In the radiant afterglow of Barack Obama’s election victory, filmmaker Gary Hardwick sold an instant television pitch to Fox about an Obama-like character who ascends to the vice chancellorship of an Ivy League university.

It’s a concept that may have sparked a minor bidding war just a few years ago. But its success at finding a network willing to develop the project is seen as an anomaly in the four years since UPN and the WB — seen for years as the most receptive to African-American programming — merged to form the CW, which has rebranded itself as a destination for shows centered on affluent White teenagers.

In fact, industry insiders have noted a virtual blackout of mainstream Black-themed programming.

As a result, an increasing number of Black writers — both aspiring and established — are showcasing their work online.

For instance, after losing his writing job last year on the TBS sitcom “House of Payne,” comedian Lamont Ferrell eschewed Hollywood for his next project. He and writing partner Marc Alexander immediately set out to create “You’re Joking, Right?,” an online satire about Ferrell’s life as an L.A. comedy scribe.

Just two weeks ago the Pan African Film Festival held it's first ever Webcast talent scout and last month Web-based content was showcased during an event held at the West Adams headquarters of the Organization of Black Screenwriters.

Hosted by veteran comedy writer and playwright Michael Ajakwe Jr., it featured a compilation of six Web-based series that spanned comedy and drama, animation and reality show parody.

Ajakwe, whose credits include “Sister Sister,” “Martin,” “Moesha,” “The Parkers,” “Soul Food,” and “Eve” has become a Web mini-magnate, creating his own Internet channel and hosting well-attended workshops for aspiring online creative types.

“The web is the future,” he said. “And the future is now.”

The works shown that night included a buddy sitcom, “Cory & Sid,” by New Orleans-native Caryn K. Hayes; “Orlando’s Joint,” a surreal, cartoon series about a likable pot-smoking slacker, written by self-taught animator Terence Anthony.

A sexually suggestive drama series, scripted by Lisa Robinson (under a title too explicit for a family newspaper), follows the dating woes of a single woman and Aaron Celious’ and Brandon Broussard’s “How to Get the Straight Guy” puts a new twist on unscripted television.

There was also the “thirtysomething”-like drama “The New Twenties,” by Tracy Taylor; and Ajakwe’s own take on the zeitgeist, “Who...,” about two Black women who sound off on celebrity and popular culture.

A graduate of The Guy Hanks & Marvin Miller TV & Screenwriting Fellowship, Anthony moved to L.A. from Vancouver 10 years ago. “You’re lucky if you get maybe two or three people who will read your screenplay and then they are usually people who are paid to say no unless you are truly established,” he said.

“Not having an agent or manager, I was feeling frustrated about the situation and began thinking about doing something I could upload online — something I could get out there myself.”

Armed with a Macromedia Flash animation program, within a month Anthony posted the first three episodes onto a games and animation site called newground.com. He also placed random clips on YouTube.

“I’ve gone from two or three people reading my stuff to thousands of people all over the world being able to watch my work,” he said, noting that the episodes have drawn in excess of 200,00 page views. “I get e-mails from all over the country and places like Amsterdam.”

Addressing the question of Black programming in the mainstream, Anthony said it was the same old story. “I think it’s typical. As far as I’m concerned it’s the same five types of people making all the decisions,” he said.

“I’ve had meetings with those outlets and they are still caught up in a non-experimental race to the bottom — which is why there’s so much cheap, tacky reality TV out there.
“Ideally, this online revolution is going to really shake up who makes these decisions and how content gets out there and is promoted to people.”

Hayes also vented on the blackout in mainstream television. “It’s not just African-Americans — they just canceled ‘Ugly Betty.’ Minorities aren’t on TV, period, and it really sucks,” added Hayes.

However, Ron Taylor, vice president for diverse programming and content for Fox Broadcasting Company, begged to differ. “No, I do not see the industry in any way walking away from Black writers — and bear in mind here that my focus is on all people of color,” he said.

“I also do not perceive a migration of what we would call ‘old media’ to the Web. I see many writers of all colors, creators and content producers, seeking to explore the possibilities [of television].

“But while everyone looks on the Web for creative ideas, there are very few that are a natural invitation for primetime formats and the type of entertainment we provide.”

In looking for potential comedy and drama writers, Taylor added that he is less likely to recruit online as opposed to someone who has had some staff experience and been exposed to the rigors of the medium.

“The thing is, television writing is very difficult and challenging with a lot of rules,” said Taylor. “A feature script can be 90, 100 or 120 pages, whereas a TV script has to hit a strict, down-to-the-second time limit. The narrative storytelling is split by several commercial breaks and there are limits in terms of violence, language and sexuality that our friends in features and cable don’t have to contend with.”