From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 20:50:00 -0500 Subject: GLAAD MEDIALERT, Oct. 30 INDEX: 1. "Daytime Drama Grows Up" (All My Children, Chris Bruno, Doug Savant) 2. "Late Nightmare" (Late Night with Conan O'Brien) 3. "Royko's Real Record" (Associated Press, Mike Royko, Chicago Tribune, Rocky Mountain News) 4. "Broadminded Broadcasting" (KFRC, hate radio, personnel policies ) 5. "Good News/Bad News" (Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, San Francisco Examiner, ENDA). 6. "Media Briefs" (InsideOUT magazine, QTV, Visa/Rainbow Card, queer greeting cards, Atlantic Records, calls for submissions, web sites, e-media resources, unsound bite) 7. General GLAAD Information (GLAAD/SFBA, MediAlert, Membership) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * M e d i A l e r t * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * for the week of October 30 - November 5, 1995 by Al Kielwasser Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area D A Y T I M E D R A M A G R O W S U P In a real broadcast breakthrough, the popular daytime drama "All My Children" ("AMC") has created a continuing gay character -- "Michael Delaney" -- played by actor Chris Bruno. The character comes out during a November 1 episode. Delaney was introduced into the cast about six months ago, as a Pine Valley high school teacher. As such, the character should allow "AMC" scriptwriters to explore a range of urgent issues confronting queers in education -- from the insidious presumption of pedophilia to the on-going censorship of lesbian and gay history. "TV Guide" covered this "landmark storyline" in the magazine's October 28 issue. In "Pine Valley Enters the Gay '90s," "TV Guide's" soap columnist Michael Logan correctly observes: "The history of homosexuals on soaps has been skimpy at best and disastrous at worst (when 'The young and the Restless' merely hinted at lesbianism in the late 1970s, ratings took a nose-dive). And of the few homosexuals ever portrayed, all have been short-term characters." According to Logan, "AMC" will not rely on the "safety net" provided by a short-term character. For the time being, Delaney -- just like his homosexuality -- is here to stay. "AMC's" executive producer, Felicia Minei Behr, promises that "We're not going to do a gay story and say good-bye -- this is a character with longevity." Perhaps the only major downside to this new development is "AMC's" choice in actors. When producers informed Chris Bruno that his character would be coming out, the actor reacted stupidly. "I was, like, 'What the hell am I gonna do here? This is unbelievable!," Bruno told "TV Guide," "Going back to daytime was enough of an issue for me, without having to deal with THAT. I didn't want to carry this torch." He added that he feared that "many don't separate the actor from the character." Apparently Bruno has, like, never heard of, like, ACTING. However, the air-headed dramatist claims that -- after making frantic phone calls to his mother, brother, manager, and girlfriend Debbie Gibson (!), he was able to face his prejudices and realize "I SHOULD do this role. Sexual preference should not be an issue in this world -- and I don't mind being a role model for that." Of course, it is more likely that Bruno realized he SHOULD eat and pay his rent -- and that acting jobs were hardly being handed to him. It is an absolute insult to all gay people that Bruno "doesn't mind" the role. He should be PROUD to play the part. Bruno's bad behavior contrasts sharply with that of another heterosexual soap actor who plays a gay part. Doug Savant -- "Matt" on "Melrose Place" -- has always voiced the particular pride he takes in playing a role that has so long been denied by broadcasters. And Savant never had to get Debbie Gibson's permission to do so. In fact, early in his career as "Matt," Doug Savant championed the inclusion of gay characters on TV "to obliterate the insidious evil that is homophobia." Most recently, "Entertainment Weekly" magazine (October 13) quoted Savant, who observed: "Many actors who have played openly gay characters have gone to great lengths to announce their heterosexuality. I find this behavior to be somewhat homophobic." Too true. *** ACTION ALERT! While "AMC's" personnel choices leave something to be desired, the producer deserves strong support for developing this new character and groundbreaking storyline. Kudos should be sent to Felicia Minei Behr, ABC Television Network Group, 77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023. Concerns about Chris Bruno can be aired publicly by writing to the Letters Department, "TV Guide," Radnor, PA 19088 (no anonymous letters will be published). Supportive letters for Doug Savant can be sent to the actor in care of Jay Michael Bloom, 9200 Sunset Blvd., Suite 710, Los Angeles 90069. L A T E N I G H T M A R E On October 23, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC) featured a particularly homophobic skit character, whom O'Brien introduced as "Todd, the guy who refuses to believe I'm NOT gay." The INTENDED humor -- perhaps amusing to viewers whose parents are brother and sister -- involves "Todd's" relentless demands for a date with the show's host. In the October 23 skit, "Todd" was portrayed as an effeminate, pretentious, predatory homosexual. The character is totally self-involved, predominantly interested in heterosexual men, and incapable of taking "no" for an answer. "Todd" badgered O'Brien to go "clubbing" with him, and threatened to use his "silk handcuffs" if necessary. *** ACTION ALERT! Tell Conan O'Brien NOT to massage his heterosexual ego at the expense of gay men's lives. Send feedback to "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Room 901 West, New York, NY 10112, tel. 212-664-3994 (viewer comment line). R O Y K O ' S R E A L R E C O R D The Associated Press (AP) filed an October 12 story on homophobic columnist Mike Royko; the piece ran in the "Rocky Mountain News" under the headline "Prize-Winning Writer Royko Now Draws Wrath of Critics." The AP article states: "After 36 years in the newspaper business, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mike Royko continues to call them as he sees them. The rich, the powerful and the well-connected are not exempt from the skewer of the 63-year-old Royko's pen . . . . A longtime defender of underdogs, these days Royko finds himself under attack by critics who charge that he is anti-gay." Remarkably, AP does NOT quote any of these "critics." Moreover, the wire service incorrectly claims that "the accusations [of Royko's homophobia] stem from a drunken-driving arrest last December in which Royko repeatedly called a police officer a 'fag.'" In fact, that was but one incident amongst several in Royko's homophobic career. Had the Associated Press bothered to interview any lesbian or gay media activists, this fact could easily have been acquired. For example, Royko -- who works for the "Chicago Tribune" -- has argued in favor of the military ban against homosexuals. In 1993, on the pages of the "Tribune" and "Reader's Digest," Royko whined that military leaders "know more about what it takes to win wars than Barbara Streisand or the Gay and Lesbian Alliance." He expressed the usual fears about having to "shower and sleep near" a gay soldier, and opined: "Since we're talking about sex -- specifically a form of sex that most Americans consider morally wrong -- anybody who says it won't affect morale and discipline in the military has never been in a barracks . . . ." The Associated Press also understates what Royko said when he was arrested for drunk driving. According to the actual police report, Royko shouted such racist and homophobic slurs as "jag off queer," "fuck you fag," "why are you wearing those fag gloves?" and "you fucking loser, what's your ethnicity you fag?" *** ACTION ALERT! Remind the AP to do a more careful job when researching the stories it wires around the world; contact the Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, tel. 212-621-1500. Comments for Mike Royko can be sent directly to the "Chicago Tribune," 435 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, tel. 312-222-3232, fax 312-222-3143, e-mail MikeRoyko@aol.com. Letters can also be sent to the "Rocky Mountain News," 400 W. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80204, fax 303-892-2568, e-mail letters@denver-rmn.com B R O A D M I N D E D B R O A D C A S T I N G While quick to tout their First Amendment rights, "hate radio" broadcasters seldom discuss the RESPONSIBILITY that frees speech implies (especially when that speech is delivered over the PUBLIC airwaves). In San Francisco, one radio outlet has attempted to strike a necessary balance between freedom and responsibility. Last year, radio station KFRC fell into disrepute for hiring a profoundly racist and homophobic DJ. The hate-filled DJ was finally fired after, and the station's general manager was replaced, but only after KFRC had earned the scorn of the community and an investigation by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Recently -- and following many months of community education and pressure -- KFRC management has taken a strident step towards stemming the hate-radio tide. KFRC's owners -- Alliance Broadcasting -- have adopted a thoughtful "On-Air Speech Policy," which the station's employees are required to sign. The new policy states: "Alliance Broadcasting and its affiliated radio stations recognizes and strongly supports the constitutional right of free speech and encourages the expression of legitimate opinions and comments on all subjects. We also expect our programs to be entertaining, humorous and occasionally controversial. the entertainment value of our programming should not be obtained, however, by the use of comments, opinions, or humor which pander to racial, ethnic or sexual prejudice." The policy specifically indicates that: "Jokes, comments, or opinions which tend to subject individuals or groups to