HIGHLIGHTS
Prime Time Diversity Report
2001-02 (Printed May 2002)
http://www.childrennow.org/media/fc2002/fc-2002-highlights.htm
http://www.childrennow.org/media/fc2002/fc-2002-
highlights.htm#reports (reports are listed here)

"Fall Colors 2001-02" documents the television industry's progress
on diversity and serves as a tool to help executives, writers and
producers improve the images of race, class and gender on prime time
television. It is the most comprehensive study to date of prime time
diversity.

Key Findings
During the Fall 2001-02 season, a youth watching prime time on any
of the six major television networks would most likely see...

Family and Youth
Family structures being more obvious for white youth than for youth
of color.

The majority of white youth interacting with their parents but only
a fourth of Latino youth doing the same.

African American families nearly exclusively serving as the focus of
situation comedies.

African American families headed by professionals and shown as more
affluent than white families.

Family life not serving as a central program focus for Asian/Pacific
Islanders, Latinos or Native Americans.

Race and Ethnicity
A world still primarily populated by able-bodied, single,
heterosexual, white males under 40.

A world of more diversity in the 10 o'clock hour, but a more
homogenous and segregated one during the 8 o'clock hour when he/she
is most likely to be watching television.

A world in which the overall number of Latino faces increased from
last year, though the majority were found in secondary and tertiary
roles and nearly half of these characters held low status positions
and occupations.

A world with few Native Americans and a world where Native American
women do not exist.

Gender and Identity
A continuing stark contrast between occupations held by men and
women.

Marital and parental status that was more easily identifiable for
women than men.

An increased visibility of gay and lesbian characters, with white
males playing the majority of roles.

An increased visibility of disabled characters, with white males
playing the majority of roles.


Class and Status
Only people of color (in the top five primary recurring character
occupations) holding positions as service workers, unskilled
laborers and criminals.


Whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders more often portrayed as
professionals, African American characters and Latino characters
more often portrayed in law enforcement and Native Americans
typecast as spiritual advisers.
As America's primary storyteller and chief cultural exporter,
television provides messages and images that contribute to the
worldviews of millions. When certain groups are privileged, others
subjugated and still others altogether excluded, prime time sends
skewed messages to viewers--especially young ones--that these groups
are valued differently. This in turn affects the way viewers
perceive themselves and interact with particular groups. And youth
want to see the diversity of their lives reflected on the prime time
screen. As one Native American youth told us, "It makes you mad
because you wish other people could get in there and not just
whites, because they're on everything."


Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files are exact replicas of
their printed originals. To view and print PDF files, get Adobe
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PRESS RELEASE:

View the Complete Fall Colors Press Release (HTML)
REPORTS:

View the full Fall Colors 2001-2002: Prime Time Diversity Report
(PDF-2MB)
CHARTS (all in PDF):

View the Racial Diversity by Network Chart (7k)
View the Race & Ethnicity Character Chart (6k)
View the Sitcom Diversity Chart (4k)
View the Opening Credits Casts Diversity Chart (4k)

Take Action! Let network executives know how you feel about
diversity in prime time by taking action through Children Now's
online "Action Center."




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Introduction
Television, particularly prime time programming, occupies a central
position in our culture as a storyteller, conveying much about what
is normal, acceptable and expected, as well as what is irrelevant
and outside of the mainstream. It also possesses a unique
opportunity to shape the perceptions and opinions of millions. The
2000 Census has revealed not only rapid changes in the racial and
ethnic diversity of the United States but also new emerging
characteristics of marriage, family, the workforce and class status.
Inarguably, these changes have implications for the well-being of
young people today and in the years ahead. In any discussion of how
we prepare young people for the challenges they will face in the
coming years, we must take into account the narrative that
television presents to us about ourselves.

What story does prime time television tell our youth about diversity
and tolerance through its portrayals and non-portrayals of race,
gender and class? Can it better serve both the developmental needs
and aesthetic desires of our nation's young people? What kinds of
opportunities does and can it provide for cross-cultural learning?

Children Now's previous research has demonstrated that youth
recognize the role media play in providing lessons about diversity
and in validating diverse communities. Children Now's current
research shows that despite ongoing emphasis, encouragement and
pressure on the part of media advocates, civil rights groups,
government officials and even some entertainment industry leaders,
the networks have yet to produce a prime time season that is
representative of the diversity that young people experience and
will undoubtedly continue to experience as maturing adults.


