NEW YORK: Viacom owned US broadcaster CBS is doing its best to bring to the fore efforts made in the areas of community outreach, programming and diversity. These have been chronicled in a Social Responsibility Report.
The inaugural edition spans the previous year. It encompasses activities of all CBS divisions, including CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CBS Sports, the Viacom Television Stations Group and UPN.
An official release says that the Social Responsibility Report will be updated periodically, as more information becomes available. CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves adds, "This is a living document that highlights the efforts CBS has made in these important areas. As we continue to make strides in our on-going commitments to community outreach and diversity, we will include that information in later editions."
In India, CBS shows such as The Guardian air on Hallmark. On the flip side, its shows like Survivor have courted controversy both in India and in the US.
Included in the report are CBS activities in such areas as:
- Diversity initiatives. These include on-camera and behind the scenes mentoring programnmes, workshops and internship opportunities
- Investments CBS/Viacom has made in minority media ownership. One of them is the Quetzal minority investment fund, of which CBS/ Viacom has been the largest investor
- Local public-interest programming like hurricane preparedness, adoption drives, minority issues, health screening and tax help.
-Accessible Media, like closed-captioning and video description.
-Broadcast of public service announcements for causes. They include children's healthcare, HIV awareness, racial tolerance, scholarship funds for victims of 9/11, alcohol and substance abuse, parenting, violence prevention and hunger/disaster relief
- Broadcasts of US community parades, festivals and fund-raisers. In addition, the broadcaster has highlighted the fact that it has sponsored hundreds of community events in different American localities like food and clothing drives.