Power beyond the remote control

Black Enterprise, Dec, 1996 by Deborrah M. Wilkinson

THE 1996 FALL PRIME-TIME TELEVISION SEASON premiered with two new networks, United Paramount Network (UPN) and Warner Brothers (WB), and a total of 17 minority-themed shows - mostly situation comedies.

UPN took viewers In the House (previously an NBC show) to visit Moesha and to check out the not-so Goode Behavior of Malcolm and Eddie and Sparks, before launching Homeboys In Outer Space.

Family life WB-style is set in and around the 'hood with The Jamie Foxx Show, The Parent 'Hood, and the Wayans Brothers. A set of teenage twins, Sister, Sister - cast off by ABC- completes the lineup along with a 1970s soul singer turned music teacher on The Steve Harvey Show.

The programming and time slots by UPN and WB took direct aim at, and are an attempt to capitalize on, the Fox Network's stronghold - a younger 18-49-year-old viewing audience - while simultaneously capturing the underserved African American market. Their counterprogramming strategy seems to be working.

Ironically, the Big Four - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox - took a more moderate programming approach. Fox renewed its hit shows Living Single, Martin and New York Undercover, while Urkel and the cast of Family Matters returned to ABC. CBS rolled out the red carpet for a new Cosby show. But NBC, the network that revived public interest in the 30-minute sitcom with No. 1 ranked The Cosby Show (from 1984 to 1992), did not have any minority-themed sitcoms this season.

Most of the new and returning programs feature stereotypical characters who project a limited range of black humor, often culminating in buffoonery. For Greg Wilkerson, of Richmond, Virginia, most of the black sitcoms are "silly but appeal to the masses," with the exceptions of Moesha and In the House. The latter shows had positive messages the few times he tuned in, recalls Wilkerson, a manager for Conagra. On the other hand, he calls the Wayans Brothers "pure buffoonery" and dismisses Homeboys In Outer Space as "completely ridiculous."

Wilkerson and his wife, Alfreda, allow their children, ages five, seven and 18, to watch television Friday through Sunday. The couple also try to limit their primetime viewing to 1 1/2 hours a day. Although they occasionally watch black sitcoms, their preference is for those dramatic series that have African American lead actors, like E.R. New York Undercover and High Incident.

Wilkerson, 38, admits to being complacent toward the portrayal of African Americans on television. He has never thought about complaining in writing to a network or advertiser. "What good would it do? Television shows are created for mass appeal," says Wilkerson. "I often wonder what other ethnic groups, particularly whites, think when they see us negatively portrayed? African Americans should have greater control over our images."

But watching television has become one of America's most popular and affordable leisure-time activities. Approximately 95.9 million U.S. households have television sets, and cable seriable is available in about 90% of them. Since its beginning, television has rapidly evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry.

While limiting your family's viewing time and programs may allow them to pursue other activities, it won't solve the age-old problem of how the television industry depicts people of color. To increase and improve the diversity of programming, African Americans must begin to assert consumer influence on television at every level: from the networks and their staffs of writers, directors and producers to the advertisers supporting these programs and the local stations carrying them. It's a matter of knowing how to be counted as a TV viewer and learning how to make the industry more responsive.

It's also a matter of flexing our economic muscle as consumers television, and targets of the commercials that pay for them. According to Competitive Media Reporting and the Publishers Information Bureau, advertisers spent $31.15 billion on network, local, syndicated and cable TV advertising last year. The 25 largest television advertisers (see chart, "Who's Buying Time?") spent $9.5 billion in 1995 alone, with this year's spending outpacing last year's at almost $6 billion through July.

Congresswoman Cardiss Collins (D-Illinois) contends that greater participation by African Americans in the television rating system is "absolutely essential for economic parity." In June 1994, she formed the Task Force on Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Television Rating Service to examine advertising agency practices and Nielsen Media Research techniques pertaining to African Americans.

According to Collins, Nielsen Media began reporting on television audiences in 1950, providing a viewer account for every program seen on TV. Today, Nielsen Media ratings are used like "currency" in the marketplace of advertiser-supported television: When advertisers want a commercial to reach a specific audience, the companies target TV programs that can deliver the desired audience. In fact, Collins points out that Nielsen Media serves as the basis for $30 billion in local and national advertising sales annually. "Just one-tenth of a rating point, over a year, can mean approximately $10 million to a network," notes the congresswoman.