http://us.geocities.com/adurkac/1on1.html

"HEAL THYSELF"

Elizabeth's rape has helped GH writer Michele Val Jean cope with her own painful past.

Soap Opera Weekly - August

The controversial dismissal of Laura Baldwin's rape by her future husband, Luke Spencer; bothered associate head writer Michele Val Jean years before she joined General Hospital. A rape survivor herself, Val Jean had always longed for closure to the much-dismissed storyline. She is achieving this goal through the story revolving around Elizabeth Webber's recent rape. Before embarking on Elizabeth's horrific ordeal, Val Jean spent hours on the phone with Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), sharing the details of her own tragedy. "I told her everything -- all the gory details," Val Jean says. "It was not a pretty story." In the process, writer and actress found themselves bonding deeply. The two women invited SOAP OPERA WEEKLY's West Coast Editor Janet DiLauro to join them as they discussed the poignant journey they've taken together.

Rebecca Herbst: What gave you the courage to write about something so personal?

Michele Val Jean: I guess it all happened in 1979 when I was a fan of General Hospital, and I saw what happened between Luke and Laura. I knew what I saw was not a seduction, no matter how it got spun later. So I always had the idea in the back of my mind.

RH: So as a writer you have always wanted to do this?

MV: No, I never really thought about it, until it came up in the mix of the show. I was talking to Tony Geary (Luke) on the phone about a way to create a rift between Luke and Lucky. We hung up, and I started thinking, "What if rape were brought into the Spencer house --if Lucky came onto the aftermath of a rape?" From there the story just appeared in my head.

RH: And Elizabeth became the victim.

MV: My original concept was that the rape victim be a day player. It wasn't going to be someone that we knew. I was so into the Spencer story that I didn't want it to become a story about who raped so-and-so. I wanted it to be more than Lucky, Luke and Laura. But (executive producer) Wendy Riche suggested it be one of the Webber girls. Then I started watching you and thought, "She can do it." And you've been doing the hell out of it.

RH: Thank you. It's stuff I really don't know.

MV: I'll throw this out on the table as something to be discussed. I was raped, when I was 12. So, aside from the fact that this particular story with Luke and Laura had historical significance to the show and resonance for the characters, it was also a chance for me to portray what it is like for a girl. I wanted to go through the journey with her of recovering and coming to terms, because that's what is important. For me, it took 34 years to get closure, because I grew up in the '60's on the South Side of Chicago. You didn't have shrinks back then. You just dealt with it, put it behind you, and moved on. So, writing Liz's rape and all the ways she has felt since has been a way for me to cleanse myself of stuff that's been buried for years.

RH: Were you freaked out by the idea of the story when it popped into your head? Was it scary?

MV: You know when it got scary? When I started writing it. Until then it was an intellectual exercise. When I had to sit down and really go inside Liz, that's when it got scary. The next level of scariness after it was written was I turned in the script. It was like, "OK, Here is all this stuff of mine. I've bled all over it. Now produce it."But then I saw the finished product, and I was so proud. It meant so much to me. I felt like I had taken this experience and owned it, because I had done something with it.

RH: You completed it, and during the process you didn't crumble.

MV: When you were taping it, what was the hardest moments for you?

RH: After Lucky dragged Liz out of the bushes and took her back to his house -- having to deal with playing the aftermath of her ordeal in front of Tony Geary, who is very intimidating as an actor to begin with. I feel very close to Jonathan (Jackson, who plays Lucky). I could be very open with him. But Tony Geary I had only acted with once before. I felt very uncomfortable - not only because of my vulnerability as Liz, but also because of my vulnerability as an actress.

MV: You must have felt very raw.

RH: It was like someone throwing you into the ocean without knowing how to swim. You were on my mind the entire time I taped that.

MV: You were on my mind, too. The day of the taping was strange for me. I was home working on another script. I'd be fine. I'd be writing. Then I'd look outside the window and cry. I thought about you down at the studio doing it. I thought, "This poor girl! It's like we're asking her to do this, to go to this place." I almost felt guilty.

RH: Did you watch any of it?

MV: Wendy called me after the night it taped and said, "Honey, I don't know if you want to watch it. It's very frightening." But there's no way I wouldn't have watched it. That's part of it for me --watching.

