Mfume: It’s No Conflict

NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume, who has blasted ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox for a lack of cultural diversity and still may press for an economic boycott against one of the four networks, has taped a prototype for a talk show in a deal involving the syndication division of NBC.

The pilot was shot in July and is much like the regionally based “Donahue-style” topical talk show Mfume has hosted for several years in Boston. The proposed show was produced by Hearst-Argyle Television in association with NBC Enterprises, and is being shopped for national syndication.

In an interview with The Times, Mfume downplayed the significance of the pilot, saying that Hearst-Argyle has been trying to syndicate the show for several years, and that the recently filmed pilot is just the latest attempt. He also contends that he sees no conflict of interest in the deal.

“There are things that really need to be made clear,” Mfume said. “First of all, nothing has been signed [with TV stations around the country]. There have been attempts like this before to develop this show nationally. But the larger overriding issue is that I would never admit or allow any conflict of interest even to be perceived if in fact any economic action is taken against any individual network which theoretically could be construed as a competitor [to NBC].”

While the show is generating quiet criticism from the black creative community, leaders of other minority groups who had worked with Mfume on the TV diversity initiatives expressed little concern. Executives at CBS and NBC declined to comment on the pilot. Fox executives could not be reached. Executives at ABC said they were unaware of Mfume’s deal with competitor NBC.

Anne-Marie Johnson, national chair of the equal employment opportunity branch of the Screen Actors Guild, said: “I could understand where someone might look upon this as questionable, but I don’t yet see a conflict of interest since no network has been targeted [for boycott]. I am certain that Mr. Mfume and the NAACP will do the right thing if questioned.”

Steve Rendall, of the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) in New York, did not see a glaring conflict of interest either.

“Kweisi Mfume has been calling for more diversity in the media for years,” Rendell said. “It seems unfair to fault him for taking an initiative to effect more diversity. You can’t say Kweisi Mfume was putting together studies of the networks just to get the show across.” But he added, “I suppose some sort of disclosure that he was shopping a pilot was in order, especially when the show taping was underway.”

Sonny Skyhawk, head of American Indians in Film, said he has known about the pilot for several months, although Mfume didn’t tell him. Skyhawk said he just “heard about it.”

“I didn’t have any reaction one way or another,” he said. “Planning a boycott has nothing to do with it. I’m an actor. If I were to get cast on a show that was eventually going to air on NBC, who knows. It’s entirely separate from what he’s doing with the NAACP or the multiethnic coalition.”

Skyhawk said the show is a personal endeavor for Mfume that would not be a platform for the NAACP: “It’s not like the NAACP is getting a show. That would be a conflict of interest.”

Sharon Scanlon, spokeswoman for the Asian Pacific America Media Coalition, said she first heard about the talk show pilot in early May during talks with other multiethnic coalition leaders.

“It’s our understanding that that show has been going on for some time,” Scanlon said. “So, we do know about it. It was described to us as a quarterly program, and there didn’t seem to be a conflict of interest.”

Mfume did not mention the pilot in a Wednesday press conference in which the NAACP leader once again criticized the networks, including NBC, for not going far enough in honoring their commitments to increase diversity. He said he would recommend to the organization’s board of directors this October that some action, including an economic boycott, be taken against one of the networks if there is not immediate drastic improvements. NBC Enterprises executives said they would not comment on the pilot since it was still in development. Hearst-Argyle executives could not be reached for comment.

Mfume formerly headed a multiethnic coalition that was formed about two years ago to press for more diversity at the networks both in front of and behind the camera. By late 1999, all four major networks had signed agreements with the coalition promising to increase minority representation in both creative and executive ranks.