Study cites lack of TV diversity

Many television series are set in some of the nation’s most diverse cities, yet few have regular characters who are Latino or Asian American, according to a UCLA study released Tuesday.

The third annual study by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center was based on the fall 2004 prime-time season on the six major English-language commercial networks. It focused on regular characters in TV series, or characters with major recurring roles.

“This fall, viewers can see eight series set in Los Angeles in which Latinos account for just 14% of total regular characters and appear on just one series,” the study authors said in a statement. “There are no Asian American regular characters.

“Los Angeles County is 45% Latino and 12% Asian American,” the statement continued. “Thus, if television presents a microcosm of our society, it is a distorted one at odds with our nation’s changing demographics.”