Background
Recognizing that television is an integral part of American culture,
and that it has the ability to play a major role in shaping belief
systems, particularly for the youngest and most impressionable
viewers, Children Now has tracked television diversity through the
most comprehensive examination to date of prime time
programming. "Fall Colors 2001-02," the third annual study of
diversity in prime time, can be used by the television industry,
academics and advocates as an assessment tool to measure progress on
diversity.

Set against the benchmarks established three years ago, "Fall Colors
2001-02" continues to serve as a tool to advance the discussion
about diverse representation on prime time and inform key decisions
for the next programming season.


Is The Picture Really Improving?
What does a child see when he/she turns on the TV during prime time
and how does it compare to the previous two seasons?

This season featured more programs with racially homogeneous opening
credits casts and fewer programs with racially mixed opening credits
casts than last season. More than half of the programs this year
(51%) featured primary casts that were either all white or all
black. This is a marked shift from last season, when 43% of programs
featured racially homogeneous primary casts. Further, only one
fourth of programs this year (25%) featured racially mixed primary
casts, compared to 28% last year.


Consistent with the last two years, diversity decreased when
focusing on main characters. In the last three prime time seasons,
diversity diminished when non-recurring and secondary characters
were not included in the analysis. For example, in the 2001-02
season, while Latinos comprised 4% of the entire prime time
population, they represented only 2% of the opening credits casts.
Similarly, Asian/Pacific Islanders accounted for 3% of the total
prime time population but only 1% of the opening credits casts.
Conversely, whites comprised 74% of the entire prime time
population, but 80% of the opening credits casts.


While the total number of Latino characters more than doubled from
2000-01 to the 2001-02 season, the increase was found mostly in
secondary and non-recurring roles. There were twice as many Latinos
in the prime time season this year compared to last year, increasing
from 2% to 4% of the total prime time population. However, the
increased representation was found primarily in secondary and non-
recurring characters. When examining all of the primary recurring
characters, Latino representation accounted for 2% population.


This season's situation comedies were the least diverse of the last
three seasons. In the 2001-02 season, only 7% of sitcoms had mixed
opening credits casts. This represents a dramatic drop from last
season, when 14% of sitcoms had mixed opening credits casts. In
1999, 9% of situation comedies had mixed opening credits casts.


Dramas were less diverse this season compared to last season. This
season, 39% of dramas had mixed primary casts, compared to 45% last
year. However, dramas remain the most diverse genre on all of prime
time television.


There was an increase in Latina and Asian/Pacific Islander female
characters this year. The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander
female characters increased overall from 3% in the 1999-00 and 2000-
01 seasons to 4% in the 2001-02 season. Similarly, Latina
representation more than doubled from 2% in the 1999-00 and 2000-01
seasons to 4% this season. The number of women in prime time has
also increased, from 35% last season to 36% this season.


Each season, the representation of youth on prime time decreased
slightly. In the 2001-02 prime time season, youth comprised 10% of
the prime time population, compared to 11% last season and 12% the
season before.


While the overall percentage of gay and lesbian characters remained
constant over the last three years, the visibility of these
characters increased considerably this year. This season, homosexual
characters were far more likely to be primary recurring characters
than any other type of character. Sixty percent of gay and lesbian
characters played primary recurring roles, compared to 32% last year
and 31% in 1999.


While the percentage of disabled characters has remained the same
over the last three years, twice as many appeared in recurring roles
this year compared to last year. Disabled characters continue to
account for less than one percent of the prime time population.
However, this year, 14 disabled characters played recurring roles,
compared to seven last year. Of these recurring characters, almost
half played primary recurring roles in the 2001-02 season.

===============

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
http://www.childrennow.org/newsroom/news-02/pr-5-15-02.cfm

Networks Lose Ground on Diversifying Prime Time Picture, Study Shows
Racial Diversity Decreases in Prime Time Genre Most Popular with
Children

OAKLAND, Calif. - Despite their stated commitments for greater on-
screen diversity, an annual study of television diversity shows that
the broadcast networks have made minimal progress in presenting a
more diverse prime time picture. In several key areas, networks lost
ground, particularly in sitcoms and the 8 o'clock hour.

