The Workplace Anti-Discrimination Organization has outlined a series of changes that the Golden Globes group could make.
In the continuing absence of a detailed plan by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to address the diversity and ethical issues, Time’s Up has unveiled a lengthy set of recommendations.
“The measures below are the beginning of the real work that urgently needs to be implemented to achieve the ‘transformation change’ you promised,” the workplace discrimination organization wrote in a public memo to the HFPA and its partners. directed. production and presentation of the Golden Globe Awards – Dick Clark Productions, NBCUniversal and Comcast.
The Golden Globe Awards Ceremony is co-hosted by Dick Clark Productions, a division of MRC, co-owner of The Hollywood Reporter by a joint venture with Penske Media entitled P-MRC.
Read the full letter below.
March 9, 2021
ATTN:Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Dick Clark Productions, NBCUniversal and Comcast
As an organization born in the entertainment industry with the goal of ensuring safe, fair and dignified work for all, we write a series of recommendations on how the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) – funded and activated by Dick Clark Productions, NBCUniversal and Comcast – can rid themselves of the institutionalized racism, sexism, contempt, alleged corrupt financial activities and other unethical practices that have respected, documented and reported for years.
These changes need to be transparent for all to see, and action needs to be taken quickly so that a new HFPA can be good before the 2022 allocation cycle begins. The measures below are the beginning of the actual work that urgently needs to be implemented to achieve the “transformation change” you promised.
MEMBERSHIP + BOARD
Immediate change in the current management and board must be set out. The existing management and board of HFPA have already shown that they do not understand these issues. However, we realize that it is necessary to have corporate governance mechanisms in place to implement reforms quickly. To address this, HFPA must set out a plan and commit to moving to a completely new board that will appoint new management. This plan must be announced immediately and include the following:
- The current board and board must immediately empower independent advocates to implement changes to membership criteria, ordinances and policies and select new members for HFPA.
- This independent advocate will then oversee the election of a completely new board through the newly formed membership.
- The new board will then appoint new management.
- While this process is taking place, actions must be supervised by the existing board and management and approved by the independent outside attorney.
All existing members of the HFPA must resign and can re-apply for membership under the new criteria after one year.
Membership criteria need to be reformed. The criteria and process of insular out-of-club membership must change fundamentally, including a dramatic increase in the number of members under new criteria:
- To be eligible for membership and maintain a good status:
- The applicant must be registered with the Motion Picture Association in the international directory at least one year before the application.
- The applicant may live anywhere.
- The applicant must have at least five years of credible journalistic experience and provide evidence of at least 30 pieces of published coverage (broadcast, printed, online and / or radio) within the past five years.
- To maintain a good reputation with the organization, members must publish at least ten articles of coverage (broadcast, print, online and / or radio) per calendar year in order to retain voting rights.
The number of HFPA members must expand to a minimum of 300, in order to represent the full diversity of global entertainment journalists. It must be easy to meet this minimum, as the preceding exclusion criteria and the voting process are removed.
Applicants for this year will be judged and approved by independent outside attorneys. After this year, the HFPA will implement a transparent process for voting on candidates for membership and will require members with a potential conflict, such as a nominee who is also a journalist in the same field as an existing member, of the vote must be lifted. on that nominee.
The HFPA will make the names public, country representation, and the diversity demographics of its membership at the end of this year’s membership process and thereafter every year.
Life memberships will no longer exist. New members have ten years of voting rights, after which they must re-apply for membership.
ETHICS & SAFETY PROTECTION
The HFPA must develop and publish policies on harassment, bullying and anti-discrimination It provides protection to employees, members, partners, contractors and participants in all HFPA events, including the Golden Globes.
- This should include various methods of reporting violations, a process for fair, thorough and independent investigations, and a range of penalties for violations, including dismissal from the HFPA.
The bell ringing process referred to in the statement of the HFPA must include the ability to make confidential reports on violations of the above policies as well as violations of any of the HFPA policies.
The HFPA must develop and publish ethics policies to govern its own members and leadership, including but not limited to:
- A ban on HFPA members receiving payment from anyone, including the HFPA, for participating in the HFPA, including participating in decision-making regarding grants
- Members may not accept any gifts, favors or consideration of any kind, regardless of their value based on their HFPA membership
- Members must pay all their own expenses, including but not limited to travel expenses to festivals, junkets, premieres, regular visits and other events
- Members must act in a professional manner, which includes not asking for signatures, not requesting personal phone numbers of filmmakers and talent, and not bullying and / or harassing members of the industry.
NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS
The HFPA must adopt, publish and apply strict regulations regulating the conduct of HFPA members, content distributors, publicists and others regarding the campaign boundaries for the promotion of eligible films and TV programs covering similar events (e.g. AMPAS). These include performances, special events, e-mails, lobbying, and other endeavors. Reporting violations of these regulations should be included in the whistleblowing process.
The existing categories for awards and criteria for inclusion in those categories should be reviewed to eliminate discriminatory criteria and new rules should be applied consistently.
- Consistency must be applied to the categorization of films and TV series. The HFPA must waive its ability to change any award entry by a vote of two – thirds or more. If any amendments to the submission are necessary for office errors or if proposals are by the HFPA, the final amendments must be approved by the original submitter.
- As the membership and leadership reforms take place this year, an external, independent expert or group of experts will oversee the categories and the nomination process.
- After this year, the HFPA must report transparently on its categories, its criteria and its decision-making process for nominations.
The HFPA will refrain from exclusive HFPA press conferences. At the same time, NBCUniversal must commit to no longer arranging exclusive HFPA press conferences.
Members should be expected to do everything possible to attend the screening of a filmmaker. There can be no more stories of not showing up to the performances of artists of color.
To take part in the final voteHFPA members must state that they have watched at least 80% of the nominated projects.
The date of the Golden Globes should not occur during the pre-nomination window of the Academy Awards. The timing of the Golden Globes, not only the first major award, but only before nominations for the Oscars were made, gave the Globes an extraordinary influence on later awards and exacerbated the consequences of the institutional racism and sexism of the Globes. . This can be minimized by starting the schedule for the Globes, starting in 2022, as schedules are rearranged after the pandemic.
The issues with the HFPA and the Golden Globes are not new, but have not been addressed by the HFPA, Dick Clark Productions, NBCUniversal and Comcast for many years. It is long overdue in 2021 to address change with boldness and to make the 2022 Golden Globes fundamentally different.
We realize that change on this scale is ambitious. But fans, artists and managers keep waiting for your dedication to the values we all want to represent within the industry and on behalf of its achievements to the world.
We look forward to hearing your commitments by the May 6 deadline.