Youth TV Takes the Lead in Diversity Casting

Entertainment Weekly, rarely a fierce critic of the television business, recently published a report subtitled "Why Is TV So White?" The article noted that when the broadcast networks announced their new shows for the coming season last May, their presentations "looked largely like a parade of Caucasian stars." With over one-third of the US population non-white, its becoming more of a priority for the television industry to serve this population. None of which should be particularly surprising in the 21st century, except that television in general seems to be caught in one of a series of repeating cycles in which diversity all but disappears from the small screen. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is preparing a fourth edition of a report, "Out of Focus, Out of Sync," for publication later this year. The first report, in 1991, noted that blacks were underrepresented "in each and every aspect" of the entertainment business. While some strides have since been made, the new edition is likely to draw much the same conclusion.