Essay 738

More late news: Here are comments responding to the story regarding New York ad agency chiefs receiving subpoenas for the upcoming diversity hearings (the AdAge.com story appeared in Essay 684 — click on the essay title above to review)…

>As someone who has worked on the agency side as well as in city and state government, I’d suggest the Human Rights Commission carefully consider the following prior to the scheduled hearings; Review hiring practices among all relevant companies involved in advertising services not just the top 16 ad agencies. HRC should be concerned with all related companies not just the "”low hanging” fruit. The contention that blacks comprised only 9% of all ad employees compared to the 25% of NYC's population may be true. But if I remember correctly, approximately 10% of the US population is black. As advertising is a national business, if not global, the current composition is in line with the US population. Moreover, when all advertising related companies are included the proportion of blacks would exceed their incidence in the US population. The HRC is a Mayoral agency. I’d encourage them to carefully review the demographic composition of their own advertising/marketing personnel and roster of advertising service suppliers. They may find issues of their own. Finally, most government accounts, such as the Army and the New York State lottery, require their agencies provide detailed information on their practices and proactive steps to encourage minority employment. I’m sure the ad chiefs have the same hiring motives as the vast majority of business executives...evaluating individuals on their merits. David Ganz New York, NY — New York, NY

>Throw another crutch out there for no-talent people who want to be hired on the basis of skin color. Diversity is a code word, folks. It’s just more high toned sounding. Let’s diversify the NBA. — Raleigh, NC

>This is political flim-flamming. Just like when they investigated minority representation in the entertainment biz. When you send in your portfolio, nobody knows what color you are. — Beverly Hills, CA

>I’m glad the city is finally doing something about diversity in the ad agency business. There is a conspicuous lack of black and Hispanic faces in the business. In addition, there is a lack of hiring women-owned and certified businesses for subcontracting. I’m tired of sitting through “diversity” meetings with large gov’t contractors who say they hire advertising and marketing subcontractors only to be faced with a big Mad Ave firm at the actual meeting who does not, in fact, do that. — NY, NY