CBS has agreed to order more scripts from Latino creators, employ more Latino directors, and hear more pitches from Latino creators following a meeting last week with the National Latino Media Council.
The NLMC issued a statement on Tuesday saying the network had agreed to “record commitments to represent Latinos at the network” at the August 17th meeting, which included two top members of NLMC and CBS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves. At the meeting, which took three months to arrange, CBS representatives showed statistics demonstrating how their new commitment to diversity has panned out in the 2017–18 season. The network has doubled the number of Latino actors and writers on its shows since 2016.
“We were very impressed with what they’ve done in just the past three months,” president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition Alex Nogales told Variety. “It just shows that when people really want to do something, they do it. They stop with the BS and they do it. As we were walking out, Thomas [Saenz, chair of the NLMC] and I looked at each other and said, ‘If we’d known it was going to be that easy, we’d have asked for twice as much.'”
The NLMC has pledged to get “very, very militant” with media companies regarding representation, and is now attempting to arrange a meeting with Fox. Nogales has said he additionally would like to speak with talent agencies, which serve as pipelines and gatekeepers for major studios.
“CBS has now taken strides to address this issue and others should follow the CBS example,” Saenz said.