RH: I didn't like watching it. I knew how difficult it was to tape. It had given me a knot in my stomach. I didn't want to go back to that.

MV: The day you taped the rape, were the crew and producers hovering around, trying to take care of you, or did they leave you alone?

RH: They left me alone, but I think it was because they were more worried about it than I was. I'm the type of person what when I step off the set, I'm Becky, I'm fine. You can come talk to me and ask me questions. As soon as I get on the set and (the stage manager) is counting down, that's when I click in. I don't like to carry my work outside the studio doors. It would be too hard

MV: Do you remember coming to my office after you taped those scenes? You walked in and...

RH: You grabbed me and hugged me.

MV: I was afraid to hurt you. Even though you said you don't carry things with you, was it hard for you the day of taping?

RH: I cried all the way home. I did. There's a part of you that you just can't separate. I try to do it as much as I can, but I did cry the whole way home. A lot of it was exhaustion. I didn't sleep the night before because I was so nervous. A lot of it was seeing my body scratched and bruised, and knowing that I looked so horrible. If you sit and think about it for five minutes you're going to be emotionally drained. It's not something that you want to relive or even think about. That night I went home and slept 14 hours. I was so exhausted. Then I had nightmares for the next week.

MV: Did you?

RH: Yes, and it freaked me out. I didn't tell anybody. I kept having nightmares that I was getting grabbed, because that really happened to me in the scene. It wasn't about rape or anything; it was just being grabbed. It frightened me so much. I thought, "What if these continue?"Because I knew I was going to be dealing with the storyline for quite some time. Luckily, the nightmares went away.

MV: Were people there for you afterward?

RH: I got more hugs and quite a few compliments. Everybody talked to me like it really happened to me, like I was fragile -- was going to cry and break. That went on for the first week after.

MV: What about Jonathan? As Liz, he's your protector, the only person she trusts. Has your relationship with him grown through this story?

RH: Oh, yeah. When I get on the set every morning - as soon as I’m Liz - I just want to be hugged by him. Jonathan and I have really bonded through this whole thing. I really depended on him to help me through it. I think he knew that I was scared to death to act this out, and he was right there with me, just as leery, but still being the man role model.

MV: Is there anything you're really looking forward to playing, or nervous about playing, as the story unfolds?

RH: I'm looking forward to working with Genie, although I'll be a little nervous just because it's Genie Francis(Laura). But nothing could be as scary as what I did. Is it still hard for you to write this now as it was for the initial rape?

MV: It was just that initial step that was the hardest part.

RH: I was a little nervous about playing the story. I worried that you might, not fall back into a shell or anything, but...

MV: Bob Guza (GH Head Writer) said to me, "We don't want this to wind up with you curled up in a ball in your bathroom, sobbing. If you ever get to something and you don't want to write it, we'll give it to someone else."

RH: Has there been anything you didn't want to write?

MV: No.

RH: Is there anything you're looking forward to writing?

MV: I'm looking forward to the first time Liz is able to throw it off and really start to come out of this. It's going to take time. I'm also looking forward to Liz falling in love and being happy in love. I suspect that when that happens. I'll get another level of resolution.

RH: What made you decide to talk about this?

MV: I decided there's no reason not to, because I hadn't done anything wrong. And if some woman who has been raped and feels like she'll never be able to put it behind her stumbles across this interview and hears that it can happen, it might manifest itself into an easier thing.

RH: That's another thing I wanted to tell you. I got so much mail, especially the first two weeks after Liz's rape aired. I got letters from people talking about how they were raped as a child, or that their mother was. A couple of them said that they hadn't talked about it with anybody, but that this storyline has helped them a lot. They thanked us for portraying it in a way that was very real to them. They’ve thought about it and realized that they're OK - the way Liz is OK. She may be hurt and damaged, but she's alive. What about you? Do you feel closure yet?

MV: I feel it. It's not like I was thinking about it all the time. It happened so long ago. But I feel like I've dealt with it, finally, on some level, instead of just going, "OK, now that's over." Talking about it in an open forum like this is a big step.