hatred, ridicule or embarrassment based upon race, national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, or disability are unacceptable. The station should never be put in the position of having to apologize for slurs or insults of this nature." *** ACTION ALERT! Send compliments to Will Schutte, V.P. & General Manager, KFRC AM/FM, 500 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, tel. 415-391-9970, fax 415-397-7655; encourage your local "problem" station to adopt similarly responsible policies. G O O D N E W S / B A D N E W S Recent editorials from the "Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph" and the "San Francisco Examiner" are a study in contrast. In "Our View" (October 21), the editors of the "Gazette Telegraph" adopt a sickeningly homophobic position on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Because Clinton supports the act, the newspaper accuses the president of harboring "some inexorable urge to offend broad swaths of Middle America by injecting the nettlesome gay-rights debate into public policy." The Colorado newspaper, which has a circulation of about 115,000, argues that the Clinton administration suffers form "political myopia" and is "blowing it" by supporting "a marginal, largely symbolic, highly divisive and politically futile endeavor such as a national gay-rights law." Of course, most major civil rights declarations -- including the Declaration of Independence itself -- have been labeled "highly divisive" and "politically futile" by small minds throughout history. But this newspaper -- which clearly suffers from HOMOPHOBIC MYOPIA -- can't be bothered with the historical record. Conversely, a recent editorial by the "San Francisco Examiner" praised the Clinton administration's decision to stand behind ENDA. In "Presidential Courage and Gay Rights, (October 22" the "Examiner" admits that ENDA is a largely-symbolic effort, likely to 'get no place in this Republican-dominated session" of Congress. Nevertheless, the newspaper cites Clinton's support for the legislation as "a sparkling achievement" of the "first president to back a federal ban on job bias targeting homosexuals." "This is an important step toward eventually stamping out this type of discrimination," the "Examiner" concludes. *** ACTION ALERT! Send feedback to The "Gazette Telegraph," P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs, CO 80901, fax 719-636-0202, e-mail gtnews@usa.net; James A. Finefrock, Editor of the editorial Pages, "Examiner," P.O. Box 7260, San Francisco, CA 94120, tel. 415-777-7923, fax 415-512-1264, e-mail letters@examiner.com. For updates on ENDA, contact the Human Rights Campaign, 1101 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, tel. 202-628-4160, e-mail HRCusa@aol.com, URL http://www.hrcusa.org. M E D I A B R I E F S * BACK ON THE RACK . . . "insideOUT," a ground-breaking magazine for queer youth, is back in publication. After a brief hiatus, "insideOUT" has been reformed into a slick, first-rate periodical billed as "the essential queer youth magazine." The current issue (# 9) features a mix of news and views, including several standout features -- "Heterosexuality Is Like your Coccyx" (in which Halima Rajiv artfully deconstructs "the need to breed"), "Generation Out" (in which Danny Martin "takes a look at some of the factors prompting kids to leave the closet behind despite the risk"), and an interview with young gay actor Wilson Cruz. Contact "insideOUT" Magazine, P.O. Box 460268, San Francisco, CA 94146-0268, e-mail insideout2@aol.com, URL http://www.youth.org/io. * FOR THE RECORD . . . Atlantic Recording Corp. -- the largest record company in the U.S. and part of the giant Time Warner media machine -- has formed a "Gay Markets" division to "promote the label's artists and albums within the gay community." Atlantic purchased a full-page ad in the October 1995 issue of "Out" magazine, featuring two women walking hand-in-hand along the beach and the slogan "Music for people who don't have a stereo-type." Contact Atlantic Recording Corp., tel. 1-800-ATLANTIC, e-mail atlanticol@aol.com or 74774.1026@compuserve.com * I WANT MY QTV . . . Rainbow Vision Productions has launched a new venture, "QTV - Television With Pride," described as "a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender-oriented television show." "QTV" aims to "utilize the power of television to channel support and raise awareness within our diverse community to help end prejudice and discrimination of all types." For details, contact Rainbow Vision Productions, P.O. Box 4366, Berkeley, CA 94704-0366, tel. 415-956-1284 (ext. 2), e-mail EOBRIANT@aol.com. * WEB WATCH . . . Information about "Trikone Magazine," dedicated to issues involving lesbian and gay South Asians, can be accessed via the World Wide Web (http://www.rahul.net/trikone/). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) web site is under active construction (http://www.aclu.org). * CONFERENCE CALL . . . "Queer Act Queer" is an interdisciplinary conference concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer studies that will take place March 22-23, 1996. The planning committee is now seeking proposals for papers, presentations, workshops and panels in a diverse range of areas, including public education, film & video, homophobia, and theatre. The proceedings will be published and the deadline for submissions is January 15, 1996. Contact John L. Plews, Dept. of Modern Languages & Comparative Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada, T6G 2E6, e-mail jplews@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca, URL http://fermi.phys.ualberta.ca/~abrown/qc.html. * CARD-CARRYING HOMOSEXUALS . . . The Rainbow Card Foundation, a "non-profit organization which funds causes relevant to lesbians and gays, has issued a new Visa credit card. Marketed with the slogan "Some credit cards have more muscle than others," the campaign has chosen lesbian jock Martina Navratilova as spokesperson; founding sponsor of the Foundation is the Subaru car company. The Rainbow Card Foundation estimates that "if just 250,000 people get and use the rainbow card . . . more than $20 million can be earned for lesbigay arts, cultural and civil rights organizations . . . ." On his national TV show, "The 700 Club," hate monger Pat Robertson has already called for a boycott of Visa. For more information, call 1-800-99-Rainbow; comments for Visa can be directed to Carl Pascarella, President, VISA USA, P.O. Box 8999, San Francisco, CA 94128, tel. 415-570-3200, fax 415-378-8100, In other card-related news: We Are Family has produced a new line of greeting cards "about gay people, their relatives and friends." Recommend them top your local Hallmark outlet! Contact We Are family, P.O. Box 321, New York, NY 10024, tel. 212-799-3995. * E-MEDIALERT . . . To subscribe to the "ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update," send an e-mail message to infoaclu@aclu.org with "subscribe ACLU' in the subject line. On-line transgender resources, accessible by e-mail, include the International Conference on Transgender Law (prfrye@aol.com), the International Foundation of Gender education (IFGE@world.std.com), and Transexual Menace (riki@pipeline.com). "Queer-e: An Interdisciplinary Electronic Journal of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Writing" is free for the asking; send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com, leaving the subject line blank and typing "info queer-e-text" in the body of the message. * SUBMIT! . . . "When the Blue Bird Sings," a bimonthly magazine dedicated to the subject of Oscar Wilde, is seeking articles and artwork. Contact "Bluebird," Kimberwicke Enterprises, P.O. Box 1114, St. Augustine, FL 32085-1114, e-mail verwick@aug.com. "Rainbow Wind" magazine, a monthly dealing with "Lesbigays in Paganism, rituals with a Lesbigay slant, and information on the activities of the Religious Right," continues to look for new contributors. The September issue features "coming out of the broom-closet stories." Contact "Rainbow Wind," P.O. Box 8275, Lexington, KY 40533-8275, e-mail Rainbowind@aol.com. * (UN)SOUND BITE . . . "Members of gay organizations frequently participate in homosexual parades, where individuals march the street partially naked and masturbate each other in front of children. The Young Conservatives of Texas has videotape . . . showing this disgusting behavior." -- Doug Lord, Executive Chair, Publicity & Public Relations, Young Conservatives of Texas (in a letter to "The Daily Texan," October 16, 1995) ******************************************************** A B 0 U T G L A A D . . . The GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION challenges homophobia in and through the mass media . . . shaping the forces that shape our society. Founded in 1988, the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CHAPTER of GLAAD is a non-profit, 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/SFBA is the largest and oldest GLAAD chapter in the nation. To notify GLAAD/SFBA of any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, or to request GLAAD membership information, please call our 24-hour MediAlert Hotline (415-861-4588) or write to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail glaadsfba@aol.com, URL http://www.gaytrek.com/gaytrek/glaad.html. To support our on-going monitoring and response efforts, GLAAD/SFBA welcomes copies of any correspondence individuals send to, or receive from, the media. ******************************************************** A B O U T M E D I A L E R T . . . "MediAlert" is a weekly column that may be printed, published or posted, under this or any title, in whole or part, without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution should be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "GLAAD San Francisco." GLAAD/SFBA greatly appreciates copies of any publications that make use of these weekly reports. 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