This paper presents evidence that African Americans are underrepresented on American prime time television. This study operationalizes variables-it defines what could otherwise be subjective measures, so that they can be better quantified.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans represented 13.5% of the U.S. population in 2007. The predicted percentage in 2050 is 15% ("African Americans..."). Using interpolation, the current percentage in 2009 can be estimated to be 13.6%. This number was compared to African American representation in prime time television shows in December 2009.
"Prime time" television shows can be defined as shows that occur between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., when the largest audience is watching ("Prime Time"). To select a sub-sample, the "Top 100" shows (those with the highest viewership) from the Web site TV.com were used ("Most Popular..."). Three shows were randomly selected, using a random number generator ("True Random..."). The selected shows were V, South Park, and NCIS, all of which fit the definition of "prime time."
The definition of race "African American" was, by necessity, subjective, as the exact ancestry of fictional characters cannot be ascertained. The visual appearance of President Obama, who is represented as being African American by the general public, was used as a subjective standard for this definition.
Since television shows often have many characters, some of which are only tangential to the story, are "extras," or are rarely on the show, only the main characters in the shows were counted. While there is no agreed-upon definition of "main character," television networks are in the practice of showing images of the primary characters in a group photographs to advertise shows. Characters in these group photographs were considered "main characters" in this study.
This study is correlative, in that no manipulation of variables
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