Posted: Thurs., Nov. 2, 2000

Val Jean new head scribe of 'General'

Writer replaces Guza, who ankles post this month

By PAULA BERNSTEIN

NEW YORK -- Michele Val Jean has been named head writer of ABC's daytime soap "General Hospital," replacing Bob Guza, who will ankle the post at the end of the month.

Val Jean, who has held the post of associate head writer since 1996, will be joined by Elizabeth Korte, who will serve as a writer on the head writing team. Guza, who has served as the show's head writer since 1997, has not yet announced his plans. Korte was most recently associate head writer, a position she has held since 1997.

Material from the new head writing team will begin airing in February.

They're naturals

"Michele and Elizabeth have a significant history with 'General Hospital,' " said Wendy Riche, the show's exec producer. "Their noteworthy story contributions, along with their innate understanding of the characters, make them a natural choice for this team."

Val Jean joined the writing team of "GH" in January 1993 as an editor/script writer. She was previously a script writer on "Generations" and editor/script writer on "Santa Barbara."

Korte joined "GH" in March 1994 in script continuity.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/VICTIM+FINDS...IFE)-a083817771

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Apr 7, 1998

VICTIM FINDS CLOSURE WITH `GH' STORY LINE

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

After her attacker was sent to prison, Michele Val Jean had never intended to talk about the day he looped an extension cord around her neck and raped her repeatedly.

After all, she was only 12 years old when it happened.

But now, 34 years later, the Tarzana woman not only has released the shame and trauma of that brutal incident, she's revealed to nearly 5 million people on nationwide television what it's like to be a rape victim.

As associate head writer on ABC's ``General Hospital,'' Val Jean used her own experience to lend authenticity to the recent rape of teen-ager Elizabeth ``Lizzie'' Webber, played by Agoura actress Rebecca Herbst.

``What happened to me was kept a big secret,'' Val Jean said. ``After the trial, my mother and I just didn't talk about it. My aunt didn't even know about it. But eventually, I came to realize I hadn't done anything to be ashamed of, that it was all right to talk about it.''

Val Jean had been a ``GH'' fan in 1979, when drunken, about-to-be-murdered mobster Luke Spencer, obsessed with teen-age waitress Laura Webber, raped her on the dance floor of the campus disco.

And even though the show's writers - pressured by viewers entranced by the on-screen chemistry of actors Anthony Geary and Genie Francis - rewrote history to make the attack a seduction, those scenes still nagged at Val Jean.

``I knew what I had seen on the screen, and it wasn't seduction,'' she said.

After joining the soap's writing team seven years ago, she began to think of ways of revisiting that long-ago incident.

``I wanted to bring that rape back into the Spencer house,'' Val Jean said.

``GH'' executive producer Wendy Riche said she was intrigued with the story's potential.

``When you hear an idea, you either get chills or you don't,'' she said. ``I got chills with this because I knew we were tapping into a very emotional story.''

Val Jean had to relive her own rape again as she wrote Lizzie's story, then had to put herself in the position of a rapist as she penned Luke's confession.

As hard as it was for the writer to lay bare those long-ago feelings, it was nearly as hard for Herbst to assimilate Val Jean's experiences into her performance as a rape victim.

``Thank God, I have nothing to pull from in playing this rape story line,'' said Herbst, 20. ``But Michele explained to me in detail what happened to her and how she reacted. We talked on the phone and we cried together. When I played the scene (where Lizzie is grabbed and dragged, fighting, into the bushes), it was so real. Afterward, I was kind of numb. My stomach was just in knots. Then, after it was all over, I went home and slept for 14 hours.''

Neither Michele nor Lizzie is alone. According to the National Victim Center in Arlington, Va., 1,871 women are raped every day, a total of 683,000 a year. More than 60 percent of rape victims are under 18. And embarrassment and fear keep 84 percent of victims from reporting the crime to police.

Both Riche and head writer Bob Guza encouraged Val Jean to write the story, but worried that it might dredge up long-buried emotions that would be hard to face.

``Bob said, `I don't want this to end up with you curled up in a little ball on the bathroom floor. If it gets to you, tell me and we'll have somebody else write this,' '' Val Jean said. ``It was very scary, but once I got through it, I felt like (the rapist) didn't own me anymore. I owned the experience, and I am who I am today because of it.''

