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Where
is the Diversity on Television?
By Kirk Shelton
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Why
does it seem so difficult to find television shows
starring Chicano and Latino characters? The results
of a recent study conducted by the nonprofit organization
Children Now attempts to answer that question by demonstrating
that Latinos are heavily underrepresented in primetime
television among the major nationwide networks. Census
2000 data shows that 12.5% of the population of the
United States is Hispanic, but the Children Now study
reports that only 6.5% of the characters appearing
in primetime television are Latinos.
The
study also noted that Latinos only account for 4%
of the young characters that appear in primetime television
and that Latinos were 4 times more likely to play
domestic workers and almost 3 times as likely to play
criminals when compared to white actors.
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The
findings from the study were not all bad news. The
percentage of Latino characters has risen from 4%
to 6.5% between 2001 and 2003. Latino characters also
appeared in over 50% of the dramas that were included
in the study.
Underrepresentation
in primetime is not a problem that Latinos face alone.
Asian characters are also difficult to find in primetime
television, accounting for only 3% of total characters
and a mere 1% of main characters. Native American
characters did not appear in any of the shows included
in the study.
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| Debates
rage over why there are so few Latino roles on broadcast
television. One common complaint is that television
writers do not create roles for Latinos and that network
executives often reject shows that star Latino characters.
A UCLA study in 2002 looked at primetime television
and found that Latinos accounted for only 0.8% of directors,
1.7% of writers, and 1.7% of network executives in charge
of programming. These numbers are staggering low considering
the large percent of the television viewing audience
that is Latino. Network insiders counter that there
is no audience for Latino shows. Despite the success
of shows such as The George Lopez Show on ABC, some
point to the failure of recent shows such as Luis (FOX)
and Greeting from Tucson (WB) as evidence of the lack
of interest in Latino themed shows. |
| Ratings
play an integral role in determining the success of
new television shows. Luis was cancelled after only
three episodes due to poor rating performance. The Nielsen
ratings have been under siege by advocacy groups that
suggest that Nielsen ratings fail to correctly account
for Latino viewers. The Nielsen Media Company has attempted
to deal with these criticisms by creating the Nielsen
Hispanic-American Television Index (NHATI) that aims
to measure the viewing habits of Latinos and by developing
a new model that will weight the viewing habits of Latinos.
The NHATI English language ratings have consistently
shown that Hispanic viewers prefer shows such as American
Idol, Simpsons, and Friends to shows that star Latino
characters such as The George Lopez Show. |
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If
the Nielsen ratings are correct, why are Latinos not
interested in watching shows starring Latino characters?
There are many answers to this question that revolve
around the selection of shows that are offered to
Latino viewers. With only one show in primetime television
that has a Latino-only starring cast, it is unfair
to hold up a single show as a standard bearer for
all Latinos against over one hundred other shows in
primetime television. Focusing on English language
primetime also fails to recognize the effects of Spanish
language programming. Univision attracts over three
million Spanish language viewers on an average night
and Telemundo reaches almost another million.
Spanish
language programming features almost exclusively Latino
characters and many bilingual Latinos can turn to
Spanish programming when English programming fails
to meet their needs. Shows that include Latino characters
in leading roles, including CSI: Miami and Without
A Trace along with reality shows ranging from Survivor
to American Idol, have also been very successful among
Latino audiences and the entire market in general.
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| Latinos
make up an ever-increasing percentage of the American
population and their voice, preferences, and spending
power is not something that the broadcast networks are
going to be able to afford ignoring for much longer.
The talent already exists within the Latino community
to produce writers and actors that can portray realistic
roles for Latinos. The television viewing market is
hungry for entertaining shows that accurately depict
the diversity of our nation. The Children Now study
suggests that progress towards a greater Latino presence
in primetime may be slow, but it is occurring. It is
up to the major broadcast networks to continue and accelerate
that progress so that more Latinos are appearing in
front of the camera and also behind the camera as writers,
directors, and network executives. |
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The
monopolistic control that the Nielsen Media Company
has in the television ratings market also needs to
be examined by independent auditing to ensure that
the Nielsen ratings are a fair and accurate assessment
of the American viewing audience. When viewers tune
in during primetime, they should find Latino actors
and actresses playing important roles on television
just as Latinos play an integral role in American
society.
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Information
on Children Now and their study can be found
at www.childrennow.org
The UCLA study can be found at www.chicano.ucla.edu/press/briefs/default.htm
Information on Nielsen's Nielsen Hispanic-American
Television Index is available at:
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| Kirk
Shelton received his Master of Public Policy degree
from the University of Southern California, School of
Policy, Planning, and Development. His previous research
includes analyzing diversity in the University of California
system, conducting a feasibility study for the Los Angeles
Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, and serving as
a research assistant for a book on social movements
in Latin America. |
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