Don't Expect Obama Election to Improve Media Diversity Just Yet

A long time ago, I heard a TV critic talk about how most media follows society, they do not lead it.

What that means, is because outlets such as television depend on the purchase of advertisements, they must offer content that both the advertiser AND the viewer find compelling and appropriate. And you can guess how particular the CEOs of companies such as McDonald's and Coke are about the value of their brand name.

Movies -- and, in the same vein, subscription cable channels such as HBO -- only need to draw viewers. So they can jump ahead of society's mores to offer images that the masses might not yet be ready to consume.

Why am I talking about all this now? Because it comes to mind as I consider the flood of stories this week -- started by a scoop right here on HuffPo -- saying David Gregory is poised to succeed Tim Russert as host of NBC's venerated Sunday politics show Meet the Press.

As many media bloggers have already snarked, the decision meant NBC turned away from hiring a female moderator or person of color, just as the nation is poised to inaugurate its first non-white President and an administration among the most diverse in history.

It also reminded me of online columnist Richard Prince's coverage of Barack Obama's press conference Monday, where the national security team he assembled had more ethnic diversity than the press corps asking questions. It wasn't until Wednesday that Obama finally called on a journalist of color to pose a question during a press conference (and then, he asked two in a row -- Telemundo Chicago's Vicente Serrano and Fox News' Wendell Goler).

As I noted in a Sunday story, Obama's election puts race on the table with little effort on his part. So TV writers have begun looking at programming schedules lacking in stars of color and wondering why the government officials leading America increasingly look more representative of the country's diversity than the media informing and entertaining it.

The Los Angeles Times' Greg Braxton -- one of my favorite TV reporters for coining the phrase BBF, or Black Best Friend, to describe all the sidekick roles for black folks on network TV -- asked on Sunday Where are TV's Obama-like characters? The meat of the story seems a reiteration of a trend I outlined back in September.

Bill Carter in the New York Times sounded a bit more optimistic, citing a handful of series under development starring or co-starring black actors as evidence TV may be trying to catch up with a post-Obama America, including a televised version of a satirical book, Making Friends With Black People. (see a sample here)

But when I spoke to the book's writer, Nick Adams, last week, he said the Obama tie was more an inspiration for his producing partners, who hoped to use the historic moment as away to convince NBC that a buddy comedy about racial differences between a white guy and a black guy would be successful.

"I always think about how it was handled on a show like Scrubs with the characters Turk and J.D.," said Adams. "They were friends and they knew they could talk to each other like friends. They can speak to each other and be honest with each other. That's kinda what America has lacked for a some time . . . So often, you may have a white person you know from work, and you don't go beyond that causal interaction. Hopefully, we can try to get beyond that . . . really mine the humor of race."

I hope Nick is right. Because it's long past time for the TV suits to catch up with the rest of us on this one. For more discussion on this kind of stuff, check out my own blog, The Feed, here.

Follow Eric Deggans on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Deggans

Comments

[renatam]

What could be more dated, stale and lame than keeping franchises, franchisees and calcified points of view - prisms for what's entertaining/funny or not -- going for longer than my 33 year old daughter has been alive? The following aren't just hanging out on new, fresh, creative deployments of content -- THEY ARE HOLDING BACK even boomers, Xers ascendency to provide fresh perspectives. We even have an Xer President and boomer Presidents RETIRED. Yet, in deregulated, corporate media -- we get....geezers holding forth, securely in their 1960s Copa Cabana, special table at "Michael's" or the Four Seasons...who goes to the "right party" on both coasts -- thinking. Some are closer to 100 than 50! They reigned (and still do) when AAs, Asians, etc. KNEW OUR PLACE. Boring, tired, not reflective of the modern era. A new website, www.wowowow.com, home of retired (white) media women -- invited Whopee to join as their ONLY person of color, reprising the same job on "The View." It is this (non) THINKING and FEAR OF CHANGE -- in corporate, packaged media that is killing their collective industries. There will be no bailout for media. These are power bases, not entertainers or news pundits. Their insular privileged worlds do not provide enough input sufficient for them to give us ORIGINALITY.

Larry King
Barbara Walters
Regis Philbin
Lou Dobbs...

[rubinoff]

It certainly could use some new faces. The talent is out here....msnbc needs to get with the program, sic and tired of seeing the bottled blondes and let's not even mention contessa brewer.
She sound like a _hit salesman with a mouth full of marbles.

