Television Industry Blacks

Vida Spears, a creator of UPN's hit comedy "Moesha" and one of the TV industry's few African American show runners, has been fired from the comedy because of a power struggle with star Brandy and her mother and manager, Sonja Norwood, sources said. The ousting of Spears, which took place Tuesday, was not wholly unexpected to those working on the series where tensions had been building for weeks over the show's creative direction.

One sentence of a recent newspaper story was enough to set off Steve Harvey. While backstage at a New York City hotel as he waited to address advertisers and TV critics who were there to see the WB network present its fall schedule, the comedian spied a story that said the network's so-called black-themed shows were moving to Sunday night. That was it. The article didn't mention "The Steve Harvey Show," "For Your Love" or "The Jamie Foxx Show."

"Moesha" is experiencing growing pains. The UPN comedy, which stars Brandy, is in the midst of being revamped by the network and its producers, Big Ticket Television, as it moves through the remainder of its fifth season. The changes include more gritty and topical story lines involving children born out of wedlock, family deception and betrayal, gangs, sex, Internet relationships and drugs.

"Moesha" is experiencing growing pains. The UPN comedy, which stars Brandy, is in the midst of being revamped by the network and its producers, Big Ticket Television, as it moves through the remainder of its fifth season. The changes include more gritty and topical story lines involving children born out of wedlock, family deception and betrayal, gangs, sex, Internet relationships and drugs.

In an unexpected reversal, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People has backed away from its repeated threats to stage a viewer and advertiser boycott this month against one of the four major broadcast networks to protest the lack of cultural diversity in their new prime-time series, sources said.

In an event that has already been clouded by prickly tension and last-minute maneuvering, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the television industry will square off Monday in an unprecedented public hearing over the lack of diversity in the fall prime-time schedule.

Television: In the battle for Big Three survival, blacks take center stage in the search for ratings. But behind-scene power is still a white enclave. Bryant Gumbel is king of the "Today" series, Oprah Winfrey is queen of daytime TV and Arsenio Hall is the hottest new late-night star in years. All, of course, are black--and significant daily proof of how TV's lily-white on-screen past has changed for the good.

One sentence of a recent newspaper story was enough to set off Steve Harvey. While backstage at a New York City hotel as he waited to address advertisers and TV critics who were there to see the WB network present its fall schedule, the comedian spied a story that said the network's so-called black-themed shows were moving to Sunday night. That was it. The article didn't mention "The Steve Harvey Show," "For Your Love" or "The Jamie Foxx Show."

The NAACP laid out its first specific demands of the major television networks Wednesday in its ongoing campaign to increase the role of minorities in the television industry. The sweeping initiatives, listed in a five-page document that landed on executives' desks at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, propose timetables for adding minorities to corporate boards, hiring more minority writers and producers and other steps to dramatically change the industry's diversity policies.

The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, as expected, backed away Wednesday from threats to stage a boycott of one of the four major broadcast networks this month and instead said it would hold hearings in Los Angeles, beginning Nov. 29, on the lack of racial and ethnic diversity at the networks.

Vida Spears, a creator of UPN's hit comedy "Moesha" and one of the TV industry's few African American show runners, has been fired from the comedy because of a power struggle with star Brandy and her mother and manager, Sonja Norwood, sources said. The ousting of Spears, which took place Tuesday, was not wholly unexpected to those working on the series where tensions had been building for weeks over the show's creative direction.

Huey: I used to be a firm believer in the economic philosophy of black nationalism. Jazmine: What's that? Huey: That's the belief that black people have a responsibility to support all black businesses, because that creates a strong black economic base. . . . Those powerful black business people would then act in the best interests of black America. Jazmine: You don't believe in that anymore? Huey: Let's just say BET shot a few holes in that theory.

In an event that has already been clouded by prickly tension and last-minute maneuvering, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the television industry will square off Monday in an unprecedented public hearing over the lack of diversity in the fall prime-time schedule.

Though it's still months before "City of Angels" hits prime time, CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, legendary producer Steven Bochco and the creative team behind the drama series about an inner-city hospital have gone on the offensive in hopes of reversing the jinx: For years, mainstream audiences have turned off network dramas built around predominantly black casts, which "City of Angels" is, resulting in a history of quick cancellations and few projects in development.

The NAACP laid out its first specific demands of the major television networks Wednesday in its ongoing campaign to increase the role of minorities in the television industry. The sweeping initiatives, listed in a five-page document that landed on executives' desks at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, propose timetables for adding minorities to corporate boards, hiring more minority writers and producers and other steps to dramatically change the industry's diversity policies.

The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, as expected, backed away Wednesday from threats to stage a boycott of one of the four major broadcast networks this month and instead said it would hold hearings in Los Angeles, beginning Nov. 29, on the lack of racial and ethnic diversity at the networks.

Huey: I used to be a firm believer in the economic philosophy of black nationalism. Jazmine: What's that? Huey: That's the belief that black people have a responsibility to support all black businesses, because that creates a strong black economic base. . . . Those powerful black business people would then act in the best interests of black America. Jazmine: You don't believe in that anymore? Huey: Let's just say BET shot a few holes in that theory.

Bigots used to call NBC the Negro Broadcasting Co. It was a badge of honor for the network. For NBC played a historic role as the leader in breaking down barriers against blacks in television. In the '50s, NBC carried "The Nat King Cole Show" for an entire year virtually without sponsors, who feared advertising on a series with a black star. In the '60s, NBC presented Bill Cosby as the first black actor to headline a regular drama series in "I Spy."

In an unexpected reversal, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People has backed away from its repeated threats to stage a viewer and advertiser boycott this month against one of the four major broadcast networks to protest the lack of cultural diversity in their new prime-time series, sources said.

Dieudonne Mbala, one of France's most popular black comedians, recently turned down an offer to do a TV commercial for a brand of cocktail peanuts. "Peanuts," objected Dieudonne, "are food for monkeys." The 33-year-old comic, child of a French mother and a father from the African nation of Cameroon, didn't press to learn what was in the sponsor's mind.