GLAAD has released its ninth and final edition of the Network Responsibility Index (NRI). The report maps the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBT representation on television.
The NRI looks back on the previous year in programming and rates networks on LGBT-inclusive content that aired between June 2014 and May 2015. The grades of “Excellent,” “Good,” “Adequate” or “Failing” are awarded based on the quality and relative quantity of LGBT representations in each network’s original programming.
ABC Family and FOX earned a grade of excellent. This is third excellent grade for ABC Family and a first for FOX, which received a failing grade in the inaugural NRI in 2006.
ABC, CW, FX, HBO, MTV, Showtime were rated “good,” while CBS, NBC, TLC, TNT, USA were deemed “adequate.” A&E and History earned failing grades.
GLAAD added, “This is the final edition of the NRI, but GLAAD will continue to advocate for greater diversity on television through our annual Where We Are on TV and Transgender Images on TV reports, both of which will be released later this year.”
In Variety, GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis wrote an op-ed regarding why the NRI is being discontinued. It’s at variety.com/2015/tv/news/lgbt-characters-on-tv-empire-scandal-orange-is-the-new-black-1201584066/.
The report is at www.glaad.org/nri2015.