Natives and ethnic minorities are hard to find on newscasts, and are rarely used for prominent on-screen positions such as anchorpersons, reporters or as expert commentators, according to a new study of racial representation on Canadian TV.

On July 15, the Task Force for Cultural Diversity on Television, a group formed two years ago by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters at the behest of the CRTC, released its much-anticipated study of ethnic representation on private channels, and identified three ‘critical gaps’ in the representation of natives and other ethnic groups on newscasts and in English-language dramas.

The 60-page report has been hyped by the CAB as ‘one of the most comprehensive studies on cultural diversity ever done, anywhere.’ Playback obtained an advance copy prior to its release.

Specifically, it contends that, compared to recent census data, ethnicities are underrepresented among:

* anchorpersons and reporters on French-language news

* analysts or expert guests on English-language news

* primary speaking roles on English-language drama.

The report adds that Asians and natives get the shortest end of the stick, garnering little time on screen despite their large numbers in Canada. Asian groups including Chinese, Filipinos and Koreans – which comprise the country’s largest ethnic group at 1.7 million – are ‘significantly’ underrepresented, while natives seem to be all but invisible, coming in at less than 1% of the total in 10 of the 11 genres studied.

A participant in one of the focus groups complained that ‘aliens are probably more represented on TV than Aboriginal people.’ The report does not include the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, however, out of concern that its nearly all-native programming would skew the figures.

The study was carried out by Solutions Research Group in Toronto and Johnston and Buchan LLP in Ottawa and looked at 11 genres, including news and information, drama, kids shows and other entertainment in French and English – combining data from focus groups, one-on-one interviews with industry leaders and content analysis of 330 hours of TV from 72 different channels.

Respondents also complained about negative representation – that certain ethnic groups are often portrayed as criminals or stereotypes. But task force member Beverley Oda says they didn’t find any hard proof.

‘Some ethnic groups had the perception that they were perceived more negatively than positively, but the research didn’t necessarily back that up,’ she says. The subject has been flagged for possible further research.

Oda adds that kids programming got some of the highest marks in both languages, showing shares of different ethnic groups at close to the national averages.

The task force is calling on casters to correct their racial balance, urging private outlets and other stakeholders to commit to long-term improvement of cultural diversity. It is also urging the CRTC to run a follow-up study in three or four years.