Subject: GLAAD MEDIA WATCH, July 23
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 20:30:35 -0400

M e d i a W a t c h
for 
July 23, 1995

by

Al Kielwasser
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,
San Francisco Bay Area

BIASED TOWARDS BIGOTRY

"Newsweek's" July 17 cover story on bisexuality "arrived in mailboxes as a
paean to abnormality and a shock to the sensibilities of reasonable people."
 So says management of "The Indianapolis Star."  The newspaper attacked
"Newsweek" in a July 16 editorial, "Biased Toward Bi."

The editorial rails against "Newsweek" its "shameful" reporting and promoting
"social decay and family breakdown."  The "Star" argues that "Newsweek"
engaged in both "bad taste" and "bad journalism."  The bisexuality story
"masquerades as a legitimate piece of news," the newspaper says, "yet it
violates all routine standards for fair and honest reporting."

The "Star" offers some specifics of "Newsweek's" lack of fairness:
 "Twenty-three sources were cited in the article, 13 of them practicing
bisexuals . . . .  None of the sources held the position that bisexuality is
unhealthy or wrong . . . .  It certainly would have been easy to find a
minister or rabbi to discuss the sinful nature of it."

Of course, it would ALSO be easy to find a man or woman to explain why the
earth is flat. 

 EASY journalism is not necessarily GOOD journalism.  

***   Share your comments with the "Star;" you could remind the editor that
each time he prepares an article about heterosexuality, you'd like to be
quoted on the sinful nature of that orientation.  The "Star" welcomes letters
that are "signed with name address and phone number.  Write to:  Letters to
the Editor, "The Indianapolis Star," P.O. Box 145, Indianapolis, IN
46206-0145. fax 317-633-9423, e-mail [email-masked]. 

DELIBERATE AND DISGUSTING ACTS

A number of public figures and media commentators spoke out when Senator
Jesse Helms (R-NC) vowed to cut federal spending on HIV/AIDS because, he
said, the disease is spread by "deliberate, disgusting and revolting
conduct."  Many well-meaning critics were quick to emphasize that "NOT ONLY"
gays get AIDS.  That position was, consequently, stressed in most news
reports on the controversy.

Writing in the "Chicago Tribune" (July 7), for example, William Neikirk
reported on a speech by Bill Clinton:  "Not all AIDS victims get the virus
from sexual contact or contaminated needles, Clinton noted.  But even those
who do should receive treatment, he said."  

Kathy Lewis, reporting for the "Dallas Morning News" (July 6), similarly
reported that President Clinton "said not all AIDS patients contract the
disease through homosexual sex or from dirty drug needles."  

Clinton could have -- and should have -- set a better agenda for the news
media on this issue.  As one observer put it, the President basically said:
 "AIDS is not ALWAYS transmitted by disgusting homosexual acts."  He did not,
however, have the courage to say:  "AIDS is NEVER transmitted by disgusting
homosexual acts."  Thus, Jesse Helms' assertion that gay sex is (by
definition) "disgusting" went unchallenged.

Equally unacceptable is the clear suggestion that something "NOT ONLY
HOMOSEXUAL" is always better than something "ONLY HOMOSEXUAL."  In
demonstrating a genuine respect for difference, both the President and the
press still have a way to go.

Finally, Clinton missed another opportunity to point out the etiologic role
of homophobia in the spread of HIV/AIDS.  The disease IS spread, after all,
through CERTAIN deliberate and disgusting acts.

When school boards reject sex-positive textbooks that affirm young lesbians
and gays, people get AIDS and die.  People also get AIDS when TV stations
reject condom ads that target gay men or when newspaper editorials extol the
virtues of "traditional values" and "abstinence."  And people get AIDS when
the President of the United States fires the Surgeon General for talking
about safer-sex and masturbation.

***  Send comments to President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500, tel. 202-456-1414, e-mail
[email-masked]; copy your correspondence to the letters page of
your daily newspaper.

A DEARER ANN

Ann Landers attempts, once again, to intelligently address homosexuality in
her July 16 advice column.  Once again, she fails.  This time, however, she
doesn't fail quite so miserably.

