ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604300038
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MANUEL MENDOZA DALLAS MORNING NEWS
The Hispanic presence on prime-time television doubled between 1992 and 1995, and Latino characters were portrayed as criminals much less often, according to a recent study.
But the study, ``Don't Blink: Hispanics in TV Entertainment,'' found that Latinos were still barely visible in prime time and were relegated primarily to minor roles.
``We found some welcome progress in television's portrayal of Hispanics, combined with some lingering sins of both omission and commission,'' says the study, conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research and educational organization.
The center examined 5,767 characters in 528 episodes of 139 network and syndicated series during the 1994-95 season. It conducted the study for the National Council of La Raza, a nonprofit group that provides social services to Hispanics.
Spokesmen for the major networks declined to comment, saying they had not seen the study. ``Don't Blink'' is a followup to ``Distorted Reality,'' a study the center did on the '92-93 season.
Among the new findings:
nThe proportion of Latinos among all characters doubled from 1 to 2 percent between the 1992-93 and 1994-95 seasons. That was still less than the 3 percent prevalent from the mid-'50s to the mid-'70s and well below the 10 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. population.
nThe proportion of Hispanics portrayed as criminals dropped from 16 percent in 1992 to 6 percent in 1995 - still higher than the 4 percent among whites and 2 percent among blacks. The biggest change came in reality shows such as ``Cops'' and ``America's Most Wanted,'' which showed 45 percent of Latinos committing crimes in 1992. The figure fell to 16 percent in 1995.
``This is where there has been significant improvement,'' NCLR spokeswoman Lisa Navarrete said. ``Our concern is that there's still less visibility for our community. We're marginal characters, we're one-shot characters. It's in the title of the report: Don't blink or you'll miss us.''
In fact, more than half the Hispanic characters were on just two shows, both on Fox: ``House of Buggin','' a now-canceled Latino sketch series, and ``New York Undercover,'' which features a Hispanic cop.
And though the percentage of starring roles for Latinos rose from 24 to 34 percent of all Latinos portrayed, they were concentrated in only 18 series.
``The rise in Latino portrayals is evidence of niche programming rather than increasing integration in prime-time television,'' the study says.
``New York Undercover'' joined ABC's ``NYPD Blue,'' NBC's ``The John Larroquette Show,'' and UPN's ``Star Trek Voyager'' as the shows that portrayed Hispanics most prominently and positively. The canceled ``seaQuest DSV'' also made the list.
The ``worst shows'' cited were the syndicated series ``Pointman,'' ``Thunder in Paradise,'' ``Renegade'' and ``Baywatch'' and CBS' ``Walker, Texas Ranger.''
``This show [``Walker''] is noteworthy for the lack of continuing Latino characters despite its Texas setting,'' the study says. ``In lieu of continuing roles, the show has offered neutral and criminal roles to Latinos.''
Executive producer Aaron Norris objected to the description. ``We have so many Latino characters on our series,'' he said. ``We just depicted a Hispanic family in a real positive manner, and in `El Coyote' a recent episode, Chuck helps the plight of illegal immigrants coming across the border.''
He added that actor Efrain Figueroa plays the recurring character Jesse Rodriguez, a Mexican-American FBI agent who is a friend of Walker's.
Navarrete said that the most improved networks, Fox and ABC, were also the ones that met with the NCLR when the previous study was issued.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 linesby CNB