The Diversity in Media Question | Black Writers Week

In response to students’ questions and concerns I share with them the key to understanding media behavior. If they want to understand those entities that create movies, television content, and advertising they must recognize that they are businesses. If my students want to understand what shapes media, they will first have to understand the economic interests that control the ways in which the media operate. When students share experiences where they have felt personally insulted, marginalized, and ignored by the media, I share this quote: “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”

By focusing on the business of television, students get the opportunity to understand how media and money collaborate. For students who have learned to get their programming from streaming services and YouTube channels, the power of television is often overlooked. The relationship between television’s content providers and advertisers has existed since the creation of the medium and even subscriptions-based services still offer levels of services supported by advertising. 

The definition of television has changed over the years, but the appliance is still a centerpiece of how we receive information and entertainment. In the United States, 96.2% of homes have a television set. As of 2009, 82% of them had more than one set, a number that is likely even higher today. Part of the changing model of television has been the growth of streaming services. According to reports, 78% of television households have some type of streaming service and 55% have multiple streaming services. Television has moved from an era of broadcasting to one of narrowcasting where there is intense competition for the attention of viewers. The fractured nature of the audience can be seen in the Nielsen ratings where the only program that crosses racial lines in terms of level of viewership is “Sunday Night Football.” The fractured nature of the audience gives the viewer more control over the content that they receive and provides content providers and advertisers the opportunity to think more broadly about how to garner the audience’s attention.

The future looks bright for those hoping for a more diverse television landscape. The changes in the composition of the television audience will force content providers and advertisers to adjust. The family of the future will be far removed from the Cleavers and the Andersons that defined families of decades past. Currently, 10% of all marriages are between individuals from different racial or ethnic backgrounds. The prevalence of interracial couples is on the rise as 17% of newlywed couples identify as interracial. More interracial couples will lead to more interracial children, a fact that has not been lost of those in the advertising community.