A reader wrote, "Dear Ann:  This cousin of mine insists the reason so many
extremely handsome celebrities of stage and screen are gay is because they
are sick and tired of being chased by females who throw themselves at their
feet. He says these men become hostile to all women and become gay as a last
resort.  My cousin swears he has read many reports that substantiate this
theory. He is a faithful reader of your column, and maybe if he sees my
letter in print along with your answer, it will quiet him once and for all.
 Thank you for helping to educate millions."

Landers replied:  "Of all the half-baked, cockeyed, no-brainer theories I
have heard, the one advanced by your cousin takes first prize.  People don't
become homosexuals; they are born that way. No one knows why or how, and it
really doesn't matter."  This response is a VAST improvement for Landers, who
has routinely defamed lesbians, gays and bisexuals in the past.

However, even this answer ultimately degraded into homophobia (or at least
heterosexism).  In her July 16 column, Landers further wrote:  "Many
homosexuals also prefer to keep their sexual preference to themselves.  Those
who are bisexual often marry and have families."

Clearly, she does NOT know "many homosexuals," or Landers would have written:
 "Many heterosexuals assume that everyone they know is straight."  

Landers might also have added:  "Many heterosexuals also prefer to flaunt
their homophobia.  As a consequence, many homosexuals must hide their true
identity in order to avoid being fired, losing their children, or getting
killed."  

But, of course, Landers did NOT offer such advice.  

Once again, Landers also assumed that only mixed-gender couples form a "real
family."  Amongst queer folk, she suggests, only "those who are bisexual" can
actually "have families."  Of all the half-baked, cockeyed, no-brainer
theories . . . .

Unfortunately, for many of those who write to and read her advice columns,
Ann Landers is their only source of information about homosexuality.  She
has, already, "miseducated millions" on the subject.  

Still, there is some hope that her "lessons" may yet improve.  Perhaps all
she needs, is just a little good advice.

**  Send feedback to Ann Landers, P.O. Box 11562, Chicago, IL 60611-0562. 

JUST KEEP TALKING

In addition to heading up the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson also
operates a media empire that includes The Family Channel and the Christian
Broadcasting Network (CBN).   His "CBN News" programs air daily across the
nation, serving as a potent vehicle for Robertson's incessant homophobia.  

For his July 20 "CBN News" broadcast, Robertson interviewed Eric Burns, a
media critic and author who has done stints with NBC and "Entertainment
Tonight."  For this interview, Burns attacked the "sleaze" and "deviance" of
TV talk shows.  The typical talk show guest, he sarcastically suggested, is
"a man who becomes a woman to behave as a lesbian before being abducted by
space aliens."  

According to Burns, older TV programs, like "Donna Reed," were based on
"inclusion."  They reflected the experiences of the audience.  Today's
"sleazy" shows, by contrast, are based on "exclusion," he claimed.  They
focus on irrelevant subjects (i.e., homosexuality) and abnormal people (i.e.,
homosexuals).  "We don't know people like that!," Burns huffed (as if the TV
audience consisted entirely of straight white men).

Burns specifically criticized an episode of the "Jenny Jones" show in which a
gay man -- Scott Amedure -- revealed his "secret crush" on a straight man,
who then shot and killed him a few days later.  Outrageously, both Burns and
Robertson portrayed the MURDERER as the real VICTIM (of talk show "sleaze").

Being lesbian or gay is evil, apparently, because it causes straight people
to kill us.

Lethal or not, TV talk shows and their lesbian/gay guests have become a
favorite target of Right Wing critics, and perhaps with good reason.  Larry
Gross, who teaches media studies at the University of Pennsylvania, believes
that talk shows are "one of the few spaces America now provides for an honest
discussion of sexuality."  "It is in the best interest of gays and lesbians
to continue to appear on these shows," Gross says, "because, with some
exceptions, they are relentlessly pro-gay."

***  In an effort to mobilize his relentlessly anti-gay mob against talk
shows, Pat Robertson is shipping out free copies of "TV Talk Shows:  Daily
Celebration Of Sleaze."  To get a copy of this "CBN fact sheet" (a gross
oxymoron!), contact the Christian Broadcasting Network, "700 Club," 977
Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, tel. 1-804-420-0700; e-mail
for Pat Robertson can be sent to [email-masked].

