From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 20:52:32 -0500 Subject: GLAAD MediAlert, Feb.12-18 _________________________________________________________ INDEX: "GLAAD MediAlert, Feb.12-18" 1. "Teaching Television" (All My Children, ABC Daytime Programming, All My Children Fan Club 2. "An Indecent Act" (Telecommunications Act, Bill Clinton, Bill Tauzin, Al Gore, v-chip, National Coalition Against Censorship, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, U.S. Congress). 3. "Making A Federal Case Out Of It" (Telecommunication Act's indecency clause, ACLU, Cowles/SIMBA, Queer Resources Directory, Wildcat Press, YouthArts, Department of Justice). 4. "Taking A (Magazine) Stand" (XY Magazine, Kmart, American Family Association). 5. "Queer People" (People magazine). 6. "Re/Views" (Premiere magazine). 7. "Murky Reporting" (Jim Dickey, San Jose Mercury News, Oliver McDade). 8. "First, Only and Longest" (Q San Francisco, In The Family, Electronic Gay Community Magazine). 9. "Global Village Voices" (Vision TV, Jim Loves Jack, Apple Daily, Horizons, Southern Television, Express Report, QNA, National Biways). 10. General Information (about GLAAD/San Francisco; about MediAlerts). _________________________________________________________ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * M e d i A l e r t * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * for the week of February 12-18, 1996 by Al Kielwasser Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area T E A C H I N G T E L E V I S I O N The ABC daytime drama "All My Children" ("AMC") continues an instructive storyline about homosexuality and homophobia. Several months ago, the popular soap opera introduced "Michael Delaney," a gay school teacher played by actor Chris Bruno. Most recently, a gay teenager has also been added to the plot. On the February 6 "AMC" episode, several of Michael's students are in the audience to support his appearance on a fictional Pine Valley talk show -- "The Cutting Edge." The storyline this day focused on the unscrupulous tactics of "Jason," a staffer on the show, who eagerly "eggs on the gay bashers he recruited for the audience, urging them to loudly express their contempt for Michael and everyone like him." On February 7, according to an official "AMC" synopsis, "dozens of seething homophobes parade through the 'Cutting Edge' studio, shouting for blood." Also during this episode, "Kevin" -- a teenage student, and brother of "Jason" the homophobe -- reveals that he is gay. He tells the truth to his brother, as well as two school mates, "Scott" and "Bobby." In a particularly exceptional scene, Kevin comes out to his brother by informing Jason that he is PERSONALLY hurt by his homophobic tirades. Kevin explains that he has known he was gay since the fifth grade, but has told no one about it -- until now. Jason reacts in a (sadly) true-to-life plot turn: "After trying desperately to deny the facts, Jason focuses his rage on Michael and vows to make the teacher pay for 'ruining' his kid brother." According to the plot synopsis for February 8th's "AMC" episode, Jason remains "devastated about his brother's homosexuality" and consequently "begins guzzling vodka." Meanwhile, at the taping of "The Cutting Edge," Kevin comes out to an even larger audience: "Outraged by a vicious lie from one of the high school thugs in the studio audience, Kevin grabs the microphone from host Tad and announces that he too is gay." "All My Children" celebrated its 26th anniversary in January, and the show has twice won the Emmy award for "Outstanding Drama Series." According to producers, "AMC" has been consistently "committed to social issues." **** ACTIONS/OPTIONS! Supportive feedback should be directed to Thomas Campbell, ABC Daytime Programming, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067-4785, e-mail daytime@ccabc.com; Felicia Minei Behr, Executive Producer, "All My Children," 320 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023. Additional contacts: America Online users can post comments to Joanne Berg, Editor, Online Services, ABC Daytime on AOL, e-mail ABCJoanne. For general fan information, contact the official All My Children Fan Club, c/o Carol Dickson, 1218 North Main Street, Glassboro, NJ 08028. A N I N D E C E N T A C T A sweeping telecommunications act sailed through Congress on February 1, and was quickly signed into law by the President on February 8. Both the White House and members of Congress are positively giddy over the new legislation. Representative Bill Tauzin (R-LA) praised the telecommunications act as "a grand celebration of competition . . . a grand celebration of Americans in their government trusting Americans in the marketplace to make decisions." Vice President Gore declared that the act was nothing less than the legislative equivalent of "tearing down the Berlin Wall." According to Bill Clinton, the new law will magically bring forth an electronic renaissance, filling every house with new communications technologies (never mind that pesky poverty or illiteracy). Almost all of the rhetoric surrounding the telecommunications act has, in fact, been more hype than honesty. Though touted as a "deregulation" and "reform" effort, the legislation actually imposes substantial new regulations, which will constrain the content of television as well as the Internet. For queer communities, such regulations pose major threats. By diminishing the scope of a broadcaster's public accountability -- and