Oscar diversity campaign may take time but Chris Rock will still host

By Steve Gorman and Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Oscars have launched a landmark campaign to diversify the ranks of Academy Award voters who decide which actors, movies and filmmakers earn recognition, but Hollywood's highest honors may remain a predominantly white affair for some time to come. Amid an outcry against a field of Oscar-nominated performers lacking a single person of color for a second straight year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a sweeping affirmative action program on Friday, pledging to double female and minority membership by 2020. "You should expect [#OscarsSoWhite jokes]," Hudlin said, adding "And, yes, the Academy is ready for him to do that." The largely white, male and older makeup of the 6,000-plus film industry professionals who belong to the academy has long been cited as a barrier to racial and gender equality at the Oscars.