At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) let NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker know how unhappy she is about what she says is a lack of African American actors and shows on NBC, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"Is there some assumption that black programming is not profitable?" Waters asked Zucker. When he tried to point to the network’s history of such shows, she said, "That was then and now is now," and added, according to the paper, that "Black viewers deserve the kind of content they feel good about. … I don’t understand why you don’t pursue it and why you don’t do it."
–Elizabeth Jensen
Rep. Waters, it’s called the bottom line. How’s BET doing?
Blacks, Hispanics and Gays each represent around 15% of the population yet you would think each are over 50% by their squeaky wheels. Is that same percentage represented in the acting community? Why is no one saying how unrepresented Caucasians are in major sports (Football, Basketball, and Baseball)? The point is there should be no quotas. Personally, I see virtually every show has at least one white/black couple (I guess in honor of Obama’s parents). Sitcoms generally have the most diversity from George Lopez to Sanford and Son and dozens more (mostly thanks to Tyler Perry). If there were enough actors, good stories/writers and profit in ANY show, it will be made – unless a crappy “Reality” program idea beats them to it.
What a great site and informative posts, thanks