simultaneously allowing further concentration of media ownership and control -- the telecommunications act actually DISCOURAGES diversity in programming. Once again, law-makers seem to have confused "MORE" with "MORE OF THE SAME." The new "v-chip" requirements -- encouraging the automatic "blocking" of "sex and violence" -- will only further the blandness in broadcasting. Why risk accidental exposure to new ideas, after all, when modern science can now keep everyone safe from awareness? If historical homophobia is any indicator, v-chips will be employed indiscriminately by parents eager to "block out" any and every program that might deal fairly with homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender subjects. Ultimately, such technology threatens to replace MEDIA LITERACY (the ability to critically understand certain content) with MEDIA STUPIDITY (the capacity to automatically avoid certain content). Claims that children must be shielded from "sex" on television are often made without regard for either research or reason. The research regarding exposure to televised sex has yet to conclusively prove any deleterious effects. We do know, however, that television successfully encourages young viewers to crave and consume all sorts of unhealthy "foods," especially the sugar-based cereal and candy relentlessly hawked during children's shows. "Concerned" parents and politicians are preoccupied with "protecting" children from lesbian kisses, when the real threat is Hershey. Yet, neither Congress nor the President is clamoring for computer chips that would block out COMMERCIALS. In addition to blocking "sex and violence" on television, the telecommunications act also criminalizes "indecency" on the Internet. Undoubtedly, the legislation will further chill an already-icy "Information Superhighway." Lesbian and gay youth may suffer most from the creeping frost; for many, the Internet has become a literal life-line of information and support. Citing the media's failure to explore (let alone expose) much of the hype surrounding the telecommunications act, a number of organizations have called for better press coverage. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) warns that "Self-styled 'decency' groups are now powerful players in lobbying Congress for Internet censorship, and are being characterized as moderate in mainstream media." Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (F.A.I.R.), a national news-media watchdog, has specifically encouraged the mainstream press to investigate and report on widespread claims that the telecommunications ACT will encourage marketplace competition and expand the range of consumer choice. According to F.A.I.R., "a more accurate description would be that it will encourage monopolies . . . . Issues of how we can create access for other, noncommercial voices, have not been addressed, since such voices played such a small role in writing this bill." It is especially vital that the mainstream media do NOT to "drop the ball" on this story now. Though the legislation has already passed - and the court cases might be a way off - there are still urgent stories to be told TODAY. Investigative reporters, columnists and beat journalists can bring much-needed attention to the on-going impact this new legislation will have on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media consumers. **** ACTIONS/OPTIONS! Send critical comments to William J. Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20500, tel. 202-456-1111, fax 202-456-2461, e-mail president@whitehouse.gov, URL http://www.whitehouse.gov/. Contact members of Congress at the U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510, tel. 202-224-3121 or the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515, tel. 202-225-3121; The Human Rights Campaign Fund we site (http://www.hrcusa.org) allows you to "plug in your ZIP code and retrieve your Congressmembers' voting record on gay and AIDS issues . . . and then send a message in accord with your wishes." Additional contacts: Jeff Cohen, Executive Director, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, 130 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001, tel. 212-633-6700, fax 212-727-7668, e-mail fair@igc.apc.org, URL http://www.fair.org/fair/. Leanne Katz, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship, 275 Seventh Avenue, new York, NY 10001, tel. 212-807-6222, e-mail ncac@netcom.com. M A K I N G A F E D E R A L C A S E O U T O F I T "The fight isn't over yet," says Shabbir Safdar, spokesperson for the Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW). Several organizations, including the ACLU, have vowed to mount court challenges to the constitutionality of new Internet "indecency" regulations [see "An Indecent Act," above]. "I can't say I've ever seen so many people falling all over each other to become plaintiffs," Safdar said "I've already spoken to three reporters this week who have committed to writing stories that violate the law." The new telecommunications act defines indecency as "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communications, that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." Critics expect that such an over-broad definition will criminalize vast areas of cyberspace. In what Cowles/SIMBA described as "a quick search on the Internet for the "F"-word, for example, the media company "turned up more than 20,000 World Wide Web pages containing references that apparently would be