| Dismal grades
Hollywood is diversifying in fits and starts. In 1999, African Americans made up 14.1 percent of the acting jobs cast to Screen Actors Guild members, according to the latest union data . Latino SAG members received 4.4 percent of film and television roles, Asian Americans received 2.2 percent of the jobs, and Native Americans received 0.2 percent. During the past two years, the Coalition for Diversity on Television--comprised of the NAACP, the National Latino Media Council, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, and American Indians in Film--has protested and threatened to boycott network television advertisers over the lack of diversity. Bowing to the pressure, the major networks signed agreements last year making various promises with the group to add more diversity in front of and behind the camera. But the latest report card issued by the coalition in May gave the networks dismal grades : a D-plus for CBS, C-minus for Fox, and C for NBC. (In the coalition's first report card in November 2000 , no letter grades were given and the networks all received passing grades.) If this poor performance affects children, what about adults who grew up watching shows like Leave It to Beaver and Happy Days? Of all the types of media, TV has the greatest influence on popular culture and thought. The characters and scenarios that people see on the tube affect how they think. That's why tobacco advertising on TV has been banned. You don't become a bigot by watching TV. But how you process information from television and other media is important in avoiding negative stereotypes and a poor self-image. As Children Now points out, young people are more vulnerable because they may not be mature enough to differentiate from what is real and what is not. And Hollywood isn't helping them make the leap to reality.
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Dismal grades |