On the show, Lizzie does everything wrong: She refuses to get a medical exam right away, refuses to report the crime to the police, showers and washes away evidence. Val Jean said her mother made sure her attack was immediately reported, and her rapist was caught within a few minutes.

``The point we're trying to make is no matter how you handle it, you get through it the best way you can,'' Val Jean said.

Since the rape story began airing in mid-February, Herbst said she's been getting a flood of mail from young viewers, many of whom say they've been raped but never told anyone.

``It's so heartbreaking to read them,'' Herbst said. ``I've answered all I can, telling them to hang in there and have hope - and get help, which Lizzie is beginning to do, finally. It's a lesson for all young girls to learn.''

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-36...ma-despite.html

Daytime's other drama: despite its popularity with black audiences, daytime television discounts black talent in front of, and behind, the camera. These industry insiders are pushing for change.(The Business Of Entertainment)

Publication: Black Enterprise

Publication Date: 01-DEC-04

Format: Online - approximately 3690 words

Delivery: Immediate Online Access

Author: Brown, Carolyn M.

Full Article:

Tune in to television anytime during the day and you're bound to see a number of African American faces on screen. Take for instance the personalities hosting syndicated talk shows and court shows such as The View's Star Jones or Divorce Court's Mablean Ephriam.

It cannot be denied that African Americans are daytime television's predominant audience, accounting for 12.6% of the U.S. population, but almost 20% of the 40.3 million daytime's viewers.

African Americans have had a presence in daytime serials for more than 40 years, although it may have been playing nonessential roles such as maids. During the 1990s, however, the networks did a better job of introducing prominent black characters with intriguing story lines, giving way to rising stars such as Shemar Moore and Nia Long. Still, despite black actors' improved presence and popularity today, their ability to command long-term contracts is dismal compared to their white co-stars.

The NAACP's 2003 TV Diversity Report shows that the four major networks have made incremental increases in hiring African Americans for prime-time on-screen roles. Behind the camera, however, such progress has not been made. There are practically no black writers, producers, and directors in the so-called "top echelon of production, which is the nucleus of the industry," according to NAACP President Kwesi Mfume.

The diva of daytime is billionaire Oprah Winfrey, who hosts and produces the No. 1 syndicated talk show, now in its 19th season. Winfrey, who is watched by about 30 million U.S. viewers each week, represents the few top industry players who have staked their claim in daytime television.

The number of African American writers, producers, and technical crew (including unionized hairstylists and makeup artists) don't fare well in network television. Until October 2004, there was only one black executive in daytime programming at ABC, Jennifer Turner, 30, who now serves as director of current programming in prime time. Industry insiders such as Turner continue to push for greater inclusion of people of color.

Studies by the NAACP and other groups that act as watchdogs focus primarily on prime-time dramas. Daytime dramas, however, churn out 240 to 260 episodes per year. Turner says the sheer volume is 100 times that of prime time drama, which amount to an average of 22 shows per season. Daytime dramas maintain audience interest every week because they don't stop production in the summers to show reruns. NBC, CBS, and ABC run about 50 hours of daytime serials each week.

Soap operas (named for the generic household products once advertised during these serials) have ruled daytime for more than 50 years but were traditionally targeted toward white suburban housewives. Of the nine network soaps currently running, seven have been on the air for more than 30 years. The longest running is CBS' Guiding Light, which first aired in 1952.

Historically, soap storylines built around families, matriarchs, and patriarchs have not been diverse. "This is something that has hampered introducing new characters that are persons of color," says Turner. ABC's daytime lineup includes General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live, and The View (produced by ABC Daytime and Barbara Walters' production company). "We have made strides in adding diverse contract roles," says Turner, "but we could do better."

General Hospital has only one black performer under contract, All My Children has three, and One Life to Live has two. Of NBC's dramas, Days of Our Lives has four black contract roles out of a total 31, while Passions has six out of 26. A contract actor generally signs on for three years and is a major part of the core storylines. An actor with a recurring role, on the other hand, portrays a principal character intermittently. Then there are extras and actors who have fewer than five lines.

"Across the board, the networks have done a better job," says Ray Bradford, national director of equal employment opportunities at the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). He says two factors affect overall employment: One, "Soaps are losing audience share and are making production cuts. Many are trying to find new outlets such as SOAPnet (the ABC-owned cable channel)." Two, he explains, "Most black actors have been relegated to secondary characters such as a judge or villain, making it tougher to break into long-term core family roles."

