ShyGuyInChicago
August 13th, 2011, 05:21 PM
http://www.queerty.com/glaad-releases-its-annual-tv-report-card-some-networks-not-going-to-dennys-for-sundaes-20110803/
Each year since 2007, GLAAD has filed a Network Responsibility Index, a report card of sorts, examining how major television channels are doing with the quantity and quality of images of LGBT people.
Granted, it’s not an exact science—what’s considered a “positive” representation is open to interpretation. Take Lafayette and Jesus on True Blood. Some might say a short-order cook/drug dealer and his witch boyfriend don’t make good role models. But considering their friends are fairies, vampires, shapeshifters and (possibly) werepanthers, its a sliding scale.
And admittedly, GLAAD’s sampling seems random. Boutique channels like A&E and ABC Family get vetted, but major networks like Bravo, MTV and Comedy Central aren’t. And maybe GLAAD could show some balls and give Logo a thorough examination for how its representing the rainbow. (Granted, in a different study.)
Still, the report is interesting reading—especially if you haven’t kept up on what’s airing on the boob tube these days. The full study, made available today, can be found here.
Some findings include:
The Good News
Lots of shows with major queer storylines, characters and themes are critical and commercial success. And a number are Emmy nominees or winners—like Modern Family, True Blood and Glee.
There are more LGBTs of color on the airwaves, on shows like True Blood, The Good Wife and Grey’s Anatomy.
There’s been an uptick of gay representations on shows and networks aimed at youth. ABC Family received GLAAD’s “Excellent” rating for its good work on shows like Greek, Kyle XY and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. “We’re proud of our programming and grateful for the recognition,” says ABC Family president Michael Riley. “We strive to reflect the rich diversity of our audience and the world around us, including the LGBT community, through strong characters and engaging, authentic storytelling. [This is] a validation of our programming’s positive impact.”
The Bad News
Trans people got the short end of the stick, representing only 1% of all LGBT people, real or fictional, represented on television.
Though it went from “Failing” last year to “Adequate” this one, CBS gets a strong rap across the knuckles for having no regular LGBT characters it any series and, when we do make appearances, for generally portraying us as punchlines or victims. Yeah, that’s why we never laughed during an episode of Two & A Half Men.
Along with TBS, A&E got a Failing grade. Basically it’s only queer cred comes from the fact that the host of Paranormal State, Ryan Buell (above), came out as bisexual. A guy who runs around in empty prisons talking about ghosts sometimes sleeps with dudes. Yay!
Do you have something to say about LGBT representations on television? Tell us in the comments. And there will be a test!
http://www.glaad.org/nri
GLAAD Network Responsibility Index 2010 - 2011
The fifth annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index is an evaluation of the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television. It is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT media representations.
Primetime programming on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) was evaluated as well as 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, ABC Family, AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, Syfy, TBS, TNT and USA). Based on the analysis, a grade was assigned to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.
From GLAAD Blog
GLAAD Releases Its Fifth Annual Network Responsibility Index
ABC Family President Michael Riley Reacts to Receiving “Excellent” Rating in 2011 NRI
Key findings From the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index include:
This year, ABC Family becomes the second network, cable or broadcast, to receive an "Excellent" rating in this report due to the quality and diversity of its many LGBT impressions. Of the 10 cable networks evaluated, ABC Family posted the largest increase (+18%) and ranked highest for LGBT-inclusive original content. Out of 103 total hours of original primetime programming, 56.5 (55%) hours included LGBT impressions. ABC Family was also the most racially diverse this year, with 35% white impressions, 25% black, 13% Latino/a, and 28% multiracial.
Compared to last year's NRI, GLAAD has found that the five major broadcast networks have all remained relatively steady in the percentage of LGBT-inclusive hours found in their primetime programming. There has been no change in their rankings relative to one another based on these figures, though The CW, Fox, and ABC all experienced slight declines, while NBC and CBS both experienced slight increases. ABC saw the greatest decline at -3%, while CBS saw greatest increase at +3%.
For the second year in a row, The CW is the top broadcast network in this report with 171 (33%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 521 total hours of original programming. Last year, The CW reached 35% LGBT-inclusive hours, which remains the highest percentage ever recorded for a broadcast network since this report's inception. The CW's programming also reflected the second greatest racial/ethnic diversity among its LGBT impressions of all the broadcast networks.
