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By Jack Ong HOLLYWOOD - Summer 2000 Last year at this time, when the TV networks announced their fall lineups on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, the shutout of ethnic diversity in the casting of starring roles was criticized by the public and media alike, with the Los Angeles Times, for example, declaring "It's A White, White World on Fall TV Schedule." Everyone seemed to recognize the obvious: America is not comprised of only Caucasians, and "all white" programming on American TV is hardly an accurate portrayal of the American scene. With the press providing fuel and the internet unprecedented access, protests began immediately within the ranks of activists and organizations from all walks. By September, the Coalition for Diversity on Television was formed, comprised of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Latino Media Council, Asian Pacific American Media Coalition and American Indians in Film and Television. The coaltion set up meetings with top network executives in Hollywood and New York, statements were written, nitpicked, rewritten, signed and publicized, promising to increase the number of minorites both on screen and behind the scenes. Then came the recent announcements of this year's new fall sitcoms and dramas. These were quickly addressed by a statement from the Coalition for Diversity on Television, including the following excerpts: "There are rays of hope in the recently announced fall schedule.... After the debacle of last season when no lead characters on any of the new shows...were minorities, the season debuting in September will feature prominent roles for African American actors." "We are deeply disappointed, however, by the networks' failure to go beyond the inclusion of African American actors onto their schedule." "With the exception of (three featured roles for Latinos on the schedules), Latinos were shut out of any starring roles...." "Moreover, there are few Asian Americans and no Native Americans in any of the new shows.... Coupled with the loss of several shows, which had prominent Latino and Asian American characters, including CBS' "Martial Law" and "Chicago Hope"...these communities are in arguably no better shape than they were last year at this time. "Given that all four networks have made written commitments to address the issue of diversity, we would hope that the new season would better reflect the diversity that is America." "We will be monitoring the upcoming fall season as well as the networks' other diversity-related efforts in the coming weeks and months to determine if indeed the networks are truly serious about diversifying their schedules and their companies." "Despite some promising signs in the proposed fall schedule, the jury is still out on this most important question." - Jack Ong
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