Racism at CBS and Sony Entertainment

By Brandon Brooks and Sam Richard

Pioneering actress Victoria Rowell is not new to the acting world and she certainly is not new to the millions of fans of the daytime drama \”The Young and The Restless\”. The veteran actress was part of the cast as Drucilla Winters for more than 17 years. However, the millions of fans and corporate sponsors of the longtime No. 1 daytime drama may be surprised to discover that in her 17 years and, even worse, in the show’s 37 year history, they have never had a single African American writer, director or producer despite the fact that African American viewership for \”The Young and The Restless\” is estimated well over 35 percent and some have estimated it is as high as 45 percent. This is causing many in the civil rights community to call for boycotts and demonstrations of the show and its advertisers.

Rowell told the Los Angeles Sentinel in an exclusive interview for all NNPA newspapers across the country that she has attended several meetings in an effort to help diversify daytime soap operas behind the scenes and in front of the camera.

The Sentinel contacted Jim Kennedy, executive vice president for Global Communications at Sony Pictures Entertainment, which co-owns \”The Young and the Restless,\” along with The Bell Family regarding the lack of African American participation behind the camera. Kennedy stated, \”With regard to ‘The Young and the Restless’, we are proud of the fact that five African American actors play important roles on the program, and we are especially grateful for the diverse audience it has every day,\”

\”And, in light of that, Sony Pictures has, over the course of the past year, undertaken an initiative designed to have us be more representative of the global audience we work to entertain.\” While Kennedy did talk about diversity, he did not address why \”The Young and The Restless\” has never hired a Black producer, director, writer or crew member, which leads many industry insiders and civil rights leaders to believe that CBS has no interest in making real change without pressure.

For years, many industry leaders and community organizations including the NAACP, The Urban League and The Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade have raised concern about what they say is a lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera.

To demonstrate the lack of diversity on television and to help bring about change in the industry, the NAACP commissioned a report titled \”Out of Focus – Out of Sync: Take 4.\” The report pointed out that the number of African-Americans in regular roles and on air in a prime time scripted series – in the 2006-2007 season – were 20 African Americans on Fox, 19 on NBC, 17 on CBS and 15 on ABC. The report did not track African Americans on cable channels, which in recent years have become a much larger part of the television viewing format. The figures, provided by the networks, are the latest numbers available.

\”All four major broadcast networks have made important strides in increasing diversity,\” the report stated. But it also added: \”Progress has been slower in areas that arguably could have the greatest impact: writing and producing.

\”White males have always dominated the entertainment industry and that continues to be largely the case. While African-American writers represent the largest share of minorities employed in television, they still only averaged about 5.2 percent of the total number of writers employed. That translates to 161 African-American writers out of 3,088 during the 2005-2006 television season, according to the Writers Guild of America.\”

Other African Americans and Black organizations are looking into the issue of diversity in daytime soap operas, including the National Urban League and NAACP.

The Sentinel obtained two letters from Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, addressed to Howard Stringer, president and CEO of Sony Corp., and William Bell Jr., president of Bell Dramatic Serial Co.

The letters, dated September 23^rd, contended: \”Through a preliminary review we have learned that there are few African American actors, producers, directors and support personnel in the Daytime Soap Opera industry, despite the fact that African Americans are a crucial, significant portion of the loyal audience of viewers for Daytime Soap Operas. The letters pointed out that this is unacceptable in 21^st Century America.\”

Emma Young, head writer and associate producer for an online African-American soap opera, \”The Proud and the Privileged,\” said that she knows several actors who complain about having no African Americans behind the scenes.

\”It’s very important to show African Americans not only in a positive light, but in a true light,\” Young said.

Darryl Manuel, producer and director of \”The Proud and the Privileged,\” agrees, but thinks it is important to have diversity in all genres of entertainment.

\”There’s just a wealth [of information] and a rich point of view that the general audience misses out on, by not having a true representation of that point of view,\” he said. \”I mean, it’s only going to make those stories better; it’s only going to bring more to the pot, you know… put more meat on the bones, into the stew, when you have this story that has an authentic and a rich story line.\”