As for the article about POC repeating staff writer multiple times in TV, the problem is real. There is another insidious component to the issue, which is the soft expectation that your diversity hire will be bad and is inessential or bonus. 1/

I had a staffing meeting on a show still on the air where the then showrunner said, “Well, I printed out your script.” As if you say, “but I didn’t bother reading it because who cares?” I responded “I guess that’s a good start, isn’t it?” My snarky answer ended my chance. 2/

I am fortunate that when my real chance did come, it came at a show run by people who treated the diversity hire as an equal voice in the room. My gratitude to 1600 Penn and the people in charge @MikeRoyce @joshgad @JasonWiner and @jonlovett will remain forever. 3/

Now that I am in a position to make hiring decisions, I find a confident insistence on diversity and the importance of diversity trickles down to the executives and everyone involved in the project. Just do it and act as though any other choice is unacceptable. Because it is.