Wary Eyes Cast at Hearing

In an event that has already been clouded by prickly tension and last-minute maneuvering, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the television industry will square off Monday in an unprecedented public hearing over the lack of diversity in the fall prime-time schedule.

Of the top executives at the four major networks invited to attend, only CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves is expected to testify during the NAACP TV Diversity Public Hearing, to be held at the Century Plaza Hotel. After several days of hand-wringing at ABC, NBC and Fox over whether their top programming executives should attend, as of press time those networks had opted to send representatives from their legal or standards and practices divisions.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume characterized Monday’s session in his letter of invitation as a forum for “industry insiders, guild representatives, management and talent agencies, network presidents and other affiliated parties, to document their experiences and / or perceptions of the industry. The hearing will not be conducted as a trial, but rather as an objective review of the television industry’s practices by a NAACP hearing panel.”

Asked about the apparent shortfall in network involvement, Mfume said late Wednesday that he wanted to reserve judgment until after the hearing, saying his principal concern was to conduct a comprehensive session with a significant representation of industry insiders and advocacy groups talking about their experiences. He did express disappointment that more network heads were not attending.

“We will move ahead without them if they do not come,” he said.

But he also issued another warning to the television industry that they had better take the group’s campaign seriously.

“I have certainly made every attempt to meet the networks more than halfway on this issue, but there is a limit to even the NAACP’s patience,” Mfume said. “I expect them to take us very seriously. In the absence of signing on, they run the risk of sustained, focused and continuous consumer action, including boycotts and demonstrations in front of their networks and affiliates.”

Mfume added, “One thing is clear. If they are there or not, the issue is not going away. And this movement is not going away. We have been as diplomatic as we can be. We have tried in a spirit of diplomacy to listen to their side. If they do not come, they will run the risk of answering to everyone why it was not important enough for them to be there.”

The hearing will represent the first time representatives from any of the networks has met in a public forum with the NAACP regarding diversity within the television industry. It is potentially the most volatile step yet in the civil rights organization’s campaign against the industry since Mfume first blasted the major networks in July for the dearth of minority actors on the new fall shows.

It also represents the latest stage in the organization’s campaign to change what it calls “the most segregated industry in America.” Slated to last most of the day, the meeting is expected to also feature statements from entertainment guild leaders and advocacy groups addressing television’s underrepresentation of minorities both in front of and behind the camera.

In a format similar to a congressional hearing, each speaker will be given about 10 minutes to make a statement and answer questions from the panel, which will include Mfume and other key NAACP executives. If there is time at the end of the hearings, audience members may be allowed to submit written questions to the panel and participants.

Sources at the networks say top executives were uncomfortable with the public nature of the proceedings and the format. Those concerns, coupled with scheduling the session following a long holiday weekend, were key factors in the decision by top executives not to attend.

Some network spokespersons also cited Mfume’s August one-on-one meetings with network chiefs to discuss the diversity controversy as a reason for not attending the hearing, noting they had addressed the same issues then.

Saying that NBC West Coast President Scott Sassa and Entertainment President Garth Ancier would not participate, a network spokeswoman said: “We will have a high-level executive there who can talk about the business and about NBC. Scott and Garth have already met with Mr. Mfume.”

Also, the invitations, which were received last Friday, proved another hurdle--arriving too late for some executives to rearrange schedules.

Mfume countered, saying, “Leslie Moonves is cutting short a trip to Rome to appear. That shows how important to him this issue is. It speaks volumes about his priorities.”

Moonves’ decision to appear before the panel, however, is not completely unexpected. The network, whose audience currently includes more black viewers than the other major networks, will add a new drama, “City of Angels,” to its schedule later this season. Set in an inner-city hospital, it features a predominantly African American cast and a multiracial crew. The network also has made a series of highly publicized deals with minority talent, including comedians Mark Curry, Steve Harvey and director Gregory Nava. Other networks have also made deals with minority talent, but CBS has been more aggressive in publicizing them.

ABC and Fox declined to comment about their decision.

The decision by three major networks not to send their top programmers to the NAACP hearing is expected to add to the tension that already exists between the two sides. As yet, there has been no official response from any of the networks to a list of specific demands Mfume issued earlier this month calling for several sweeping changes within each network, including the hiring of more minority writers and producers, and the promotion and hiring of minorities into the corporate ranks.

Mfume has told the networks that at least one would be targeted for a nine-week viewer boycott beginning Jan. 1 if the demands were not met.

The late invitations, rushed preparations for the hearing and the withdrawal of an earlier boycott threat in November have provoked concern among some NAACP supporters about whether the campaign is losing momentum. Brotherhood Crusade President Danny Bakewell has recently launched his own campaign against the networks, holding marches at NBC regarding that network’s lack of diversity. Bakewell may bring his protesters to the NAACP session.

However, NAACP organizers say Monday’s hearing should establish that the protest is moving forward.

“We want people to see this as a serious effort, because it is,” said John C. White, NAACP director of communications. “We’re not doing this as a show or to grandstand or for publicity. This is a serious endeavor.”

He added, “I hope that those who come to testify are not intimidated. We will be there to listen to people. That won’t mean they won’t be challenged, but that’s different from being attacked.”