[LeonBNJ]

A related issue is how few Black or Hispanic persons or centerist to liberal women on the national news shows as guests and commentators as well. During this election season, you never seemed to see a range of Black commentators, NO Hispanic ones on with some exeptions, few progressive - liberal women. NBC/MSNBC could tap into their Telemundo division for their top news person regularly to appear on their news shows. ABC could tap into 'The View' for well newsed up, liberal and good talkers.

When we ignore Hispanics for example, the general public never get to hear any news about the countries they or their ancestors come from or their overall views on important issues like the economy, employment, discrimiation, immigration, education access and so on.

[renatam]

NBCU and all of corporate media would rather our Hispanic brethern to remain embargoed (literally and figuratively) on their Telemundo reservation. The (white) NYC-based Ad industry likes it that way. They have fought annual lawsuits from NYS and NYC to diversify their staffs - to no avail.

Now, however, thanks to the Internet and blogs/YouTube and Google breaking down the corporate media/Ad industry financial CONTROL over what we get to see over OUR licensed airwaves, corporate media is under tremendous economic pressure the likes of which would make their "Mad Men" lineage scream. WE are turning the channel. CHANGE is in the air, for them as well.

Not a minute too soon!

[jade7243]

Actually, you do see Asians and Hispanics and African Americans, BUT ONLY when the "storyline" the media is promoted has an unavoidable ethnic angle. To wit, when the Rev. Wright storyline emerged, all of a sudden you saw a slew of black "spokespeople" to cover the story. When CNN tried to do a series on race in America a couple of years ago, the folks brought in to discuss were all stereotypes: the "angry" black folks, the "racist" white folks. The "advocates" of change were all black -- with the exception of one person, Tim Wise, who was limited to ONE segment and quickly shuttled out of the discussion after just a few short minutes.

What a shame that so much of culture goes missing and unreported because the media does not want to be inclusive and because its imagination of what the public would embrace is so narrow.

[spinmas]

Can any of you folks say..Roland martin?????

[renatam]

Roland Martin's ascendancy on CNN is a direct result of Barack Obama's ascendancy.

[Eyewideopen]

When was the last time Roland Martin was on CNN? CNN can do better than Roland Martin.

[renatam]

The MEDIA as we know it has commodotized JOURNALISM and our free press. It is packaged and does not reflect reality at all. This has serious consequences, though President-Elect Obama's determination to hold an open Government accountable per his Change.gov website, including making public ALL meetings and who gets what -- means Ms. Mitchell's gossip journalism and the Lobbyists, PR Agencies, etc. who form and package the reality the News MEDIA sells via the Ad Agencies for their clients -- will have limited power or relevance.

As with financial/insurance deregulation, media deregulation has created a faux reality that is a Ponzi scheme of nepotism and special interests. Blogs and ordinary Americans are more reliable than the aforementioned - and the MEDIA's bottom lines are proving it. So, HuffPo explodes with success -- and, MTP hires David Gregory who didn't ask one substantive question during the run up to the Iraq War and whose colleagues EMBEDDED themselves into the military PR MACHINE, to their disgrace.

Entertainment media suffers more of the same MEDIOCRITY. How many of the same stories about the same suburban families, experiencing the same kind of life -- do we want to see? Where's the ORIGINALITY in that? No (multicultural) Star Treks, that the father of the Internet Vint Cerf loved as a teenager. No Lassies, teaching our children empathy. No Jeffersons with underlying themes/memes of our changing reality/culture. No Mod Squads. Nothing...worth watching.

[renatam]

I loved the MEDIA and so-called "journalists" obsessing over whether or not white Americans would vote for a black Candidate...while in State after State...the majority of Americans continued to do so. The MEDIA doesn't KNOW America. The NYC-based Advertising industry that funds MEDIA still functions and obsesses over ethnicity as if it is 1950 -- and "Mad Men." We have arrived at a point where our JOURNALISM and Constituti­onally-pro­tected PRESS has very little connection with those they are covering. So, we get Mrs. Alan Greenspan (Andrea Mitchell) giving us her "...people are saying..." kind of insular gossip journalism in lieu of accurate reflections of the American history and reality as we experience. David Gregory, married to a Republican General Counsel of Fannie Mae appointed by George W. Bush, who he was supposed to cover at The White House during the run-up to the bogus Iraq War -- is more of the same. You heard very little about Greenspan or Mrs. Gregory's involvement in the current financial meltdown - reality.

