Interview Paper - Final Submission

Running Head: A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 1

A View of Diversity on Television

Terri Elmore

Central Michigan University

MSA 604 Administration, Globalization, & Multiculturalism 22366970

April 16, 2019

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 2

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the thoughts and experiences of a person from a different

culture than the author, to expand the author’s global perspective, and to understand how those

views shape individual perspectives. NiceGirlsTV.com blogger Lisa Harrison participated in a

personal interview with the author. Harrison is a multiracial woman who identifies as Black,

Native American, and White. Harrison asserted that the #OscarsSoWhite viral campaign raised

diversity awareness in the television and film industry, that African Americans and Asian

Americans have lacked adequate representation on television, and that she has faced skin tone

bias as an obstacle in the television industry. Harrison also expressed that diversity in the

television industry can help television networks come up with unique ideas to tell new stories,

help avoid only giving the white perspective on television, and help benefit children by teaching

them about other cultures. The author of this paper is a television producer, and this research has

helped broaden the author’s perspective and increase cultural awareness to create more diverse

television programs.

Keywords: Oscars, colorism, default whiteness

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 3

Introduction

Every person is unique with different ideas and cultural views of the world. The

definition of diversity is the degree to which individuals are different from, or similar to, one

another (Robbins & Judge, 2017). Researcher Bucher (2015) found that the ability to

communicate and collaborate with all kinds of people is an asset for any employee. As a

television producer, the author of this research paper is committed to diversity in the workplace,

and therefore wants to know how a blogger feels the television industry represents African

Americans and whether diversity in television has improved over the years. The author chose to

interview NiceGirlsTV.com blogger Lisa Harrison who calls herself racially ambiguous as she

identifies her race as Black, Native American, and White. Harrison discussed her thoughts about

whether the television and film industry had changed since the #OscarsSoWhite viral campaign,

what obstacles she has had to overcome in the television industry, and which cultural groups lack

adequate representation on television. Harrison also gave her thoughts on how diversity on

television can benefit television networks, different cultures, and children. By expanding

diversity consciousness, that author of this research paper can become more of an asset to a

company and create more diverse television programs.

The Oscars

In 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite became a trending topic on Twitter when the Oscar

nominees announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lacked racial

diversity. People on social media observed that an overwhelming majority of the nominees were

white that year. The #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign resurfaced one year later when

again many of the nominations did not include nonwhite actors (Griggs, 2016). Many people

were upset over the lack of diversity, and some members of the Academy threatened to boycott

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 4

the ceremony if changes were not made. NiceGirlsTV.com blogger Lisa Harrison said, “I think

the #OscarsSoWhite campaign was a huge eye-opener to the Academy as well as the industry in

general… it made the Academy look within themselves” (personal interview, March 26, 2019).

Before the #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign, the Oscar nominees and the Academy’s

membership lacked diversity. However, after the social media campaign, the Academy

acknowledged the inequalities and announced steps to diversify with a goal to double the number

of diverse members by 2020 (Rottenberg, 2016). Harrison believed the #OscarsSoWhite

campaign was a positive step, and that:

“This was a wakeup call the Academy needed, and it made everyone else follow

suit. Television shows are more diverse now. There are more women directors on

television. There are more black female directors on television. I see more people

represented across the board, not just African Americans. (personal interview, March 26,

2019)”

By the 2019 Oscars, there was a change in the level of the playing field, and the ceremony had

the second-most black nominees in Oscar history (Atkison, 2019). The #OscarsSoWhite

campaign helped raise the Academy’s diversity awareness and helped increase diversity in the

television and film industry.

