Fox Gets Failing Grade In Network Diversity Reports

Fox received an “F” from the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition and the National Latino Media Council today in the groups’ annual network report cards. But it’s not because the network that airs The Mindy Project doesn’t have enough Asian Pacific Americans or Latinos on their shows and in their company — it’s because Fox missed its deadlines to report its numbers. The APAMC says that on November 1 it gave Fox a deadline of November 15 to get back to them with the ethnic mix of their programming on both sides of the camera. “We didn’t get anything from them this year,” APAMC co-chair Guy Aoki said. The co-chair also said the APAMC has a long-scheduled meeting with Fox set for Tuesday, though they don’t know who will be there. At the same time, the group, which gave Fox a C- overall last year, praised the network as being the only one that met its 2011 challenge to cast an Asian Pacific American in a lead role on a TV series: Debuting this season, Mindy Project stars and was created by Mindy Kaling whose heritage is Indian. The National Latino Media Council also criticized Fox today for not meeting its November 8 deadline. “For the last couple of years the Fox Diversity team has been unresponsive to NLMC’s request for timely and complete data,” they said.

In response, Fox said today that they wanted to provide “more accurate data” but were unable to do so within the APAMC’s and NLMC’s timelines. Here’s the statement from Fox:

This year, in an effort to ensure that the information we report is truly reflective of our talent, FOX has been working to collect more accurate data from the studios that employ our actors, writers and directors. We were unable to deliver that data within the Coalitions’ press release deadline, but we are still committed to providing it once it has been gathered in full. It’s unfortunate that this is being used as the sole basis for the report card grade, given that the Coalitions themselves acknowledge that FOX has some very positive stories to tell. We believe that reflecting diverse talent and viewpoints is imperative to the success of our business, and while we respect the Coalitions, our focus is on demonstrating this commitment to our viewers.

The APAMC looks at eight categories: actors, unscripted (reality) show participants, writers/producers, directors, development, procurement, executives, and network initiatives. This year’s report card gave NBC a B-, down from last year’s B. CBS went to a C+ from a B-. ABC maintained its C+ from last year. Fox did not respond to requests for comment on its F. Using the same criteria, the NLMC gave NBC an overall A- this year for its behind-the-camera diversity. CBS got a B+ and ABC a B.