MEDIA BRIEFS

**  MISGUIDED MAGAZINE. . .   "TV Guide's" July 15-21 issue lists a repeat
episode of "Seinfeld" with this description:  "A toupee makes George eligible
to date Kramer's friend; Elaine tries to change a gay's preference; a
policewoman challenges Jerry's claim that he's never watched 'Melrose Place.'
"  Of course, "PREFERENCE" is an inappropriate term to use when referring to
a crucial aspect of someone's identity.  Elaine tried to change the man's
SEXUAL ORIENTATION, not his favorite color.  Contact:  Renee Kline, Listings
Editor, "TV Guide," Radnor, PA 19088, e-mail [email-masked].

**  LESBIANS TO WATCH FOR . . .   Comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer's stand-up
routine is featured on Home Box Office this month (HBO, 1100 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10036).

"Drop the Dead Donkey" -- a British sitcom, now airing on Comedy Central --
includes a recurring lesbian character (Comedy Central, 1775 Broadway, New
York, NY 10019).

The pilot has been shot for "Courthouse," a new prime-time series on CBS that
will feature "a leading character in a lesbian relationship" (CBS, 7800
Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 10019).

**  BIGOTRY IS BASIC . . .   Mississippi has effectively banned textbooks
that address homosexuality.  In March, legislators passed a new law
prohibiting discussions of homosexuality in the state's public schools.  "The
curriculum in Mississippi is very basic," says department spokesperson Jim
Hemphill.  "We take the position that issues of sexuality belong in the home
and the church."  Contact:  Jim Hemphill, Special Assistant to the State
Superintendent, Mississippi State Education Department, P.O. Box 771,
Jackson, MI 39205, tel. 601-359-3515, fax 601-359-3033.

**  LEADER AMONGST HOMOPHOBES . . .  "Three cheers for the 'Herald-Leader'
for not publishing a wedding announcement between two homosexuals . . . .
 Not only is it not recognized under state law, but it is morally repulsive."
 This praise for prejudice appears in a letter to the editor of the
Lexington's "Herald-Leader" newspaper (July 10).  Send contrary
correspondence to:  "Lexington Herald-Leader," 100 Midland Avenue, Lexington,
KY 40508, fax 606-255-7236, e-mail [email-masked].

** E-MEDIA WATCH . . .   Scotland's "Pulse" magazine, a monthly for gay men,
is now available by e-mail, free of charge; to subscribe, send a message to
[email-masked] (the first two lines of the message should be
"subscribe pulse-list" and "get pulsecurrent").  Contact:  Pulse Magazine,
P.O. Box 1248, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland PA3 3YA, tel.
44-0-1505-335021.

**  (UN)SOUND BITE . . .   " 'Newsweek' " made me think that jumbo jets full
of social viruses are stacked up over our nation.  As each one lands it
unleashes a new outrage, a new strain of depravity.  First it was promiscuity
among heterosexuals, a loosening of marital bonds and celebration.  Next it
was the 'gay rights' movement, which rhetorically bludgeoned many into
silence.  Now come the bisexuals.  And who is next?  Those who practice
bestiality or 'man-boy love'?"  (Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, criticizing
"Newsweek's" cover story on bisexuality).

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN GLAAD'S WORK.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VITAL!

Founded in 1988, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of GLAAD is a
volunteer-based community organization dedicated to cultural advocacy and
media activism.  GLAAD/SFBA promotes the fair, accurate and diverse
representation of lesbian, gay and bisexual lives.  GLAAD challenges
homophobia in and through the mass media . . . shaping the forces that shape
our society.

MEDIA WATCH is a weekly report that may be reprinted or posted without prior
permission, provided that, when appropriate, attribution is made to Al
Kielwasser and/or GLAAD/San Francisco.  We greatly appreciate copies of any
publications that use all or part of the MEDIA WATCH.

To notify GLAAD/SFBA of any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, or to
request membership information, please call our 24-hour Media Watch Hotline
(415-861-4588) or write to Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San
Francisco Bay Area Chapter, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA
94103; tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail [email-masked].

LET THE MEDIA KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!

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