NY advertising agencies facing discrimination charges: symposium highlights bigotry in industry.In a staggering blow to Madison Avenue's predominately white establishment, the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Commission on Human Rights issued subpoenas to CEOs of 16 New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of advertising agencies. Spearheaded by Human Rights Commissioner Patricia Gatling, who worked in conjunction with the City Council's Civil Rights Committee, the subpoenas are the culmination of a year-and-a-half-long investigation. The Commission seeks to hold advertising executives, and their clients, accountable for the values and hiring practices that have systematically blocked African Americans and other minorities from entering the ratified world of the advertising industry. The Sept. 25 hearing will place the diversity efforts of preeminent agencies including--Ogilvy & Mather, the WPP Group WPP Group plc (LSE: WPP) (NASDAQ: WPPGY), based in London, United Kingdom, is one of the world's largest communications services groups (and one of the big six advertising holding companies, the others being Omnicom, Interpublic, Publicis, Dentsu and Havas) employing , Saatchi & Saatchi, and BBDO BBDO Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn BBDO Bringing Biogeographic Data Online Worldwide--under a microscope. The ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl of the hearings were discussed during a BLACK ENTERPRISE Diversity symposium in June at a panel discussion titled "Diversity on Madison Avenue Madison Avenue, celebrated street of Manhattan, borough of New York City. It runs from Madison Square (23d St.) to the Madison Bridge over the Harlem River (138th St.). In the 1940s and 50s, some of the major U.S. : Myth, Reality, or Illusion?" Moderated by National Public Radio host Ed Gordon Edward ("Ed") Lansing Gordon (b. July 1 1906, Jackson, Mississippi – d. September 1971, Detroit) was an American athlete, who competed mainly in the long jump. , the symposium provided a forum to discuss challenges facing African Americans within the advertising industry. Another point of contention was the paucity of advertising dollars allocated to minority-owned media and businesses. The panel included Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network; Ken Smikle, founder and president of Target Market News; New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook; Monica Emmerson, executive director of DaimlerChrysler's corporate diversity office; and Allen Pugh, executive vice president and director of Client Services at GlobalHue. All agreed that increasing diversity on all fronts begins with holding agency executives responsible for modifying hiring practices. Sharpton maintained that African Americans must be vocal with their dissatisfaction with a company's performance to precipitate change. Smikle, however, said that consumers are largely oblivious to the goings-on within the advertising industry. "Until information on what is happening with advertising agencies, and their failure to invest in the black community, is disseminated through the black media ... the consumer will not know how to make noise." Seabrook concurred, adding that it is important to promote a connection between the African American community and the advertising industry. "Then, we must reach out to unresponsive corporations," said Seabrook. Yet, the onus for instituting change does not lie solely with companies resistant to change. African Americans must patronize pa·tron·ize tr.v. pa·tron·ized, pa·tron·iz·ing, pa·tron·iz·es 1. To act as a patron to; support or sponsor. 2. To go to as a customer, especially on a regular basis. 3. companies that foster and maintain a positive relationship with the community, said Emmerson. "We must determine which companies are working on our behalf and support those companies," she said. At the conclusion of the symposium, Smikle charged all in attendance with making their voices heard by pulling their favorite product off the shelf and calling the 800-number on the package. "I want you to ask them when was the last time they spent money with an African American nonprofit or spent advertising dollars with an African American media outlet. Then ask when you can expect a response." Emmerson added, "If you do not get the response you are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. , allow your spending with that company to reflect that." |
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