Subject: GLAAD MEDIA WATCH, Aug. 18
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 21:46:09 -0400

M e d i a W a t c h
for 
August 18, 1995

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

B O Y C O T T   B L U E S

The American Family Association (AFA) is a well-financed heterosexual
supremacist group, self-described as "a Christian organization promoting the
Biblical ethic of decency in American society with
primary emphasis on TV and other media."  For several months now, the AFA has
been waging a national boycott campaign against the Unilever corporation,
claiming the company promotes "TV sleaze" by advertising its products on
programs like "NYPD Blue."  Among other things, the AFA has condemned "NYPD
Blue" for its inclusion of a gay character that is NOT portrayed with abject
derision.

The August 1995 issue of the "AFA Journal" reports that the "boycott of
Unilever apparently is achieving what many reasonable appeals to the company
failed to produce --a  re-evaluation of the programs they sponsor on TV."
 The AFA cites an internal memo sent by Unilever president Richard Goldstein
to several of his company executives.  In the memo, Goldstein states:  "While
we will not yield to the threat of a boycott, we have reflected on the points
made by the AFA and others.  There is, without question, a rising tide of
sentiment that supports a reduction in the violence and explicit sexuality
from many sources to which we and our children are exposed.  Therefore, we
will re-evaluate our programming selection practices, challenging our current
assumptions about what is appropriate for a company as diverse as Unilever."

A powerful advertising force, Unilever's huge product line includes cosmetics
(Calvin Klein), colognes (Elizabeth Taylor's Passion, Obsession fragrance),
toothpastes (Aim, Pepsodent, Close-Up), and soaps (Caress, Dove, Lifebuoy,
Lever 2000).  The company also manufactures Q-tips, Breyers ice cream,
Imperial margarine, Lipton tea and soups, Popsicles, Ragu Italian foods, and
Vaseline brand products.

Expressing pleasure at the recent turn of events, AFA president Donald
Wildmon has advised his supporters "to continue to observe and promote the
boycott, while at the same time to thank Goldstein and encourage him in
changing Unilever's practice."

Additionally, Wildmon has called upon his homophobic cult to attack Barricade
Books, a New York-based company that dared to oppose the AFA's boycott.
 After the AFA placed a full-page ad promoting the Unilever campaign in "The
New York Times," Lyle Stuart, president of Barricade Books, wrote to Unilever
and announced that his company had begun a counter-boycott.  Barricade Books
would encourage employees to oppose the AFA by purchasing Unilever products.
 The "AFA Journal" reports that Stuart even had the nerve to refer to the
American Family Association as "those Mississippi bigots," "religious
fanatics" and "mostly nut cases."

Finally, this month the AFA also announced a related advertiser victory.
 According to the "Journal," Celestial Seasonings, maker of popular teas and
cough drops, "has written an AFA supporter that the company will no longer
advertise its products on ABC's soft core porn television series 'NYPD
Blue.'"  The letter, signed by three Celestial Seasonings executives, states:
 "We are working very closely with our partner, Warner-Lambert, to ensure
that our products are not advertised on this program in the future."

Despite all the homophobic damnation, "NYPD Blue" has established a
remarkable record of critical success.  During its first season, the program
earned a record-breaking 26 Emmy Nominations.  NYPD Blue" has since won
awards from the National Board of Review, Golden Globes, Viewers for Quality
Television, People's Choice, Director's Guild, Producers Guild of America,
Humanitas, the Television Critics Association, and other organizations.
 Advertisers could easily do worse.

****   To resist the AFA's censorship campaigns, send the appropriate
feedback to Richard A. Goldstein, President, Unilever United States Inc., 390
Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10022, tel. 212-888-1260 or 800-598-1223, fax
212-906-4411; Lyle Stuart, Barricade Books, 150 Fifth Avenue #700, New York,
NY 10011, tel. 212-627-7000, fax 212-627-7028; Mo Siegel, Chairperson,
Celestial Seasonings, 4600 Sleepytime Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, tel.
303-530-5300, fax 303-581-1249; Steven Boccho and David Milch, Executive
Producers, "NYPD Blue," Steven Boccho Productions, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los
Angeles, CA 90035; Ted Harbert, President, ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of
the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, fax 310-557-7170, e-mail [email-masked].