Adequate Representation

The U.S. Census estimated in 2018 that Whites made up approximately 60 percent of the

population, followed by 18 percent Hispanic or Latino, 13 percent Black or African American,

and five percent Asian (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2018). The television industry has taken into

account the diversity of the U.S. population and added more television networks to meet the

demands from the diverse cultural groups. In the 1980s, BET (Black Entertainment Television)

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 5

was the only television network that targeted African American audiences, but today that list

includes OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, Bounce TV, TV One, and others. Harrison noted,

“We've come a long way because of channels like BET and TV One. There are more choices for

different types of shows for African Americans to see themselves represented now than we ever

have had in the past” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). While there are more television

networks aimed at African Americans, adequate representation of this cultural group is still

underserved. A study by the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg (IDEA)

found “quantified disturbing patterns around the lack of media representation concerning females

and people of color” (Smith, Choueiti, & Pieper, 2016). Harrison agreed that African Americans

need more representation on television programs but suggested there is also a lack of

representation among another demographic as well. “I feel there is a big lack of representation of

Asians on television” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). Harrison said most families do not

live in culturally diverse areas, but by seeing diversity on television, that includes Asian

Americans, they “can see these people, they can learn about these people, and they can see that

other cultures and other races are just like them” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). The U.S.

population is a diverse mixture of many races, and a television producer that can advocate for

underserved cultural groups would be able to create more diverse programs.

Colorism

Adequate representation of the U.S. population also includes representing the diversity

within a cultural group. Among African Americans and Asian Americans, there are an array of

different skin tones, often creating skin tone bias within the race. Uzogara and Jackson (2016)

called this bias colorism where an individual faced prejudice based on the lightness or darkness

of their skin tone. Harrison stated that “within each culture, we’re not all the same. We don’t all

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 6

look the same” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). Lupita Nyong’o is an Oscar-winning

Actress known for her darker-skin tone for which she faced colorism in Hollywood when casting

agencies would favor black actresses with lighter skin complexions than hers (Wellington, 2014).

Harrison faced skin tone prejudices as well, but on the other end of the skin tone spectrum. The

NiceGirlsTV.com blogger is a lighter skinned African American woman and said that she

experienced discrimination when a company planned to hire one African American female but

went with an obviously darker African American because the other woman looked more African

American than Harrison (personal interview, March 26, 2019). Harrison expressed that blatant

and subtle forms of discrimination like colorism are very personal and emotional for her. “For

someone to tell me, I’m not black enough that really hurt me, that really cut deep” (personal

interview, March 26, 2019). Skin complexion judgments about a person can create prejudice in

the workplace, and a diversity consciousness television producer needs to handle this bias by

being aware of how to identify and keep colorism out of television programs.

Diversity Benefits

Diversity ranges from the visible to the non-visible differences between people, and a

diverse workforce is vital for any organization to succeed in an ever-changing market. Robbins

and Judge (2017) found that productivity and profitability increased in more diverse

organizations. Research also indicated that companies that lack diverse representation among

their employees end up with a smaller pool of ideas and experiences (Solanki & Saxena, 2017).

Harrison asserted that “by having diverse crews, writers, directors, editors it gives the

opportunity to tell new stories. And it gives different perspectives on whatever the topic may be”

(personal interview, March 26, 2019). One benefit for diversity on television is that television

networks could appeal to more diverse audiences. Smith, Choueiti, and Pieper (2016) found a

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 7

vast underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority groups on television and that this has led

to these groups being excluded or erased from storytelling. Harrison suggested that by having

more people of color on television viewers “can see these people, they can learn about these

people and they can see that they are just like them” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). A

second benefit for diversity on television is the ability to avoid what Bucher (2015) called default

whiteness where there is a tendency to view the behavior, value, and perspectives of white

people as the norm for all people. Harrison said that she observed default whiteness on

television stating that:

“If you're looking at tv and you're only seeing a Caucasian family, any non-Caucasian

might think that that's better or right. And the Caucasian people watching it only seeing

themselves they might think that they are better, they are right, and they might not be

open to other cultures and other races. (personal interview, March 26, 2019)”

The third benefit for diversity on television is that children can watch these diverse programs and

learn from them. Ellithorpe and Bleakley (2016) found that “the characters that adolescents

watch is important not only for identity processes but also for models for behavior” (p. 1427).

