Is Small-Screen Diversity Nothing More Than Stereotypes?

A panel of TV industry heavyweights assembled to explore how Jews are depicted in prime time expanded into a broader debate Thursday regarding television’s responsibility toward ethnic and religious groups.

Entertainment attorney Bruce Ramer, president of the American Jewish Committee, turned out a who’s who of executives and producers, including heads of the NBC, CBS, WB, UPN and Pax TV networks and the creators of “The X-Files,” “Ally McBeal,” “Spin City” and “All in the Family.”

Ramer stressed the goal was to simply open a dialogue on the issue and that Jews were “not coming forth as an aggrieved group.” Indeed, as the discussion widened, the point was made that while Jews are often shown in a less-than-flattering light on television, they generally fare better than groups such as Asians and Latinos, who are all but absent from prime time.

Jeff Sagansky, the former CBS Entertainment chief who currently runs Pax TV, said religion is notably lacking from all portrayals on television, with a few exceptions like CBS’ “Touched by an Angel.” He cited conventional wisdom in network circles that dictated, “No politics, no religion,” fearing those topics might offend viewers or scare off advertisers.

“Everyone on television is religiously neutered,” Sagansky said.

As for charges that Jewish TV characters such as the lead on “The Nanny” or parents on “Seinfeld” are stereotyped, Sagansky wondered how that compared to the lot of Asians and Latinos.

“What’s worse: Is it mischaracterizing people in your portrayals, or is it making them invisible?” Sagansky asked, saying television does have a responsibility in this regard because of its impact on culture and especially young people.

“Those people are sitting out there going, ‘Where am I on television?’ ” added Jamie Kellner, chief executive of the WB network.

Still, some participants argued that heightened awareness about race and religion has put undue pressure on what is ultimately an entertainment and marketing medium. NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer maintained society has become too sensitive about such issues, with people seeing themselves as part of a particular group rather than trying to celebrate their commonality.

“It is not television’s obligation to adequately represent the different groups of the United States,” Ohlmeyer said.

Along similar lines, “Seinfeld” co-star Jason Alexander said the primary mandate of any comedy is to be funny and that it’s understandable TV programs would seek to create potential conflict by marrying a Jew to a non-Jew or sharpening character traits to mine humor from them.

“In comedy . . . characters are accentuated to make them funnier,” Alexander said. “The quickest way to hell and disaster is when you set out to make a role model.”

Television consultant Lucie Salhany said that virtually every group can complain about something on television. People must decide, she said, whether they are tuning in to find fault with a program or looking to be entertained.

Paramount Television Group Chairman Kerry McCluggage also raised the issue of audience responsibility, saying because television is ultimately a slave to commercial considerations, viewers must do more than pay lip service to the kind of programs they want to see.

“If you like [a show], watch it, and tell your friends to watch,” he said. “If you do that, you’ll have more of it.”

The event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, was co-sponsored by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and the Jewish Television Network, which taped and plans to televise the session.