Given the popularity of soaps among African American and Latino viewers, integrating people of color into a show's core of families should be a no-brainer. But Bradford notes that there is a disconnect between the networks and their audiences. For the first time in 10 years, AFTRA bestowed its American Scene Award to a daytime program. CBS' The Young and the Restless was recognized for its commitment to on-air diversity storylines sensitive to minority issues. Bradford says that The Young and the Restless has the best integration of characters in terms of race, class, and age.

The Young and the Restless, the No. 1 rated soap opera, boasts a huge African American following (15 million viewers worldwide) and a significant black cast (seven contract and four recurring players). In addition to The Young and the Restless, CBS' daytime lineup includes soap operas As the World Turns, The Bold and Beautiful, Guiding Light, and game show The Price is Bight. All of these shows are among the top 10 rated shows among African American viewers, according to Nielsen.

Actress Victoria Rowell is celebrating her 14th year with The Young and the Restless. In 1990, the classically trained ballet dancer landed the part of Drucilla Winters. Her entree into daytime was in a contract role. "Since I came from prime-time television and feature films ... I had some leverage." Rowell had graced the pages of Seventeen and Mademoiselle magazines before landing her first television role on The Cosby Show (she was later cast as Bill Cosby's daughter in the film Leonard Part VI). The 30-something, Daytime-Emmy-nominated actress has been involved in her character's development since the outset, "I have always been proactive, from what I wear to what I say."

Despite its popularity for its black actors, The Young and the Restless has never employed a black writer. Rowell says there is a loyalty factor. "There are writers who have been affiliated with the show since the beginning ... which was 32 years ago." Rowell got the chance to write for the Viacom/CBS series Diagnosis Murder, on which she co-starred with Dick Van Dyke for eight seasons.

Recently, CBS and ABC received AFTRA's American Scene Crystal Award for their talent, writing, and director development programs. "While we won't know [how effective they were] until the final numbers come in at the end of the year, still, these programs are bringing more minorities into the business," says Bradford, noting that FOX and NBC have similar programs but not of the same scope as CBS and ABC.

SAME OLD NEWS

In gauging television employment, one has to look at more than just numbers. For instance, with respect to news programs, there are more African American broadcast journalists but most are still hired as field reporters, not anchors, editors, or producers.

According to the latest survey by the Radio-Television News Directors Association/Ball State University Annual Survey, African Americans constitute 10.3% of the workforce in television newsrooms, up from 8.4% in 2003. At the same time, there was a significant jump in African American news directors, to 3.2% from 0.9%. Overall, the proportion of minority general news managers doubled from 3.6% to 7.4%. Still, much of the growth can be attributed to independents and small stations.

"Sadly, when it comes to news, news specials, television news magazines, and Sunday talking heads shows, none of the networks or the cable news options are doing exceedingly well with diversity or equal opportunity either in front of or behind the camera," says NAACP's Mfume. "Show anchors, guests, reporters, and so-called 'experts on the subject' continue to be overwhelmingly white."

In the very white--and male-dominated American newsroom, staying on the sidelines is a surefire way for African Americans to stay invisible, says Adrienne M. Wheeler, Inside Edition's first and only black managing editor. "I don't take crap from anybody. It is not a matter of sitting by the door and keeping quiet." Wheeler says she pushes regularly to include more "talking heads" or experts of color, and that other network producers even look to her for African American authorities.

Inside Edition first aired in 1988. Along with Hard Copy and A Current Affair, it was one of the earlier alternative news shows to be carried nationwide. Wheeler joined the team in 2003, having previously worked as special producer on CBS' The Early Show. She served as executive producer for Geraldo Rivera's talk show and as a producer for The Phil Donahue Show, where she was nominated four times by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Wheeler has hundreds of stories for the show that airs daily. "I've made my white counterparts and management people above me [become] more conscious of how they present people of color in the news," explains Wheeler. There are five reporters, 12 producers and associate producers, eight story coordinators, and several editors and crewmembers reporting to her. Of these, three are African American.

