[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 2, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1087-H1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DIVERSITY ON NETWORK TELEVISION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, when we got our first color TV, it was a 
big deal in my family. We were working class, Puerto Rican, and not 
used to such luxury; so when we got a color TV, we had really arrived 
in America.
  Every Sunday night, my sister and I would watch ``The Wonderful World 
of Disney'' that always started with the same announcement: ``The 
following program is brought to you in living color on NBC.'' Then you 
would hear the NBC chimes.
  Well, that was a long time ago. Now you turn on NBC, and the furthest 
thing from your mind is color. What is going on at NBC? Last week Wake 
Forest University professor and MSNBC television host Melissa Harris-
Perry was abruptly pulled from the airwaves without even a chance to 
say good-bye.
  NBC said they wanted a show that was more about politics, but I have 
to say, when I watched her show, Melissa Harris-Perry was talking about 
politics in a unique way, like few others on the airwaves. She brought 
diverse voices to the table to talk directly and unapologetically about 
the politics of race in America, a major theme among candidates and a 
critical conversation to include on the airwaves.
  I am sad to see her go, just like Alex Wagner before her, but I am 
even sadder because I don't think these are isolated cases.
  Anchorman Jose Diaz-Balart is another voice that seems to be 
disappearing from English language airwaves. You remember Jose. He is 
the Telemundo anchorman NBC would bring out to ask a question--only one 
question--about immigration during the Republican Presidential debates 
in 2012.
  You may have met his brother Lincoln. He used to sit over there, and 
his other brother Mario still does. Jose had a 2-hour show on MSNBC and 
did a very good job, but Jose is a lot harder to find these days. They 
cut him back, and now it seems that they are cutting him out.
  For example, MSNBC announced that they were sending a team of 
reporters to Florida to report on the primary next Tuesday, but not 
Jose, one of the most respected and recognized journalists in America, 
who happens to be from Miami and a Florida political dynasty. 
Apparently he is not the right guy to report on politics in Florida.
  Let's not forget the great NBC racism flip-flop last year when NBC 
severed its ties to Donald Trump because of his racist remarks about 
Latinos, only to have him host their flagship comedy show ``Saturday 
Night Live'' a few months later.
  That was right about the same time last fall when NBC's executives 
met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and NBC News 
President Deborah Turness told us, ``We love the Hispanic community,'' 
as she updated us on strides they were making

[[Page H1088]]

on diversity in hiring. She made it very clear that she had our 
community's interests at heart when she said, ``Yo hablo Espanol'' in 
her beautiful British accent.
  Most of the news coverage of this meeting was about when she used the 
term ``illegals'' to describe immigrants, which, in case you need a 
reminder, is not a good idea when you are meeting with members of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
  Well, forgive me for not noticing just how much progress NBC was 
making on diversity when some of the most visible people of color at 
NBC, like Alex Wagner, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Jose Diaz-Balart, are 
disappearing.
  But let's be clear: this is not about quotas, window dressing, or 
checking the diversity box. Journalists of color bring a different 
texture and a different perspective on what issues matter and what 
should be discussed and debated on television.
  The reality is that our Nation has become more diverse, and our 
television and our news media and our political institutions, including 
the Democratic and Republican Parties, have not kept up.
  When NBC has a bad year when it comes to race, or when the Oscars 
have a couple of bad years when it comes to people of color, these are 
moments to talk about and confront the emotions and ideas we all have--
we all have--about race and ethnicity.
  It is a good time to think about what the phrase ``e pluribus unum'' 
really means in America today. This is a discussion we should all be 
having all of the time here in this body, on news programs, and in 
entertainment. It is a discussion I hope every family is having at 
their dinner table.

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