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Though prime-time television is widely viewed by most demographic groups in the United States, it does not necessarily reflect national racial demographics, according to a recent UCLA study released this past week.

The study, “Prime Time in Black and White: Not Much is New for 2002”, conducted by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, documented various factors such as the number of minority characters and amount of screen time among different races in prime-time sitcoms and dramas among major networks: CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, and the WB. 

Among other things, the study conductors concluded that prime-time race disparities resulted from marketing strategies.

“The industry continues to be driven by business logics that divide the nation into market segments based on race, where the large but declining white segment reigns supreme,” said Darnell Hunt, director of the center and head of the study, in a press release.  

Representatives from major networks NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB were unavailable for comment, and representatives from CBS declined to comment.

Researchers found several disparities between racial representation on television and minority percentages in the real world.

“Despite our nation’s growing diversity, white characters continue to dominate prime time, not only with the number of characters but also with the amount of time they appear on the television screen,” Hunt said.

The study noted that the largest discrepancy was between the Latino character representation and this group’s percentage as part of national population.

Three percent of the characters in the sample of programs were Latino, though Latinos comprise about 13 percent of the United States population. 

Some networks stand out with overrepresentation of certain groups. For instance, 31 percent of characters on UPN were blacks, though they make up 12 percent of the U.S. population. 

The study also noted that the percentage of male characters was greater than the percentage of female characters across all groups. However, the study found exception with the Asian American demographic. 

Though prime-time television provides entertainment programming, Hunt said it still has other effects on society.

“Prime-time television is about much more than just the business of entertainment,” Hunt said.

“It is one of the primary cultural vehicles through which we imagine the type of society we would like to have, that we believe may be possible,” he added.

Some faculty believes that underrepresentation in television can have adverse effects on minorities. 

“People who are underrepresented get used to seeing themselves as marginalized,” said Anthea Raymond Beckler, who will be teaching a communication studies course in the fall.

“As many theorists have noted, (being marginalized) affects their self-esteem and their notions of what they can achieve,” she added.

However, overrepresented groups can also be negatively influenced, Raymond Beckler added.

“People who are overrepresented get the wrong idea about who’s part of and important in our society,” she said.

The need that networks have shown for people with a certain “look” has made it difficult for some students who audition for television roles.

“There have been a lot of times where I’ve been to auditions and was told that I don’t look ‘Asian’ enough or I don’t look ‘Latina’ enough,” said Francine Maigue, a fourth-year world arts and culture student, referring to her mixed heritage. “It’s like they’re looking for the token look to fulfill whatever stereotypical ethnicity they’re putting out there.”

Though some television programs are tailored to specific minorities to fill certain market niches, some see the positive side to these programs.

“I don’t think you should just have shows that are catered to minorities,” said Rodney Scott, a recently graduated theater student. “But I believe that’s the best opportunity for minorities to act.”

“I give (show creators) credit for creating this display of a certain racial background that we didn’t necessarily see decades ago,” Maigue said.

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