Wheeler stresses the need for black audiences to request greater representation through letters and calls to television networks. She says it is going to take executives of color to bring about changes to benefit the parity of newsroom diversity. Wheeler warns that African Americans seeking entry level positions have their work cut out for them. She landed her first gig (Today with Tom Brokaw) when she was in her early 20s and learned a valuable lesson. According to Wheeler, "Mentorship is severely lacking in the business. You have to make your own magic."

TIME FOR A REWRITE

Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, Michele Val Jean never dreamed that she would be a Daytime-Emmy-Award winning writer on General Hospital. After 41 years, it is the longest running dramatic serial on ABC, which owns and produces the show. Val Jean joined General Hospital in 1993 as a scriptwriter and was named an associate writer in 1996. After two top writers resigned in 2000, she became the first black head writer of a soap opera.

Head writers chart the narrative course of the soap over a period of six to 12 months and, in doing so, determine the fate of each character. Outline writers segment the overall plot into weekly and then daily portions. The writing of the script is assigned to a team of scriptwriters. General Hospital has one other African American scribe, Michelle Patrick.

Whereas nighttime shows are plot-driven, daytime shows are character-driven and can be told in real time. Val Jean appreciates this because with the character Elizabeth (1996 to 1997) she carefully guided a rape story. "I was raped when I was 12. It was a very powerful way to slay my own demons while educating other women."

Val Jean is a prodigal daughter of sorts. After a seven-month hiatus to pursue film projects, Val Jean recently returned to General Hospital, opting to be a scriptwriter. Prior to that, Val Jean, 53, was a scriptwriter on NBC's Santa Barbara for two years before it was cancelled. She wrote her first scripts for the series Jake and the Fatman. Her big break into daytime was as a writer for Generations, which starred then newcomer Vivica A. Fox. Launched in 1989 on NBC, Generations was perceived as the first "black soap" although its cast was diverse. It was cancelled in 1991 due to low ratings.

"NBC put the show on at 11:30 a.m., up against The Young and the Restless. No one was going to turn off the No.1 soap to watch an upstart," says Val Jean. "I will always be grateful and glad that Generations was my first daytime experience."

A major challenge for writers is to transition from prime-time dramas--which give them six weeks to pen a script--to daytime dramas--which allot just one week. Val Jean says it's an even greater challenge to get one's foot in the door. "There have not been, on any consistent basis, writer-development programs."

All My Children recently promoted its first African American producer, Karen T. Johnson, formerly an associate director. Johnson started out at ABC in 1985, filing expense reports and later working as an editing room assistant on Eyewitness News, the first of several production-related jobs. Her introduction to the daytime format came as a sound effects artist for Ryan's Hope, One Life to Live, and Loving. Johnson credits All My Children's executive producer, Julie Hanan Carruthers, and ABC's president of daytime. Brian Frons, for realizing her potential and offering her a chance to produce.

In general, she says, "having black writers, producers, and directors can help authenticate how a character reacts to any given situation or bring about more understanding. Can [white writers] do all of these things? Of course, they have been for years. But it's about having a different perspective. It's about being included and represented," adds Johnson, who notes that daytime is predominately run by another minority group--women. In addition to Johnson's role as producer, the music supervisor, associate directors (two out of three), and editors (three out of five) on the show are black. "Those positions are all very important jobs that impact the final product," she says.

STRICTLY BUSINESS

A soap opera's destiny is subject to feedback from viewers in the form of fan letters, market research, and weekly Nielsen ratings. The network's profitability depends upon revenues from advertisers and from a show's sponsor (which, in the case of four soaps today, is still the show's owner, i.e. Procter & Gamble's Guiding Light and As the World Turns). A high-rated soap has the potential to attract $500.000 in ad revenues each week

Broadcasting and Cable reports that after six consecutive years of viewer attrition, daytime television again held its audiences in 2004. In 2002, the pool of ad money flowing to the daytime lineup of the networks fell to $841 million from $896 million in 2001. Last year, ad sells were up 6% to $890 million for NBC, CBS, and ABC.

According to industry insiders, soaps have remained a genre unique to the networks because cable and syndication are unwilling to deal with the startup costs--an estimated $50 million in program outlays alone, not including marketing and distribution.