[renatam]

As a NYC, new media entrepreneur - I can simply state that both traditional and new media (and the advertising businesses that support them) are the final bastions of white privilege in modern America, and singularly -- have changed very little since the "Mad Men" era of the 1950s. NYS/NYC have filed lawsuits against the Advertising industry -- to no avail. Nothing has changed. For the most part, it is the Ad industry that has enforced stereotypes and/or influenced a lack of diversity in hiring, imagery, etc. reflected in our overall media. This includes newspapers - and Constituti­onally-pro­tected JOURNALISM -- and TV news punditry, who don't even have a language to discuss and describe what is happening to our increasingly diverse American culture. Many got into deep trouble during the Democratic Primaries -- trying to cover a WOMAN and an African-American vying for the top job. They had no CONTEXT and their insular, narrow worlds/perspectives made Chris Matthews, et al look/sound CLOWNISH.

So, Barack Obama - President-Elect - will FORCE media/traditional media to catch up. What NYC lawsuits could not do, will force JOURNALISTS to honestly reflect American reality -- or risk losing what is left of their readership and the Advertising industry will continue to be trounced by Google -- who doesn't CARE about the color or sex of anyone. Google cares about CONTEXT -- and is killing traditional media's "Mad Men" dated products.

Stay tuned...

[spinmas]

Hallilujah!!!!

[bayside]

I am still waiting for liberal views to be represented in our media..Waiting and waiting..

[renatam]

Now that the Reagan era is waning and bankrupt -- and media that served their agenda(s) are laying off thousands since their product is following the same path -- perhaps their economic pressure of Americans turning to blogs, etc. rather than watch/read/listen to pre-packaged tripe -- will force the deregulated media to serve their audience. In short, they are in the same place the (also in denial) auto industry is. We don't want their products...so, they had better make products we want...or DIE.

[ohioan73]

Depending on where you live, you get the media spin of whatever the racial climate is in your city. For example, in Cleveland on Action News 19 a few days ago, an editorial commentator referred to a 14 year old black child as a "thug" and a "criminal" and whined and droned on asking why should society have to be terrorized by these "thugs". Two years ago a 14 year old white kid committed suicide after shooting students and a few teachers at a Cleveland high school. Nobody in the media referred to the white kid as a thug for going all Columbine on his school, but the 14 year old black kid who attempted to rob someone at gun point is a thug, a criminal and should not be tolerated. If you knew the racial climate in Cleveland, Ohio, then you should get what I'm saying here.

[Overd0g]

If they are they should be fired. They should be worrying about ratings.

[Whatashame]

No black person has a major show on any network. I look at CNN and they have 8 O'Clock CB, 9 O'Clock Larry King and 10 O'clock AC360. On hte weekend they have NBC, MTP Tom Browker, on ABC, GS, FIED New Wallace. It's a disgrace and its sad because it truly does not represent the country diversity.

[renatam]

No AA, Latino, Native American has been funded to start a new media product since the Internet exploded onto the scene. NONE.

[Eyewideopen]

Fareed Zakaria and that's it.

[strick9]

It seems the Networks find it dificult to find some black shill to peddle their conservative line, there are a few that come to mind one exception being Hugley breaks the news which I find entertaining and more information than the. "black experts", on MSNBC. My choice would be Rachel.

[renatam]

As an AA, I would like to see more "black" or Asian/Latinos who are not comics serving up trite, unintellectual and white-preferred comics (aka Hughley) -- than what is usually embraced by media. Hugley and the new NBCU show - re having a BBF (black best friend) is still more of the same grappling with how to adjust FAST because MEDIA and the Advertising industry are so far behind the times and the American reality -- via execs who only live/work/socialize among their insular selves -- they don't even KNOW what to produce, or what, or how...that is authentic. So, they are adopting the usual suspects (Hugley) and comics to MOCK what is happening, uncomfortably, rather than REFLECT what is happening.

[GreatFutureForAll]

"execs who only live/work/socialize among their insular selves -- they don't even KNOW what to produce, or what, or how...that is authentic. So, they are adopting the usual suspects (Hugley) and comics to MOCK what is happening, uncomfortably, rather than REFLECT what is happening."