illegal, ranging from passionate poetry to churlish diatribes." ("Cowles/SIMBA Media Daily," Feb. 2). Ron Buckmire's seminal cybersite, the "Queer Resources Directory" (QRD), is one of twenty or so plaintiffs that have joined the ACLU's lawsuit. Another plaintiff is Wildcat Press, the personal publishing imprint of ground-breaking author Patricia Nell Warren ("The Front Runner," "Harlan's Race"). "We at Wildcat have decided to bare our claws and fight this deadly legislation," said Warren, who is also the editor and consultant for "YouthArts," an online zine for young lesbians and gays. "Some of our publishees are under 18," Warren observed. "These young people might be prosecuted by the Justice Department for their honest, heartfelt, sometimes frank, but always artistically compelling statements." **** ACTIONS/OPTIONS! The Department of Justice is tasked with enforcing the "decency" provisions of the telecommunications act. Send comments to: Janet Reno, Attorney General, tel. 202-514-2001;the ACLU's web site (http://www.aclu.org/action/renoact.html) also offers easy access, by e-mail or fax, to the Attorney General's office. Additional contacts: National Gay and Lesbian Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union, 132 West 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10036, tel. 212-944-9800 ext. 545, URL http://www.aclu.org. Ron Buckmire, e-mail ron@abacus.oxy.edu; "Queer Resources Directory," URL http://www.qrd.org/qrd/. Patricia Nell Warren or Tyler St. Mark, Wildcat Press, tel. 213-936-3666, e-mail wildcatprs@aol.com, URL http://www.gaywired.com/wildcat/wildcat.htm; "YouthArts" is published online (http://spidey.usc.edu/qf/yap), and is described by Warren as "a creative and opinion forum for gay and lesbian youth, publishing their poetry, short fiction, fine art, essays, etc." M E D I A B R I E F S TAKING A (MAGAZINE) STAND . . . "X Y Magazine" is a new, breakthrough periodical for young queers. The premiere issue (March 1996) is now available, and includes a wide range of features and news bites covering music, politics, activism, fashion, technology and more. Though slated for general, mass distribution, the magazine has already encountered some homophobic hesitation from book sellers fearful of anything that connects "homosexuality" and "youth." Nevertheless, "X Y" should be available at these and other national venues: B. Dalton, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Tower, and Virgin. "If you can't find it near you, be sure to ask store managers to order copies," advises Chris Kryzan, director of OutProud-The National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth. "Besides being good reading," Kryzan says, "'X Y Magazine' is an important resource for queer teens everywhere, so getting it displayed at the local newsstand is a great thing to do." Contact: Peter Ian Cummings, Editor, "X Y Magazine," 4104 24 Street, # 900, San Francisco, CA 94114, fax 415-552-6664, e-mail xypost@aol.com; subscription information is available by e-mail, subxy@aol.com. To encourage national chains to carry "X Y" and similar magazines, contact: Donald S. Perkins, Chairman, Kmart Corporation, 3100 West Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48084-3163, tel. 800-635-6278; copy your correspondence to Deborah A. Musselman, Kmart's Director of Agency Relations & Administration, at the same address, tel. 810-643-3193. Kmart owns Waldenbooks, Borders bookstores, Brentanos Bookstores, and Coles books; the Kmart company is currently the target of an American Family Association (AFA) attack for being one of "the leading retailers of porn magazines." QUEER PEOPLE . . . The February 5 issue of "People" magazine includes a two-page "Winners" profile of Olympic figure skater Rudy Galindo ("Redemption Song," by William Plummer and Penelope Rowlands). The athlete's sexual orientation is not the focus of this article, but is accurately reported a few paragraphs into the piece: "Moreover, during the last seven years, Galindo, who is openly gay . . . ." "The Greatest Love Stories of the Century" is the cover story for a special February 12 double-issue of "People." Among the thirty couples profiled are lesbian lovers Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The magazine devotes several paragraphs to describing how the two women "ruled the avant-garde of Paris -- and each other's hearts . . . ." Contact: "People," Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020, fax 212-522-0794, e-mail 74774.1513@compuserve.com, URL http://pathfinder.com. RE/VIEWS . . . Giving witness to the relative rise in lesbian/gay media visibility, a number of film and television reviewers have begun, variously, to examine the phenomenon. In the February 1996 issue of "Premiere" magazine, Rachel Abramowitz's feature story -- "Girl Gets Girl" -- explores how "lesbian filmmakers are bringing their poignant, witty love stories to the big screen -- the MPAA's alleged homophobia notwithstanding." Contact: Susan Lyne, Editor in Chief, "Premiere," 1990 South Bundy Drive, Suite 250, Los Angeles, CA 90025, fax 310-820-3192, e-mail edit@premieremag.com. MURKY REPORTING . . . An article in the "San Jose Mercury News" ("Woman's Search for Son End With Identification of Remains," Jan. 13) concocts unfounded connections between murder and "the world of sadomasochism." The reporter, Jim Dickey, describes a woman's six-year "search for her gay son," Oliver McDade, whose body was found the previous week -- "dismembered and