Fox to Appoint VP of Diversity Programs, in Deal With Coalition

Fox Television plans to appoint a new vice president to oversee diversity programs--the first position of its kind at a television network--as part of an agreement expected to be unveiled this morning with a minority coalition that has sought increased opportunities for people of color in Hollywood.

CBS is expected to announce its own agreement with the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People today that also includes a vice president post, according to Alex Nogales, a member of the coalition. Last month, NBC and ABC offered their own memorandums, but no vice president position was included--a point for which the coalition will continue to press.

Fox’s seven-page “memorandum of understanding” will be released at a 10 a.m. news conference in Century City. A Fox spokesman said the deal was finalized Wednesday with a telephone call between a senior Fox executive and Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP.

“Fox never shied away from a vice president in charge of diversity,” Nogales said. “People can write memos all day long, [but] unless there’s someone at front who is reporting directly to the president . . . we’ll be coming back a year from now to talk about the same thing.”

Fox has not yet hired anyone to fill the new position. The agreement includes initiatives throughout the corporation, including the board of directors, crew, writers, actors, creative deals, procurement services and advertising agencies with which they do business, Nogales said.