"The Task Force research initiative has resulted in the most comprehensive study on cultural diversity and the media ever undertaken, anywhere, that will serve as a major source of information for future research. Interview subjects generally concluded that some advances have been made regarding the ... presence of cultural diversity on television in the past decade, but there is still a great deal of progress required. Many provided suggestions for improvement, such as the increased use of internships and the development of a database of actors, directors, producers and experts from Canada’s ethnocultural and Aboriginal communities. The Task Force initiated a round of consultations with interview subjects to discuss Recommended Best Practices and Industry Initiatives in April 2004. Focus groups provided a broad range of strong opinions and perspectives on the issue of cultural diversity and television. Several areas of concern were highlighted by focus group participants across the country: the persistence of stereotyping; too many instances of negative or inaccurate portrayal; underrepresentation of many groups; unbalanced or negative portrayal on newscasts; and a serious absence of Aboriginal representation on television. The benchmark content analysis substantiated many concerns raised within the focus groups, and provided a very rich assessment of exactly how cultural diversity is reflected and portrayed on television." (Executive summary) more