April 2019 Newsletter

Michelle Ray
Executive Director
Walter Kaitz Foundation

Charting the Contributions and Progress of Women in Media and Entertainment

During this year’s 91st Annual Academy Awards, women won gold statues in categories where they previously had not made inroads. The progress we witnessed at the Oscars speaks to a larger trend of gains made by women in entertainment, as noted in UCLA’s 2019 Hollywood Diversity Report, produced by the UCLA College Division of Social Sciences. The report, currently in its sixth iteration is part of a series of annual studies produced by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) which explores relationships between diversity and the bottom line in Hollywood.

NCTA joins with MMC for Moving the Needle
on Diversity in Hollywood

On March 13, the Walter Kaitz Foundation along with NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, collaborated with the Multicultural Media Caucus (MMC) to host a panel discussion on Moving the Needle on Diversity in Hollywood.

The panel and accompanying reception was held at the Rayburn House Office Building and was designed to highlight the strides being made in Hollywood to focus on increasing diversity and inclusion and to showcase the efforts of our industry to encourage and grow the talent pipeline for more diverse content creators to have a voice.

Kaitz Foundation Joins Internet2 Inclusivity Initiative 2019
on Diversity

Internet2 Inclusivity Initiative Panelists

The 2019 Internet2 Global Summit was held on March 6 at the Washington, DC Marriott Marquis. Marla Meehl, co-chair of the Internet2 Inclusivity Initiative steering committee, moderated a panel discussion centered on diversity strategies within the tech community. The Internet2 Inclusivity Initiative (I2I), formerly called the Gender Diversity Initiative, focuses resources, attention, and scholarships to improve gender diversity and inclusion in the community of networking and technical professionals.

The Art of Storytelling: The Black Podcast Experience

On Wednesday, April 17, the newly renamed, NAMIC Capital Region hosted a reception and panel discussion entitled, “The Art of Storytelling: The Black Podcast Experience.” The widely attended event focused on the growing need for minority podcast hosts and subject-matter experts in the ever-growing “podisphere.”

Panel moderator, Lori Hall, SVP of Marketing at TV One and Host of “38 & Dating,” a podcast she hosts under the pseudonym of LoriJay, kept the audience engaged with her keen wit and humor. The curated discussion with podcast experts outlined the journey of each panelist who offered unique insights on how best to expand podcast audiences with compelling and diverse content.

NAMIC Announces Additions, New Roles for Board of Directors

At the end of March, NAMIC announced the addition of Sandra Garcia Lowery (left), immediate past president for NAMIC-NY and founder of Encounter Marketing and Public Relations, and Emory R. Walton III, vice president, Content Distribution, A+E Networks to its board of directors. Mark Kang, senior vice president, Worldwide Distribution, INSP TV was named as Vice Chair of the board. Continuing as Board Chair is Joiava Philpott, vice president, Regulatory Affairs, Law & Policy Department, Cox Communications.

The Company Behind Fearless Girl Has Voted Against Several Gender Pay Equity Resolutions, New Study Reveals

A new study shows that State Street, the company behind the viral Fearless Girl statue, has voted against gender diversity initiatives on several occasions-moves that stand in contrast to the self-proclaimed ethos of the Fearless Girl campaign.

AspireTV’s Strategy: Let Black Women Lead the Way

A recent survey conducted by the American Advertising Federation’s Mosaic Center for Multiculturalism and Zeta Phi Beta found alarming statistics on how the media portray black women. “Only 12 percent of African-American and Caucasian women believe there are positive images of African-American women in the media,” says Mary Breaux Wright, International President, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

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