In my opinion, one of the best posts I've seen.

Thank you.

[renatam]

I expect 5 years of media grappling stupidly with what to do. Do you really thing Jeff Zucker at NBCU has one black friend - or a Native American friend? Andrea Mitchell (Mrs. Alan Greenspan) wouldn't know how to interpret a Barack Obama Presidency if you paid her more or put her in the MTP chair. THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN in our lifetimes! All of these poobahs reference points are on Martha's Vineyard, White House Press Dinners, the Hamptons, etc. Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng don't CARE about gas prices -- in their reality, and Fox "News" and The New York Post reflects their reality. They don't CARE about layoffs, because their stock price demands layoffs. Why would they cover it? Why would they produce entertainment that reflects it? They don't KNOW any homeless, people losing their homes, etc. You won't get original shows reflecting the current economic reality out of these suits -- aka about the have-nots. Even in the 1970s we had Sanford and Son and Archie Bunker living in a tiny house in Queens -- with dignity and making entertaining social commentary.

Media will have to join the CHANGE train along with finance, auto and insurance, health industries...or become more meaningless and disrespected than they already are -- reflected in their bottom lines.

[GreatFutureForAll]

Eric, I remember a baseball special from years ago. It spoke of how America missed Josh Gibson and Satchell Paige and all of the great African-American baseball players that either never took part in Major League baseball or, like Paige, got there at the very end of their careers.

I suddenly realized that I had been terribly cheated. There were men that might have been better than Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson that I never saw; that much of America completely missed. It was as if works from Beethoven had been kept from me do to prejudice.

It felt as if someone had hit me in the solar plexus.

Now I'm learning that there may be other Eugene Robinsons, other Bernard Shaws, other Ed Bradleys languishing in other careers ddo to discrimnation in media?

It would be one thing if the media had asked questions leading up to the war in Iraq. But, after watching the absolutely patheitc performance of before the invasionBryant Gumbels that are

[GreatFutureForAll]

WHAT I MEANT TO SAY BEFORE PUSHING THE WRONG KEY ON MY COMPUTER (grammatical errors, etc)

Eric, I remember a baseball special from years ago. It spoke of how America missed Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige and all of the great African-American baseball players that either never took part in Major League baseball or, like Paige, got there at the very end of their careers.

I suddenly realized that I had been terribly cheated. There were men that might have been better than Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson that I never saw; that much of America completely missed. It was as if works from Beethoven had been kept from me due to prejudice.

It felt as if someone had hit me in the solar plexus.

Now I'm learning that there may be other Eugene Robinsons, other Bernard Shaws, other Ed Bradleys languishing in other careers due to discrimination in media?

It would be one thing if the media had asked questions leading up to the war in Iraq. But, after the absolutely pathetic performance of the media pre-invasion, can we really afford to lock good reporters out based on skin color???

[Madampotential]

I have to give CNN credit. I am not a big fan and I usually watch MSNBC during primetime but CNN IS diverse. I loooovvvvee Soledad O'Brein, Tony Harris, Leslie Sanchez and Donna Brazile. I also enjoyed Jamal Simmons when he was a commentator on CNN. I have seen Keli Goff on Reliable Sources and on and on and on.

CNN's commentators were diverse in age, party, and race on election night. They represented ALL of America on election night and that's why they won. NBC is too much of a good old boys network which but making some progress with Maddow and Mitchell.....They are still afraid to give minorties a show though.

[dajuice7]

CNN has a really good record of putting women and minorities (and qualified ones at that) on the air in various positions. It seems that, looking at the cable networks, women are doing fairly well as long as they look like models. MSNBC, CNN Headline News, and Fox are way behind CNN though in terms of a minority presence on their regular shows. The sudden drop in Black and Hispanic faces at the conclusion of the election was dramatic, if not unexpected. Networks shouldn't hire minorities because we have a black president, but I don't mind if an Obama presidency forces networks to reevaluate the minority talent pool and their lack of opportunities on the national level.

[PATina]

Interesting. As far as the news... I do think more people of color should be 'on air' (especially the networks)... however... I think Tamryn Hall and Don Lemon do a good job on cable news. As far as shows (especially sitcoms)... those that focus on race always seemed 'forced' to me... I'd rather a show w/ a multi-racial cast... that doesn't necessarily try to deal w/ race.