Cablefax The Magazine - October 2021 - 27

At NBCU, Robinson has been reporting directly to the CEO
for 10 years, a move that came along with policy changes
that went into effect at the time of the Comcast merger. In
its 2020 Values Report, Comcast reported that 62% of its
employees were women or people of color.
Among his current focuses is ascertaining " less obvious "
ways the company can distribute the $100 million it committed
to combatting inequality against race, ethnicity, religion,
gender identity, sexual orientation or ability.
This includes partnering with lesser-known Historically Black
Colleges and other institutions for the NBCU Academy, and
switching up the way the company looks for candidates at all
levels. " We must be deliberate and surgical in our canvassing, "
he says. " We want to be interviewing a diverse slate of candidates,
but if you're not at least talking to people who are outside
your usual network, how would you do that?... It can't just be
box-checking. "
Storytelling Strategies
Progress on-screen and behind the camera is also beginning to
ratchet up in an area where there's clearly work to be done.
Across digital, cable and broadcast, only 10.3%, 14.5% and
10.7% of series creators were people of color, respectively,
according to the 2020 UCLA report. And although nearly 17%
of the U.S. population is Latino, just 5.5% of cable leads were
played by Latinx actors during the 2018-19 season.
Crown Media Family Networks is bringing the decades-old
Mahogany greeting card brand to the small screen in 2022,
beginning with Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, which will feature
programming told through the lens of Black culture. The move
is a salient one, as president and CEO Wonya Lucas continues
to face criticism of Hallmark's previous lack of diverse content
since she took the reins last July.
" This launch marks a pivotal moment in our evolution as we
continue to bring the Hallmark brand to life in new ways, " Lucas
said in re-introducing the Mahogany brand. " In addition, it's a
huge step forward in our mission to deliver more diverse, inclusive
content representing various cultures and perspectives that
resonates with our current audience and attracts new viewers. "
Nat Geo's Field Ready Program, which comprises 10 earlystage
filmmakers from around the globe, creates a pipeline of
underrepresented voices who are given opportunities to work on
productions and eventually become mentors to other mentees
who graduate from the program.
Field Ready mentee Maurice
Oniang'o on location with the
" Supernatural Planet team. "
Crown Media Family Networks is developing content inspired
by the Hallmark Mahogany greeting card brand.
Cablefax: The Magazine
October 2021
PBS recently hired its first executive SVP of DEI and will require
producers to provide their own DEI plan as a deliverable at
the proposal stage as well as for all new agreements, series
renewals and direct-to-PBS programs-a move that came, in
part, after filmmakers sent an open letter to the company noting
its lack of diverse storytelling.
During this summer's Television Critics Association press tour,
PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger acknowledged the letter
" was definitely a piece " of adapting the new protocols. " We recognize
there's a need for us to be more deliberate... in making
a shared commitment to not only who's on screen, but also
who's telling the stories, " she said.
With the industry so intently focused on DEI, there's hope for real
change.
" We finally have people's attention like never before. Before
they were listening; now they're engaged, " says NBCU's
Robinson. " What we're really charged with is changing the
hearts and minds of the people who are in power. It's as simple
and as hard as that. "
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