F A C I N G   F A C T S

On August 14, the Merrimack, New Hampshire School Board voted 3-2 to "ban
teachers and guidance counselors from presenting homosexuality in a positive
light."  Incredibly, the new policy effectively prohibits the discussion or
distribution of anything FACTUAL about homosexuality, including textbooks and
other educational media.  

Similar policies are overtaking school boards across the nation, a sad though
not unexpected trend.  In the wake of mounting scholarship -- historical,
psycho-social, cultural and physical -- the intellectual grounds for
demonizing queers is quickly eroding.  Because they literally cannot face the
facts, avowed homophobes seek to suppress the truth; they must replace
education with indoctrination.  As these bigots realize they can no longer
challenge the truth, they will increasingly seek to censor it.

Unfortunately, there are no Federal protections that could defend the
children of Merrimack, and that situation will only get worse.  The current
Congress is committed to "localizing" educational governance to protect
"parental rights" and "school choice."  In other words, they hope to place
children increasingly at the mercy of a few school board members who, however
insane, can act with almost total impunity.  

The children of Merrimack -- stuck where they are --  must now settle for the
unequal opportunities of a profoundly inferior curriculum.  Many of these
children, not doubt, will carry the wounds of that deprivation through the
rest of their lives.

****   Direct criticism to Chris Ager, School Board Chair, Merrimack School
Department, 36 McElwain Street, Merrimack NH 03054, tel. 603-424 6200, fax
603-424 6229.  To help ensure the high profile and intense public scrutiny of
this travesty, send letters-to-the-editors of New Hampshire's larger
newspapers, "The Union Leader," (Box 9555, Manchester, NH 03108) and "The
Telegraph," (Box 1008, Nashua, NH 03061).  For more information about
on-going efforts to combat homophobia in educational media (particularly
textbooks), contact "GLAAD/Project 21," 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San
Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-826-5203, e-mail
[email-masked].

P A R E N T A L   D I S C R E T I O N   I S   I L L - A D V I S E D  

When it comes to lesbian and gay programming, most public television stations
have a far better record than their commercial counterparts.  Perhaps that's
why it is especially frustrating that so many of these well-meaning
broadcasters continue to treat just about anything queer as if it were toxic
television.

"Warning announcements" and "viewer advisories" are prominently displayed
before, after and even during programs that deal with lesbian, gay, bisexual
or transgender issues.  It doesn't matter whether the subject is civil rights
or cunnilingus.  The audience is routinely reminded that all such broadcasts
contain "controversial," "mature" or "adult" subject matter that might not be
"suitable" for all viewers.  "Parental discretion is advised."

A recent case in point involves the world premiere of a new documentary
program, "The Question of Equality."  This four-part series, which "explores
the efforts of lesbians and gay men to secure equal rights protections and to
live openly without fear of violence or discrimination," debuted August 14th
on Northern California's major PBS outlet, KQED.

Unfortunately, KQED interspersed the series with a standard litany of
cautions.  Once again, the disparaging mantra of "parental discretion" and
"suitable subject matter" was gratuitously attached to lesbian and gay
programming.  Adding insult to injury, KQED used this particular broadcast as
part of a "special pledge night" soliciting lesbian and gay dollars.

Significantly, KQED does not plaster viewer warnings on every documentary it
airs.  Audiences aren't "cautioned," for example, each time the station
broadcasts a series about the civil rights of WOMEN.  Why, then, should
viewers be repeatedly "warned" about a broadcast examining the civil rights
of LESBIANS?

When asked about the unequal treatment given to "The Question of Equality,"
KQED staff could not explain the practice.  Instead, they could offered vague
references to "sexual content" and "partial nudity" (hardly explicit themes
in "The Question of Equality" at any rate) and a promise to "look into it." 

