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Okay let’s talk about on-screen diversity without behind the scenes support (THREAD) (also spoilers - it ain’t good! You don’t actually need to read the thread) https://www.smh.com.au/national/white-people-can-do-those-stories-former-sbs-bosses-dispute-need-for-leadership-diversity-20200702-p558f3.html
Full disclosure - I’m white. I was part of a production team that was, with one exception, all white. Our on-screen presenter line up was always significantly more diverse than the crew and production team. And TV is a visual medium, right? What’s seen is the most important part?
Except presenters can’t write all their scripts. They can’t even write most of them. They shouldn’t have to - it is literally not their job. Their job is to present. So most of the scripts our presenters were presenting were written by our (again, almost entirely white) producers
Which is fine when you’re talking about how to make sock puppets or do nail art or prank your BFF. When it becomes a problem is when the execs decide to flex their “diverse team” and showcase their presenters’ cultural backgrounds. There are two ways this can go:
1. Your presenter writes the script. Maybe they’ve already got some script writing in their job, so this is just part of their workload. They write their script, they present it, the producer gets them in for edit if necessary. This is the literally best case scenario COS
1 (CONT’D) most presenters aren’t writers. They don’t have the experience or the training. They’ve normally got a pretty full workload already. So they take on additional unpaid work that they are not trained for, OR
2. The producer writes the script. And, if there’s time, they talk over the details with the presenter to accurately represent the culture being spoken about. But usually, there ain’t time. This is TV. So where does the producer turn? Google.
2 (CONT’D) And because this is TV and there’s no time, often the presenter won’t see the script until it’s too late. It’s been signed off by the (also white) execs. Props have been bought. And calling out inaccuracies in the script will take time AND cost money.
2 (CONT’D) also, chances are your onset producer wrote the script, so telling her (and in this team, it was almost always a white female producer) that she got it wrong is gonna be awkward at best, an ego-blow at worst. And she’s the “more experienced media person”.
2 (CONT’D) so the presenter is left with a choice of calling out their boss and making a shoot last longer and cost more and make other presenters learn new lines on the fly, or presenting an inaccurate script about a very personal part of their life that was co-written by google
No one wins. The producer feels like an idiot and ends up avoiding any discussion of culture and diversity in the future. The presenter is left in an impossible situation that is entirely outside their job description, and often they have NO ONE TO TALK TO ABOUT IT
Because again, the production team is mostly white. The executives are all white. There’s no support system for this specific uncomfortable, recurring situation because the only ppl who understand are other presenters, who are nowhere near as powerful as you’d think.
So you end up with presenters who are taking on this massive additional responsibility and are also front and center for racist attacks, while white producers pat themselves on the back for their commitment to diversity.
And I have absolutely been part of the problem. I’m a producer. I’ve written scripts like I’m some sort of authority with nothing but google as a guide and given them to POC to read, I’ve failed to understand why a black host would be uncomfortable with a white hair stylist.