Once again, ABC had to settle for third place behind The CW and Fox in terms of the percentage of its LGBT-inclusive primetime hours. However, ABC led all the broadcast networks in total hours of LGBT inclusion. Of the 1108 total tracked hours of primetime programming, 253 (23%) included LGBT impressions.
For the third year in a row, CBS remains in last place among the broadcast networks. Since GLAAD began the NRI, CBS has demonstrated the least overall improvement over a five year period. This year however, it posted the largest gain of any network with a modest 3% increase; 114 (10%) LGBT-inclusive hours of programming out of 1110 hours total. Because of this, CBS' score was raised from "Failing" to "Adequate."
Showtime made a stronger showing this year with 35.5 (37%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 96.5 total. Though it didn't feature the most racially diverse range of impressions (85% white), it did include a strong showing for both lesbians (54%) and bisexuals (48%) in its LGBT-inclusive hours.
Another network that showed improvement was USA, which increased from 4% LGBT-inclusive hours to 18% thanks to the upgrading of Diana Berrigan on White Collar to regular status. This improvement moves USA from a score of "Failing" to "Adequate."
A&E and TBS continue to reside at the bottom of our rankings and earn "Failing" grades with only 5% LGBT-inclusive programming hours each. Those numbers are a slight improvement over the 2% and 1% they respectively posted in last year's NRI.
For the full analysis, please download the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index or read it below.
See the media release here.
GLAAD Network Responsibility Index
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against defamation (GLAAD) is a group that aims to encourage positive, fair, and accurate depictions of LGBT people in the media. For the past few years they released annual reports depicting how well various television networks perform in shows containing LGBT people. They use criteria such as how many shows on a network contain LGBT characters, whether such characters are important parts of the shows, whether LGBT people are portrayed fairly and accurately, among other criteria. The report is called a Network Responsibility Index.
Now, I think that in general TV should have more shows that reflect diversity and that have greater representations of societal minorities. I just feel that such a thing can open more doors to more creativity in the media by depicting issues and themes that are not necessarily always seen in TV.
So I am wondering how you feel about depiction of LGBT people on TV. Do you think there is a need for more representation? Do you think that the TV networks have a responsibility?
Each year since 2007, GLAAD has filed a Network Responsibility Index, a report card of sorts, examining how major television channels are doing with the quantity and quality of images of LGBT people.
Granted, it’s not an exact science—what’s considered a “positive” representation is open to interpretation. Take Lafayette and Jesus on True Blood. Some might say a short-order cook/drug dealer and his witch boyfriend don’t make good role models. But considering their friends are fairies, vampires, shapeshifters and (possibly) werepanthers, its a sliding scale.
And admittedly, GLAAD’s sampling seems random. Boutique channels like A&E and ABC Family get vetted, but major networks like Bravo, MTV and Comedy Central aren’t. And maybe GLAAD could show some balls and give Logo a thorough examination for how its representing the rainbow. (Granted, in a different study.)
Still, the report is interesting reading—especially if you haven’t kept up on what’s airing on the boob tube these days. The full study, made available today, can be found here.
Some findings include:
The Good News
Lots of shows with major queer storylines, characters and themes are critical and commercial success. And a number are Emmy nominees or winners—like Modern Family, True Blood and Glee.
There are more LGBTs of color on the airwaves, on shows like True Blood, The Good Wife and Grey’s Anatomy.
There’s been an uptick of gay representations on shows and networks aimed at youth. ABC Family received GLAAD’s “Excellent” rating for its good work on shows like Greek, Kyle XY and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. “We’re proud of our programming and grateful for the recognition,” says ABC Family president Michael Riley. “We strive to reflect the rich diversity of our audience and the world around us, including the LGBT community, through strong characters and engaging, authentic storytelling. [This is] a validation of our programming’s positive impact.”
The Bad News
Trans people got the short end of the stick, representing only 1% of all LGBT people, real or fictional, represented on television.
Though it went from “Failing” last year to “Adequate” this one, CBS gets a strong rap across the knuckles for having no regular LGBT characters it any series and, when we do make appearances, for generally portraying us as punchlines or victims. Yeah, that’s why we never laughed during an episode of Two & A Half Men.