Actually, there is a familiar "reason" lurking beneath the warning labels
affixed by KQED and other PBS stations.  The homophobic bias that motivates
their use is quite clear.  Programs that AFFIRM lesbians and gays are treated
as matters of legitimate controversy, while those that ATTACK our lives are
not.  PBS has never advised "discretion" whenever Bill Buckley bashes gays on
"Firing Line."

By contrast, PBS stations routinely recommend "parental discretion" in regard
to programs like "The Question of Equality."  This warning, in particularly,
is unconscionable.  It bolsters the widespread notion that homosexuality is
strictly "adult subject matter."  Queer youth are left to gag on the
resulting censorship, which pervades nearly every aspect of their lives.

Ultimately, broadcasters must recognize that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth
are entitled to fair and accurate information about who they are, REGARDLESS
of any parent's desire for ignorance.  "Parental discretion" warnings degrade
this right and empower homophobic adults, giving them explicit permission to
oppress their own lesbian or gay child (which they do with great success, if
statistics on youth suicide and forced homelessness are any indicator).

In her book "Tendencies," Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick notes:  "I've heard of many
people who claim they'd as soon see their children were dead as gay.  What it
took me a long time to believe is that these people are saying no more than
the truth."  In such a climate, the relentless appeal for "parental
discretion" constitutes, in itself, a potential for harm that must vigorously
be warned against.  

Of course, public broadcasters desperately deny any complicity in the harming
of homosexuals.  They prefer to ignore their role in what Sedgwick describes
as "the systematic separation of children from queer adults" and "their
systematic sequestration from the truth."  "Seemingly," she concludes, "this
society wants its children to know nothing; wants its queer children to
conform or (and this is not a figure of speech) die; and wants not to know
that it is getting what it wants."

KQED and other PBS television stations ought to know better, whether they
want to or not.  For as long as they bracket queer subjects with
discouraging, ignorant and insulting warnings, these broadcasters only affirm
the homophobia that their broadcasts seek to challenge.

****   Send feedback to Mary Bitterman, President, KQED, 2601 Mariposa
Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. 415-864-2000, fax 415-553-2456, e-mail
[email-masked]; Kathy Quatrone, Acting Head/National Program Service and Bob
Ottenhoff, Chief Operating Officer, Public Broadcasting Service, 1320
Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698, tel. 703-739-5000, fax
703-739-0775, e-mail [email-masked].  Produced with funds from the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting (in the U.S.) and Channel Four Television (in the
U.K.), "The Question of Equality" should achieve fairly wide coverage; ensure
that your local CPB/PBS station has scheduled the series "without warning;"
insist that queer programs -- and queer audiences -- are treated with
unqualified dignity, equity and respect.

W H A T   W O U L D   M I C K E Y   T H I N K ?

When the Walt Disney Company recently purchased Capital Cities/ABC, it picked
up San Francisco radio station KSFO in the deal.  Adamant about "high
quality" and "good taste," Disney might want to re-think the "Hot Talk"
format that has blared from KSFO over the past year.

More aptly dubbed "hate talk" radio, KSFO's format panders to racism, sexism
and homophobia.  For example, the station's featured host -- Michael Savage
-- recently ridiculed a prom held for lesbian and gay high-schoolers.  The
dance, Savage argued, was an "abuse of the civil rights of all heterosexual
children."  The chaperones for this "gay and lezzo" event were, according to
Savage, "older pedophiles and things of that nature."  

"Older gay people who are acting as chaperones are out there cherry picking,"
Savage told his listeners, "You know it, and I know it . . . .  They're
cherry picking and their recruiting.  It doesn't belong in the schools.  It's
disgusting."  He insisted that every student attending such a prom should be
given a flier that said:  "Warning:  The homosexual lifestyle most likely
leads to AIDS and an early death."  Moreover, "pictures of people dying of
AIDS should be flashed on the auditorium screen."