placed in three plastic garbage bags." Dickey quotes "a friend" who describes the deceased as, "heavily into leather and bondage." Dickey reports: "When he disappeared, McDade left behind an apartment splattered in blood and containing sadomasochistic tools such as chains, a whip and a paddle." Through such biased overtures, Dickey suggests that McDade's murder was the direct result of an essentially dangerous lifestyle -- "in the gay leather community." Of course, it is quite possible that the deceased was the victim of a homophobic hate crime, rather than a homosexual lover. Contact: Jerry Ceppos, Executive Editor, "San Jose Mercury News," 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190, tel. 408-920-5000 or 415-852-9139, e-mail JCEPPOS@aol.com, URL http://www.sjmercury.com. FIRST, ONLY AND LONGEST . . . (1). "Q San Francisco" is a relatively recent entry in the media market; the bi-monthly magazine is described by editor-in-chief Robert Adams as "the first city magazine in the country to concentrate on the positive contributions and achievements of gay men and lesbians." Highlights of the most recent issue (Winter 1996) include Tom Ammiano's "Witch Hunt In Our Schools." Contact: "Q San Francisco," 584 Castro Street, Suite 521, San Francisco, CA 94114, e-mail QSF1@aol.com, URL http://www.qsanfrancisco.com. (2). "In The Family" is a quarterly publication that has craved its media niche as "the ONLY magazine that focuses exclusively on lesbian, gay and bisexual families." Contact: "In The Family," P.O. Box 5387, Takoma Park, MD 20913, tel. 301-270-4771. (3). "Electronic Gay Community Magazine" -- "the world's longest running online publication for gay men, lesbian women and bisexuals" -- has established a new web site (http://www.awes.com/egcm). "EGCM" is published by Land of Awes Information Services, P.O. Box 16782, Wichita, KS 67216-0782, tel. 316-269-0913, fax 316-269-4208, modem 316-269-3172, e-mail Awes@fn.net, URL http://www.fn.net/~awes. GLOBAL VILLAGE VOICES . . . (1). Vision TV, a Canadian service licensed to broadcast "religious and spiritual programming," aired the documentary "Jim Loves Jack" (Jan. 27). The program profiled Jim Egan, a gay activist fighting for equal spousal rights under Canadian law. According to one Vancouver viewer, Lawrence Aronovitch, the documentary "was a positive, well-crafted and thoughtful biography." Contact: Vision TV, 80 Bond Street, Toronto M5B 1X2, Canada, tel. 416-368-3194. (2). Rex Wockner reports that "Apple Daily," one of the largest newspapers in Hong Kong, has rejected an ad from the gay counseling and support group, Horizons. According to Horizons secretary Daniel Kong, "Apple Daily" stated that "they will not accept our ad for fear of complaints from readers, and they do not think it is a risk worth taking for 'people like us.'" Contact: "Apple Daily," 50076-50086 Castle Row, 6th Floor, Garman Center, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, tel. 011-852-299-08388; copy your correspondence to Horizons, GPO Box 6837, Hong Kong, e-mail dan@asiaonline.net. (3). Following widespread community criticism, the general manager of Southern Television -- a New Zealand service -- reversed a previous decision and announced he would now broadcast the lesbian/gay show "Express Report." Bevan Rickerby explained his reversal, by noting "we obviously hadn't consulted deeply enough into the community . . . . When we took a lot more time over it, and talked to people in the city, we found that there was a large number that wanted to watch the program." Contact: Bevan Rickerby, General Manager, Southern Television, tel. 64-3-477 2207, fax 64-3-477 2933; for additional news and information regarding New Zealand's queer media and community, check out the weekly online news bulletin "QNA," e-mail proffitt@iprolink.co.nz, fax 64-9-3761404. (4). "National Biways" is the magazine of the Australian Bisexual Network; contact Wayne Roberts, Editor, e-mail ausbinet@ozemail.com.au. **************************************************** A B O 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 an independently-incorporated, nonprofit organization, which is volunteer-based and member-supported. 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 membership or other information, call the 24-hour "MediAlert Hotline" (415-861-4588) or write to: 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.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html. **************************************************** A B O U T M E D I A L E R T S. . . "MediAlert" and "MediAlert Briefs" are weekly, action-oriented columns that may be printed, published or posted, under these or any titles, 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 file copies of any publications that make use of these weekly reports. **************************************************** A B O U T M E M B E R S H I P . . . GLAAD's work is directly supported by our members. For general information about membership, "Project 21" (GLAAD's educational equity/textbook reform coalition), the Phone Tree Network, or volunteer opportunities, contact: Kristy Billuni, Managing Director, GLAAD, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-3021, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail billuni@aol.com. **************************************************** "MediAlert" [TM] and "Project 21" [TM] are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area. GLAAD/SFBA is a nonprofit [501(c)(3)] organization.