Networks Strike Deal With Coalition on Diversity

Nailing down their best “contract” thus far with major television networks, a national coalition of minority activists led by the NAACP signed documents with Fox Broadcasting Co. and CBS on Thursday that committed the corporations, among other initiatives, to hiring a vice president of diversity.

In both cases, the new executive would report directly to the head of the network, and would serve as an ombudsman between the network and the coalition, which includes leaders of the Native American, black, Asian Pacific and Latino communities.

The two agreements were announced at separate news conferences, with celebration and hyperbole, six months after the coalition began negotiating with network heads for diversity initiatives.

Before signing the documents and clasping hands with the network chiefs, Latino coalition leader Esteban Torres called the agreements “the Magna Carta” of television, and Kweisi Mfume, another coalition co-chair and president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, called it a “constitution for real and meaningful change.”

“If this were the Super Bowl, I would say right now, ‘I’m going to Disneyland!’ ” Mfume said.

Last month, ABC and NBC offered their own “memorandum of understanding” to the coalition that included training programs for minority writers and pledges to increase business to minority vendors. But ABC and NBC insist the concept of appointing a vice president of diversity remains only under consideration.

At the CBS news conference where he stood next to CBS President and chief executive Les Moonves, Mfume said: “This was not an easy process. It was born out of a great deal of struggle--listening and learning about each other.”

Through a “biannual review,” the coalition will keep tabs on diversity initiatives at both Fox and CBS.

“I know the honeymoon is short,” Mfume said, referring to the amount of work that lies ahead to ensure the networks adhere to the nonbinding agreements.

Fox Entertainment President Doug Herzog, who was seated next to Mfume during the Fox news conference, said he would “scour the country” for the perfect candidate for the vice president post as well as take input from the coalition. But neither Herzog nor Mfume would give a timetable more specific than “sooner rather than later” of when the individual might be hired. A nebulous search process already showed signs of becoming complicated as Torres asserted that he would like to see a person of color win the position.

Another promising but open-ended item in the Fox agreement was a pledge to consider the new diversity plan when “filling the next board of directors seat or in any board restructuring.” Although it remains unclear when a seat on the board or when a restructuring might occur, the statement targets the power structure that minority activists have been shut out of in the past.

In addition, Fox will underwrite a minority writers’ program with the goal of “placing a minority writer on every Fox network production,” the agreement said.

According to the CBS agreement, an outreach program will be implemented by June 30 to identify and develop new on-camera and behind-the-scenes talent, including show runners and writers.

Mfume praised Moonves for being candid and straightforward since talks began in August, adding that Moonves was the only top network executive to appear at a Nov. 29 hearing sponsored by the coalition to address lack of diversity in Hollywood.

Moonves said he had always been ahead of his peers in terms of the diversity of his programming, citing the inner-city hospital drama “City of Angels,” which premiered at mid-season with a predominantly black cast.

“Many of the items in this document are programs that I outlined when I spoke before the coalition’s diversity hearings last November,” Moonves said. “We are happy that the other networks followed our lead.”

Thursday’s agreements with Fox and CBS will serve as benchmarks for striking diversity deals with the film industry, talent agencies, cable channels, WB and UPN television networks, Mfume said.

The coalition will meet this month to mull their strategy for winning diversity initiatives from cable networks, but for now, Mfume said: “We wanted to be effective, rather than everywhere.”