Savage -- who claims to be KSFO's "compassionate conservative" -- has argued
that homosexuality essentially causes AIDS.  During one broadcast, he told
his audience that our public schools ought "to tell a boy not to take it up
the butt if he wants to avoid AIDS."  

Regarding "gay activists," Savage has screamed:  "How much more can we take
from these monsters who are promoting heterophobia and promoting violence
against heterosexuals?  How much longer are we going to take it?  I don't
know what world they live in, but they don't live in my world and they don't
live in the Savage Nation!"

Ironically, Disney has actually come under fire from homophobes like Michael
Savage for being "anti-family."  Conservative organizations have attacked the
Disney company for advertising in the lesbian/gay press, adding sexual
orientation to its employment policies, hiring "avowed lesbians" and
"practicing homosexuals," publishing the children's book "Growing Up Gay,"
releasing homosexual "propaganda" films like "Priest," and for allowing an
"Annual Gay and Lesbian Day" to be held at Disney World (which the American
Family Association described as a "homosexual invasion").  Most recently,
however, Disney announced plans to release the movie version of "The Dreyfuss
Affair," a comedy about a major league baseball team and the gay romance
between two of its players.

****   Ask Disney to continue rejecting the demands of homophobes AND the
homophobia being promoted by it's newly-acquired radio station, KSFO.
 Contact Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz, The Walt Disney Company, 500 S.
Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521, tel. 818-560-1000; copy your
correspondence to Michael Luckoff, KSFO Radio, 900 Front Street, San
Francisco, CA 94111-1450, tel. 415-398-5600, fax 415-391-3616.

M E D I A   B R I E F S

* RADIO ACTIVITY . . .   "Homo Radio" is an on-line mailing list for anyone
involved in "putting together a radio show targeted at the gay, lesbian,
bisexual and/or transgender community."  The focus of the list ranges "from
college radio to network radio to syndicated programming to international
short-wave broadcasts (and everything in between!)."  To join in, send an
e-mail message to [email-masked], with the one-line message
"subscribe homoradio."

* TRUTH IN ADVERTISING . . .   In a report filed by the Knight-Ridder News
Service (and published in the "The San Jose Mercury News," August 11), Rene
Rodriguez competently examines the mainstream marketing of lesbian- and
gay-themed movies.  She charts the varying degrees of honesty found in
campaigns for a  number of recent releases, including "The Incredible True
Adventure of Two Girls In Love," "Wild Reeds," and "Jeffrey."  Rodriguez
optimistically concludes that the "coy campaigns" created for films such as
"Philadelphia," "Making Love," and "Boys on the Side" -- which "didn't really
address the movies' topics" -- are now being replaced by ads that are "out of
the closet and proud to be there."  Contact:  "The San Jose Mercury News,"
750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190, tel. 408-920-5000, fax
408-288-8060, e-mail [email-masked].

* SEX, LIES AND VIDEO HATE . . . The homophobes of the American Family
Association (AFA) have announced a "new resource for parents who want to
know: 'What can I do about MTV?'"  "MTV Examined" is a 30-minute video that,
the AFA boasts, "arms parents, teachers, pastors and concerned citizens with
the  facts about what our children, teens and young adults are watching on
MTV.  Says the AFA:  "'MTV Examined' takes a comprehensive -- and sometimes
shocking -- look at the destructive effects of MTV and how the programming
often crosses the line from entertainment to promotion of illicit sex,
violence, drug abuse, immorality, profanity and liberal politics . . . .
 Caution: May not be suitable for younger children! "  Contact:  AFA, P.O.
Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel. 601-844-5036, fax 601-844-9176, e-mail
[email-masked].

* MAYORAL DRAG RACE . . .   The race for Mayor of Palm Springs, California is
quickly gathering national (and even international!) media attention.  With
the slogan "Vote for Kitty to Save Our City!," mayoral candidate Kitty Cole
-- "the ultra glamorous drag celebrity" -- has been giving press interviews
both day and night.  As such, this local campaign could well serve as a
global forum for drag visibility and awareness.  Cole's upcoming whistle
stops include an August 30th taping of the nationally-syndicated "Sally
Jessea Raphael" show.  For air dates, call the talk-show directly (tel.
212-582-1722) or contact the Cole campaign (tel. 619-770-3441, fax
619-320-2027).

