NAACP Presses On After Talks With Networks

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has quietly engaged in discussions over the past few weeks with the four major broadcast television networks--both in Los Angeles and in New York--about the near-exclusion of minorities in the new prime-time series for fall and the lack of racial diversity in the executive ranks of those companies.

But at the end of a first round of meetings Thursday, following one-on-one conversations with top executives at NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox, Mfume expressed disappointment, saying that the networks are far from instituting specific policies that would increase diversity both in front of and behind the camera. While the network executives acknowledged that there was a problem in terms of diversity, he said, they offered no clear plans on how to address it.

Shortly after his last meeting, Mfume reiterated his determination--first outlined in July in his keynote address at the NAACP annual convention--to carry out his threats of driving down stock prices in addition to plans for viewer and advertiser boycotts in the NAACP’s attack against what he called “the most segregated industry in America.”

“The meetings were productive from the point of view that there is now a dialogue between the four major networks and the NAACP,” Mfume said in an interview. “To a person, I think the heads of the networks clearly understand where we’re coming from, what is driving us and why we won’t be turning back. We’re not just rattling our sabers or beating our chests.”

Mfume Says Talks Were ‘Frank,’ ‘Straightforward’

The civil rights leader had just wrapped up separate meetings with Fox Entertainment President Doug Herzog; CBS Television President Leslie Moonves; and NBC West Coast President Scott Sassa and NBC Entertainment President Garth Ancier. Mfume met with ABC Television Network President Patricia Fili-Krushel on Aug. 13.

An ABC spokesman said that Fili-Krushel’s discussion with Mfume was “very productive” and that she was committed to improving diversity at the network. A Fox spokesman reiterated that network’s commitment to diversity in front of and behind the camera, but declined to discuss the nature of the talks with the NAACP leader. Spokespersons at NBC and CBS also confirmed their meetings with Mfume but declined further comment.

Characterizing his talks with the network heads as “very frank and very straightforward,” Mfume added that the executives have yet to agree to work with the civil rights organization to develop a set of remedies to increase the number of minorities in network executive ranks, in the corporate boardrooms, in production and in the talent pool.

“We’ve offered to put forth a plan of action that would be co-authored by our group and the networks,” Mfume said. “There are plans that we want to put forth, and we’re hoping that the network presidents will sign on to a set of initiatives that will move us beyond where we are today, which is nowhere in terms of opportunities for minorities.”

Scramble to Cast Minorities an ‘Insult’

Mfume first launched his attack against the networks last month during his keynote address at the 90th annual NAACP convention in New York--a plan, he said, that he began formulating after reading a May 28 report in The Times that detailed the dearth of minorities in the new comedies and dramas premiering this fall on the four major networks.

“I’m prepared to take the executives at their word that they are just as outraged as we are, but it remains to be seen in the absence of a plan which network will step forward and be part of the strategy,” Mfume said, adding that he plans to meet again with network executives within a few months to see what shape their initiative might be taking.

He also blasted the current scramble to include more minorities in the new series before they premiere. Since news of the minority issue in the fall prime-time season first surfaced, at least eight new shows and several returning series have added minority cast members.

“It’s an insult,” said Mfume, saying that some executives pointed to those newly added minority cast members during the meetings as a response to his concerns. “It’s as though they’re trying to buy us off or take us away from the issue by throwing a few more black or brown faces on the screen. It’s never been about that. It’s about what’s happening in the executive rooms. We told them upfront when they tried to pull that on us that that dog won’t hunt. This quick-fix mentality is just not enough.”

He added: “We are putting them on notice that there has to be cooperation, or there will be a reaction. We will have to do what we must do. We are not yet declaring war, but we are definitely not going to be silent.”

November Boycott of a Major Network?

Absent significant initiatives from the networks in the coming weeks, Mfume said one of the four major TV outlets would be targeted for a viewer boycott during the November and February sweeps periods, when networks hope to attract large audiences and increase advertiser rates. He also plans to take his complaints to shareholders’ meetings.

The NAACP in June purchased 100 shares of stock of the parent companies of ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in order to gain access to shareholders’ meetings, and Mfume said that “we will try to find a way to drive down stock prices.”

A national coalition of Latino groups, protesting the lack of Latino faces, also has called for a viewer boycott on Sept. 12. And a local coalition of community groups--including the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP and Native Americans in Film--has vowed to protest the trend when the season starts.

In tandem with the network discussions, Mfume said the civil rights group would begin conversations with advertisers who purchase time on prime-time television. “We want to talk to these corporate advertisers who market their goods to a diverse consumer base about whether we should keep buying their products if they continue to buy time in an industry that is so segregated,” he said.

Cable television and talent agencies, which Mfume called “the real bastions of exclusion,” will also be targeted by the NAACP in concert with other minority groups, Mfume said. He specifically criticized sports-oriented cable network ESPN for excluding minorities.

A spokesman for ESPN said, “ESPN is committed to providing opportunities throughout our organization. We are proud of our progress in the area of diversity, and we will continue to seek to improve our efforts.”