In many markets, the strongest competition for soaps comes from the dozens of talk shows launched since 1990. FOX's daytime programming is supplied mainly from the acquisition of syndicated shows such as Ricki Lake, Jerry Springer, Judge Hatchett, and Divorce Court.

NBC Universal Television Distribution is the production and distribution arm of NBC and was created four years ago to handle domestic syndication. Regina Thomas, vice president of programming and development, is at a level where she can "influence whether a show is produced or not." Most recently, she insured the production of Starting Over, daytime television's first reality show about six women living in a house together. "[There] will be at least one African American of the six ... because we want to reflect our audience," says NBC Universal Television Distribution's only African American programming director.

Access Hollywood and The Jane Pauley Show are among other programs that Thomas is involved with. Prior to NBC, she worked as an account executive with the Discovery Channel and program manager with CBS affiliate WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. Thomas says blacks looking to break into the business should consider syndication. "If you have relevant experience ... worked at a local station or on a talk show ... syndication is a lucrative side of television, if not the most lucrative."

Talk show favorite Montel Williams recently entered his 14th season as executive producer and host of The Montel Williams Show. The 48-year-old former U.S. Marine and counselor produces 175 to 195 shows per year (more than 2,500 telecasts over its lifespan). What sets Williams apart from other daytime hosts (besides Oprah Winfrey) is that he owns his syndicated show.

"One of the reasons why this show has been so successful is that I have written in my contract creative control, something that other hosts coining in as bit players or contract players don't get," says Williams. As he sees it, the dearth of African Americans at the top has to do with the limited pool of African Americans working in daytime talk. When a show gets cancelled, its employees also get canned and aren't guar anteed rehire elsewhere. "It is kind of hard to ascend the ranks if there are no rungs in the ladder," explains Williams, who has seen many talk shows come and go since his 1991 debut.

Of The Montel Williams Show's 100-plus crew, about 20% are African American, including the only black female director in the history of daytime television, Heather Smith-Prout. "She started out as a booth production assistant," says Williams. "A lot of the people who started out with me 14 years ago are still with me. I have some of the top African American female producers on the show who were interns." Williams adds that in this business, "you don't often get the opportunity to learn from the bottom up."

Rene M. Butler was lucky to get that opportunity. At PBS, she learned all aspects of production and soon after worked as technical director of the network's Charlie Rose and Great Performances. Television technicians are unionized and are typically only allowed to do one particular job. But Butler says, "At PBS, if you wanted to learn audio, graphics, camera work, you could do so." Nonetheless, she adds that it is tough to get into this business. "Racism and sexism still exist."

Today, Butler is the Daytime-Emmy-Award-winning technical director of ABC's The View. She sits at the console of a 45-monitor video room, where she controls the shots for the live telecast and supervises the performance of 25 technicians, including camera, video, audio, and lighting crews. With the exception of soaps, daytime shows have one technical director.

The View is now in it's eighth season, and Butler has been with it since its inception. ABC hired the New York native shortly after her work with the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. She served as technical director on the network's signature news programs, 20/20, World News Now, and Primetime Live before being assigned to The View. Just five out of 25 technical engineers at The View are African American, however Butler believes she has come across more black cameramen, editors, and producers at ABC than throughout her 20-year career in television. Not to mention that The View's African American co-host, Star Jones, has been a powerful voice on the show since day one. "My job here has been the most rewarding as well as the most challenging," says Butler.

Union and guild jobs for people working in television are tough to come by, black or white. The Young and the Restless' Rowell was instrumental in campaigning for an African American hairstylist (Nancy Morrison) to be hired on the show. Rowell notes the worker's union (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) is mired with age-old practices that leave little room for new talent.

Garnering industry respect is another bone of contention for Rowell. Soaps have two weekly fan bibles: Soap Digest (1 million paid circulation) and Soap Opera Weekly (288,000 circulation). Both publications are owned by New York-based Primedia, and the ratio of blacks on the covers of major soap magazines was slightly less than 1%, according to Rowell, who says she conducted a three-year study.

"To suggest blacks do not sell covers or that our storylines are not comparable to our Euro-American thespians is nothing short of reckless and divisive," notes Rowell, who says she confronted Primedia execs. "To diminish our talent by this practice is to diminish our stature within the cast."