The report, Fall Colors 2001-2002, the third annual study released
by Children Now, a child research and action organization, examined
race, class, gender, sexual identity, disability and occupation of
all characters in prime time programming. The report is also the
first to examine diversity in game shows, real-life and reality
programs and comes as the TV networks unveil their fall season line-
ups this week in New York. The study found that prime time
television is still dominated by able-bodied white male characters,
despite pledges from networks since 1999 to present a more diverse
prime time television landscape.

The study found this season's situation comedies, the most popular
genre among children, to be the least diverse of the last three
seasons. In the 2001-02 season, only seven percent of sitcoms had
mixed opening credits casts--down more than half from last season.
This season also featured more programs with racially homogenous
primary casts than last season (51 percent compared to 43 percent).

Children Are Watching
The 8 p.m-9 p.m. slot, when children are most likely to tune in,
presented a largely homogeneous picture for children. More than half
of the opening credits casts in the 8 o'clock hour (61 percent) were
classified as either all white or all black. Only 16 percent of all
programs in the 8 o'clock hour contained mixed (more than one
character of a different race) opening credits casts, the report
found.

"We are dismayed to find that, despite stated commitments, there
have been no significant improvements in on-screen diversity," said
Patti Miller, director of Children Now's Children and the Media
program. "Research documents the importance of children seeing
people like themselves on television. We urge the networks to meet
the challenge of reflecting the real world on television."

Female characters accounted for only 36 percent of all characters on
prime time. The report found that women's marital and parental
status was more likely to be evident than men's. Female characters
were much more likely to be younger than their male counterparts.
While there was a stark contrast between occupations held by men and
women, there was a growing trend of more women being portrayed in
science and technology occupations.

This season, the network's most visible response to increased
pressure for more diversity has been to place increasing numbers of
people of color in secondary and tertiary roles. For example, in the
2001-02 season, while Latino representation increased to four
percent of the entire prime time population, they represented only
two percent of the opening credits casts, the same as last year.
Conversely, Latinos make up approximately 12 percent of the national
population, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

When examining the portrayals of Latinos in the secondary roles
where their numbers increased, the report found that nearly half
held occupations as service workers, unskilled laborers and
criminals. Further, the first two episodes of FOX's America's Most
Wanted, which featured manhunt stories related to the September 11th
attacks, accounted for nearly 40 percent of Middle Easterners
portrayed in the prime time season, the report found.

While more than half of prime time parents were shown interacting
with children, there were racial differences. Of the programs
studied, family life was not a central focus of shows featuring
Latino or Native American characters. The majority of Asian/Pacific
Islander parents (80 percent) and white parents (58 percent) were
shown interacting with their children, while 48 percent of African
American parents and just 25 percent of Latino parents were shown
interacting with their children. African American families almost
exclusively served as the focus of situation comedies.

"Over a three-year period, the networks have established a pattern
in which their shows have become more segregated instead of more
diverse," said Katharine E. Heintz-Knowles, Ph.D., who conducted the
study. "Overall, there are more characters of color on television,
but they are grouped together on a smaller number of shows,
resulting in fewer shows with people of color in prominent roles."

Other findings in the report showed that:

There was an increased visibility of gay and disabled characters;
among these characters, white males played the majority of the
roles.

Whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders were more often portrayed as
professionals, while African American and Latino characters were
most likely to be portrayed as law enforcement officers. The role of
service worker, unskilled laborer or criminal only made the top-five
occupation list for Latino and African American primary recurring
characters.

Mixed opening credits casts were featured in five of the six reality
programs (83 percent), one of the two variety programs and the sole
wrestling program examined.

Fall Colors 2001-2002--the most comprehensive report on prime time
diversity to date--examined prime time situation comedies, dramas,
game shows and reality programs on the six broadcast networks (ABC,
NBC, CBS, FOX, UPN and The WB) for the current television season.
The report also contains network-by-network comparisons. The sample
did not include mid-season replacements. Data on mid-season
replacements can be found on Children Now's web site
(http://www.childrennow.org).

"Fall Colors 2001-2002 underscores the message we have been
conveying to the networks for the last three years," said Karen
Narasaki, Chair of the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition. "These findings
will be significant in our continued efforts to bring about
substantive change in network television."

The study offers recommendations to writers, producers and network
executives on ways to improve diversity when developing prime time
programming, including suggestions on how to improve the portrayal
of characters of color, the need to improve diversity on programs
that air when children are more likely to be watching and the need
to increase diversity behind the camera.