* MAKING HISTORY . . .   Affirming the right of every student to textbooks
and teachers that provide fair and factual information about homosexuality,
the governor of Oregon has declared October 1995 to be "Lesbian and Gay
History Month" in his state.  Send compliments to:  The Honorable John
Kitzhaber, Governor, State of Oregon, Capitol Building, Salem, OR 97310.  For
more information about the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual History Month project,
contact:  Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network, 2124 Broadway, Box
160, New York, NY 10023, tel. 212-387-2098, e-mail [email-masked].

* THE REST OF THE STORY . . .   Though widely touted as liberating
legislation for queers, the Congressional "Employment Non-Discrimination Act"
(ENDA) has come under fire for "purposely, deliberately, and intentionally"
excluding protections for transgendered persons.  That's but one of many
under-reported civil rights abuses to be challenged by transgender activists
who will convene October 2 and 3 in Washington, DC "to destroy stereotypes
and educate Senators and Representatives."  For more information, contact:
 International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, 5707
Firenza Street, Houston, TX 77035-5515, tel 713-723-8368, fax 713-723-1800,
e-mail [email-masked].

* FUNDIE RAISING . . .   Activists at Project Tocsin have launched a series
of investigations into the shady financial dealings surrounding one of
California's most homophobic television stations, KFCB-TV (Channel 42,
Concord).  Jerry Sloan, president of Project Tocsin, likens KFCB's business
ethics to the fiscal antics that ultimately lead to televangelist Jim
Bakker's notorious fall from grace.  For more information, contact:  Project
Tocsin, P.O. Box 163523, Sacramento, CA 95816-3523, tel./fax 916-381-3115,
e-mail [email-masked].

* WEB WATCH . . .   On-line media watchers can now access a variety of useful
resources through the World Wide Web, including:

The Children's Animated Television Chronicle
(http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/newslett/newslett.html/).
The Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival (http://videos.com/gandl/).
Digital Queers Home Page (http://www.dq.org/dq/).
The Gay and Lesbian "Star Trek" Page (http://ccnet.ccnet.com/gaytrek/).
The Electronic Gay Community Magazine (http://www.fn.net/~awes/egcm.html).
The GLB Youth Web page (http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/glb/glb.html).
CBS News Up To The Minute (http://adware.com/uttm/welcome.html).
The Film & Video Resource Guide
(http://http2.sils.umich.edu/Public/fvl/film.html).

E-mail addresses for many media can be found at TV Net
(http://www.tvnet.com/TVnet.html).

The Queer Resources Directory's "Media Section" has some new additions
(http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/highlights.html), and the QRD also includes a
number of useful media lists (http://www.qrd.org/QRD/).

Of special interest is the new Gay TV Home Page
(http://pages.prodigy.com/NJ/carol_mortimer/gay_tv_menu.html).  This
experimental site provides information about Carol Mortimer's weekly listings
of any up-coming TV programs dealing with queer characters, subjects or
themes. 

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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 membership organization dedicated to cultural advocacy and
media activism.  GLAAD/SFBA promotes the fair, accurate and diverse
representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 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, published 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 assist our monitoring and response efforts, GLAAD/SFBA also asks that
individuals send us copies of their correspondence to or from the media
whenever possible.

To notify GLAAD/SFBA of any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, or to
request GLAAD membership information, please call our Administrative Office
(415-861-2244) or 24-hour Media Watch Hotline (415-861-4588).  You can also
write to:  Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1360 Mission Street,
Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103.  Fax:  415-861-4893.  E-mail:
 [email-masked].  URL:  http://www.gaytrek.com/gaytrek/glaad.html.

LET THE MEDIA KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!

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