Fox, CBS commit to put more minorities in television series

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seven months after the NAACP threatened lawsuits and boycotts over the lack of minorities on TV series, Fox and CBS became the last major broadcasters to sign commitments to make the picture more ethnically diverse.

''This has been a long, arduous process,'' Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said yesterday. The agreements will bring ''real, meaningful, lasting change,'' he said.

Both Fox and CBS will add executives in charge of diversity who will implement and monitor network efforts, it was announced at separate news conferences held by the NAACP and other civil rights groups that took part in the protest.

The network agreements, much like those signed by NBC and ABC last month, focus on changes in minority representation throughout the companies - both on-screen and off. Minority recruitment will be considered in execut job evaluations.

''We feel it's enormously important, it's very good for business, and most of all it's the right thing to do,'' Fox Entertainment President Doug Herzog said of his network's initiative.

Leslie Moonves, CBS Television president and chief executive officer, said the CBS agreement reflected commitments he made in November at a Los Angeles hearing on diversity held by the NAACP.

''We're not only putting it in writing, we're putting our money where our mouth is,'' Moonves said, citing such programs as the upcoming Latino Grammy Awards and the drama series ''City of Angels,'' with many black writers and a largely black cast.

CBS promised to increase the number of development deals with minority writers, producers and ''other talent for the 2000 fall season and beyond.''

Like the Fox agreement, the CBS pact was virtually devoid of numbers that might provide measurements of success. But the network executives said they were committed to the effort - and Mfume said biannual evaluations were planned.

''It's not a matter of having come a long, long way, but of still having a long way to go,'' Mfume said.

The end result, Mfume said, should be creation of television that consumers can feel good about and new opportunities in the entertainment industry for men and women of color.

Although most criticism was directed at the four major broadcast networks, Mfume said he hoped cable channels and other broadcasters would use the agreements as a basis for self-examination and change.

The networks opened negotiations with civil rights groups after the NAACP last summer floated the threat of a TV boycott or legal action because of the lack of minority actors on the fall 1999 schedule of new shows.

In the spring, Mfume said the coalition intends to expand its focus to include the motion picture industry. He expects conversations with studio heads to be held after coalition members have had a chance to evaluate their goals.

Attending news conferences at the Fox studio lot and at CBS' offices were representatives of the National Latino Media Council, the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, and American Indians in Film and Television.