in terms of Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans."
In late August, coalition members met with officials from CBS, NBC and Fox to survey the new season. ABC is said to be close to ratifying an agreement with the umbrella group, but has not yet named a senior official for diversity issues, a step already taken by the other networks under their pacts with the coalition.
CBS' decision earlier this year to continue its urban medial drama "City of Angels," which features black leads and black and Hispanic producers and writers, was attributed by network president Les Moonves to a renewed consciousness about diversity concerns. The new ABC drama "Gideon's Crossing," starring Andre Braugher and Ruben Blades, is also considered promising by the civil rights coalition.
"I think when our viewers and other interested parties look at what we've accomplished in one year, they'll be very impressed," said Josie Thomas, CBS senior vice president for diversity. "We have a ways to go."
Thomas says the network's shows offer 25 percent more minority characters than a year ago -- but the question of "how" can matter as much as "how many."
CBS' new show "The District," starring Craig T. Nelson as a white police chief in Washington, D.C., has sparked particular concerns. Based on the experiences of consultant Jack Maple, a police official in New York City and a consultant to the Baltimore Police Department, the show has been criticized for its depiction of obstructionist black politicians. "We understand they have artistic license, but at the same time we wonder what they're trying to promote," White said.
Stay tuned.
Odds aren't so good
We're in the midst of a 12-week silly season that helps determine the radio industry's advertising rates and bragging rights. Listeners are being offered a lot of moolah just to keep their hands off that dial. Two local stations are offering different takes on the same general principle:
WQSR (105.7-FM), the Infinity/CBS oldies station, is promising listeners to the drive-time program "Rouse and Company" the chance to "win $1 million just for knowing your birthday!"
WPOC (93.1 FM), Clear Channel's country music station, tells its listeners they can call in four times a day to win $5,000 in "the Big Money Birthday Guarantee!"
Both arrive with complications.
If you're the 10th caller to WQSR's "Rouse and Company" at 7:20 a.m., you automatically win $105.70. One of the DJs opens a sealed envelope with a specific birth date assuming callers are between the age of 18 and 65. If the date shares your month, you win $211.40. If it also shares your day, you get $1,000. And, if it is your exact birth date, you win $1 million.
"We're trying to say to people they'll win something," said Bob Phillips, general manager for WQSR. "People love to play contests, even if the odds aren't great."
He ain't kidding. Phillips says several thousand people call each day during the promotion, which is scheduled to run for eight weeks. So, assuming that 3,000 people call, Towson University mathematics professor Mostafa Aminzadeh figures that there's about one in 52,452,000 chance of winning $1 million.
As for WPOC, here's a cheery fact: the contest is nationwide. The toll-free number you're calling -- and the one for the free car and $50,000 being offered by corporate sibling WOCT (104.3 FM) -- gives you a Clear Channel line. Listeners from however many of the 1,000 U.S.-based Clear Channel stations have similar formats are also calling in. More than 98 percent of callers simply get a busy signal.