Harrison believed that “seeing people from different cultures is a great learning experience …for

kids [to learn] about other cultures and other races” (personal interview, March 26, 2019).

Therefore, diversity on television would be an effective strategy to benefit television networks,

people from different cultures, and children that grow up watching these programs.

Conclusion

Bucher (2015) called the lack of cultural diversity awareness a liability and found that

despite its importance, people rarely engage in difficult dialogue about diversity issues. The

author of this paper chose to engage in the difficult dialogue surrounding diversity to enhance

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 8

and expand knowledge about other cultures. The author interviewed NiceGirlsTV.com blogger

Lisa Harrison to provide insight into how a multiracial individual felt toward diversity on

television. Harrison described the challenges she saw that led to the #OscarsSoWhite viral

campaign and how she felt African Americans and Asian Americans needed adequate

representation on television. Harrison also explained how colorism and default whiteness shaped

her perspective. Lastly, Harrison expressed that television can give more people more access to

other cultures which can benefit television networks, different cultures, and children. She

optimistically stated that “the way television is now and where we're going with television with

the different platforms…. lets people know they're not alone. It will only make it better because

there's still so many stories that need to be told” (personal interview, March 26, 2019). This

interview process has made the author of this paper aware of colorism, default whiteness, and the

lack of representation on television of several cultural groups. The author is also now more

knowledgeable of how intended, and unintended behaviors impact others as well as how to

increase equality as a television producer.

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 9

References

Atkison, C. (2019, February 28). Oscars see bump in African-American viewership on historic

night. NBC. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/oscars-see-bump-african-

american-viewership-historic-night-n977861

Bucher, R. (2015). Diversity consciousness: Opening our minds to people cultures,

and opportunities. New York, NY: Pearson.

Ellithorpe, M, & Bleakley, A. (2016). Wanting to see people like me? racial and gender

diversity in popular adolescent television. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(7),

1426-1437. doi:http://dx.doi.org.cmich.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0415-4

Griggs, B. (2016, January 14). Once again, #oscarssowhite. CNN. Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/14/entertainment/oscars-so-white-protest-nominations-

feat/index.html

Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2017). Organizational behavior. (17th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson

Education, Inc.

Rottenberg, J. (2016, April 19). After #ocarssowhite, academy clears the air about new

membership rules. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mn-facing-anger-academy-clarifies-voting-

rules-20160419-story.html

Smith S, Choueiti M, & Pieper K. (2016). Inclusion or invisibility? Comprehensive

Annenberg report on diversity in entertainment. Institute for Diversity and Empowerment

at Annenberg. Retrieved from

https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/2017/04/07/MDSCI_CARD_Report_FINAL

_Exec_Summary.pdf

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 10

Solanki, R. & Saxena, A. (2017). Workforce diversity and its impact on productivity.

Prestige International Journal of Management and Research, 9/10(2), 33-44. Retrieved

from http://cmich.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.cmich.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013529040?accountid=10181

Uzogara, E. E., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). Perceived skin tone discrimination across contexts:

African American women's reports. Race and Social Problems, 8(2), 147-159.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.cmich.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s12552-016-9172-y

Wellington, E. (2014, May 07). The Philadelphia inquirer mirror, mirror column. McClatchy –

Tribune Business News Retrieved from

http://cmich.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.cmich.idm.oclc.org/docview/1521229419?accountid=10181

U.S. Bureau of the Census.(2018, July 1). Quick facts: United states. Retrieved from

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218#

A VIEW OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION 11

Appendix

Interview question

1. Which cultural groups do you feel are not adequately represented in television?

2. What obstacles have you had to overcome as a television blogger?

3. How does diversity on television benefit people from different cultures?

4. How will more diverse television crews on and off camera lead to better television?

5. In 2015, the hashtag Oscars so white was trending when all the acting categories that year

did not include any nonwhite actors. It prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts

and Sciences to diversify its membership. How do you feel the television and film

industry has changed since the hashtag Oscar so white viral campaign?

6. How do you feel changes now for diversity on television could benefit children that grow

up watching these programs?