PASADENA Senior executives of CBS Television expect to meet shortly with representatives of the NAACP to discuss issues and concerns related to minority representation on the TV screen, behind the cameras and in corporate ranks.
CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves told The News that the NAACP has responded affirmatively to an invitation that CBS extended in response to NAACP President Kwesi Mfume’s stinging recent criticism of the four major networks’ new fall series. Moonves said he expects the meeting “in the next couple of weeks or so.
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At the same time, Moonves and CBS Entertainment Presidnet Nancy Tellem defended the record of CBS before a group of 200 or so TV reporters/critics here. Moonves said he didn’t like being lumped with the many disparate companies that make up the television industry.
Moonves cited Bill Cosby (in “Cosby” and “Kids Say the Darndest Things”), Della Reese (“Touched By An Angel”), Ed Bradley (“60 Minutes”), Vicky Mabrey (“60 Minutes II”), Cheech Marin (“Nash Bridges”) and Sammo Hung and Arsenio Hall (“Martial Law”) as minorities in prominent prime-time roles on CBS.
“I don’t think it’s fair” that CBS, Moonves said, “should be accused of not recognizing the minority audience.
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Even among new fall series, which were singled out for criticism in Mfume’s July 12 speech, Moonves noted that two of CBS’ six new shows have significant minority representation, including “Now and Again.
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The complex action/comedy/romance from the creator of “Moonlighting” stars Eric Close as a middle-aged insurance salesman given a new young body by the government after he’s nearly killed in a subway accident. Dennis Haysbert, an African-American actor, plays the doctor who heads the government program, and, according to Moonves, he will get more screen time than any other character except Close’s.
Other matters covered during Moonves press conference:
-The pilot of “Falcone,” the controversial New York cop/mob drama series based on the experiences of undercover cop Joseph Pistone, will be re-edited to reduce on-screen violence before it premieres in January, Moonves said.
The series had been in contention for CBS’ fall schedule, but the network held it back in the wake of the Littleton shootings and heightened sensitivity to depictions of violence in media.
Moonves acknowledged that the public and critical embrace of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” the violent and profane series about a New Jersey crime family, played a small part in CBS going forward with “Falcone.
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“The success of `The Sopranos’ certainly has influenced our desire to put this show on the air. It’s hard not to notice when the lead character of a series is a murderer, and the show garners more Emmy nominations that any other show.
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-Singing sensations Ricky Martin, Celene Dion and Shania Twain will appear in high-profile music specials on CBS in November. Dion’s show, part of the festivities connected with the reopening of the refurbished Radio City Music Hall, will air Thanksgiving night. Dates for Martin’s and Twain’s specials have not yet been set. All three shows will be produced by ace music producer Ken Ehrlich.