Along with TBS, A&E got a Failing grade. Basically it’s only queer cred comes from the fact that the host of Paranormal State, Ryan Buell (above), came out as bisexual. A guy who runs around in empty prisons talking about ghosts sometimes sleeps with dudes. Yay!
Do you have something to say about LGBT representations on television? Tell us in the comments. And there will be a test!
http://www.glaad.org/nri
GLAAD Network Responsibility Index 2010 - 2011
The fifth annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index is an evaluation of the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television. It is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT media representations.
Primetime programming on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) was evaluated as well as 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, ABC Family, AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, Syfy, TBS, TNT and USA). Based on the analysis, a grade was assigned to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.
From GLAAD Blog
GLAAD Releases Its Fifth Annual Network Responsibility Index
ABC Family President Michael Riley Reacts to Receiving “Excellent” Rating in 2011 NRI
Key findings From the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index include:
This year, ABC Family becomes the second network, cable or broadcast, to receive an "Excellent" rating in this report due to the quality and diversity of its many LGBT impressions. Of the 10 cable networks evaluated, ABC Family posted the largest increase (+18%) and ranked highest for LGBT-inclusive original content. Out of 103 total hours of original primetime programming, 56.5 (55%) hours included LGBT impressions. ABC Family was also the most racially diverse this year, with 35% white impressions, 25% black, 13% Latino/a, and 28% multiracial.
Compared to last year's NRI, GLAAD has found that the five major broadcast networks have all remained relatively steady in the percentage of LGBT-inclusive hours found in their primetime programming. There has been no change in their rankings relative to one another based on these figures, though The CW, Fox, and ABC all experienced slight declines, while NBC and CBS both experienced slight increases. ABC saw the greatest decline at -3%, while CBS saw greatest increase at +3%.
For the second year in a row, The CW is the top broadcast network in this report with 171 (33%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 521 total hours of original programming. Last year, The CW reached 35% LGBT-inclusive hours, which remains the highest percentage ever recorded for a broadcast network since this report's inception. The CW's programming also reflected the second greatest racial/ethnic diversity among its LGBT impressions of all the broadcast networks.
Once again, ABC had to settle for third place behind The CW and Fox in terms of the percentage of its LGBT-inclusive primetime hours. However, ABC led all the broadcast networks in total hours of LGBT inclusion. Of the 1108 total tracked hours of primetime programming, 253 (23%) included LGBT impressions.
For the third year in a row, CBS remains in last place among the broadcast networks. Since GLAAD began the NRI, CBS has demonstrated the least overall improvement over a five year period. This year however, it posted the largest gain of any network with a modest 3% increase; 114 (10%) LGBT-inclusive hours of programming out of 1110 hours total. Because of this, CBS' score was raised from "Failing" to "Adequate."
Showtime made a stronger showing this year with 35.5 (37%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 96.5 total. Though it didn't feature the most racially diverse range of impressions (85% white), it did include a strong showing for both lesbians (54%) and bisexuals (48%) in its LGBT-inclusive hours.
Another network that showed improvement was USA, which increased from 4% LGBT-inclusive hours to 18% thanks to the upgrading of Diana Berrigan on White Collar to regular status. This improvement moves USA from a score of "Failing" to "Adequate."
A&E and TBS continue to reside at the bottom of our rankings and earn "Failing" grades with only 5% LGBT-inclusive programming hours each. Those numbers are a slight improvement over the 2% and 1% they respectively posted in last year's NRI.
For the full analysis, please download the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index or read it below.
See the media release here.
GLAAD Network Responsibility Index
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against defamation (GLAAD) is a group that aims to encourage positive, fair, and accurate depictions of LGBT people in the media. For the past few years they released annual reports depicting how well various television networks perform in shows containing LGBT people. They use criteria such as how many shows on a network contain LGBT characters, whether such characters are important parts of the shows, whether LGBT people are portrayed fairly and accurately, among other criteria. The report is called a Network Responsibility Index.
Now, I think that in general TV should have more shows that reflect diversity and that have greater representations of societal minorities. I just feel that such a thing can open more doors to more creativity in the media by depicting issues and themes that are not necessarily always seen in TV.
So I am wondering how you feel about depiction of LGBT people on TV. Do you think there is a need for more representation? Do you think that the TV networks have a responsibility?