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FX and ABC Named Most Responsible Networks by Gay and Lesbian Alliance
14-Jul-2008
Written by: Angela Flournoy
GLAAD’s responsibility report assessed the representations of LGBT people on TV.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released its first-ever ranking of cable networks Monday and FX was the highest on its list, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In its second annual evaluation, the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index not only included 4,911 hours of prime-time programming on the five major networks, but included an additional 1,241 hours of original programming on ten of the most-viewed cable channels. Eight out of the ten networks were given “passing grades.”
The purpose of the index was to analyze the quantity, quality and diversity of representations of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals on television.
“Time and again we see that what people watch on TV shapes how they view and treat the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around them,” GLAAD president Neil Giuliano told the Hollywood Reporter.
ABC was given a grade of “good,” thanks to shows such as Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the report said 24 percent of ABC’s prime-time programming qualified as “inclusive.”
The “good” ranking was the highest given out to networks this year. No network reached the index’s top ranking of “excellent.”
FX ranked highest among cable networks, with its programming reported as 45 percent inclusive, due mostly to the show, Nip/Tuck. HBO came in second with 26 percent, but was noted on the report as being the most ethnically diverse cable network.
NBC and Fox both scored “failing,” with inclusivity ratings of 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. CBS was reported as “adequate,” with 9 percent of its prime-time programming considered inclusive.
While most networks passed GLAAD’s index, the report still mentioned that much of the current representation was in the form of gay men.
“If television viewers -- both gay and straight -- understand the LGBT community to be a group comprised almost exclusively of white gay men, we have a serious problem,” Giuliano said in a statement.
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