From: MediAction@aol.com Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 15:31:57 -0500 (EST) Subject: MEDIAlert! ["A"] - 03.21.97 ------------------------------------------------------------ INDEX: "MEDIAlert!" for 03.21.97 [PART "A" ONLY] -ITEM 1: "Wronging Rights" [United Press International; Associated Press; Traditional Values Coalition; Family Research Council; Orange County Register; Life Lobby; Human Rights Campaign]. -ITEM 2: "Learning To Tell Crime" [AP; National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs; UPI; Austin Chronicle; Village Voice; National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association]. ------------------------------------------------------------ M E D I A l e r t ! _______________________________ March 16-31, 1997 Al Kielwasser [1] W R O N G I N G R I G H T S In describing opposing factions, the major news services rely on a biased style that favors heterosexual cohorts. Homosexual collectives -- regardless of their particular cause -- are typically lumped together as "gay rights" groups. Homophobes, on the other hand, are never identified as advocates of "heterosexual rights." Even worse, anti-gay groups -- no matter how blatant their hate -- are described as "conservative," "pro-family," "religious" or anything BUT "homophobic." At best the mainstream press labels these bigots as did United Press International (March 17), in an article about "gay rights" bills in California. For the entire article, the "Rev." Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) is quoted -- without challenge or rebuttal -- on a range of pending legislation, bills that he says would "open the door for adoptions for homosexuals" and "force... the advocacy of their lifestyle in public schools." The UPI reporter identifies Sheldon as "a longtime foe of homosexual causes." With equal accuracy, the wire service could have described Sheldon as "a longtime friend of homophobic causes." However subtle, UPI's slant implies a coercive notion. Homosexuality is treated as the problematic stimulus -- to which homophobia, if it exists at all, is somehow a responsive solution. In reality, relentless TVC hate campaigns are not CAUSED BY -- nor even a RESPONSE TO -- "gay rights." Most "homosexual causes" are actually preceded (and necessitated) by the efforts of homophobes. The "gay rights" cliche is now common in most of the nation's leading newspapers and magazines. Used as a substitute for "civil rights," this rubric panders to homophobic myths of "special rights" and "single interests." The right to fair housing is not especially "gay," after all. What homophobes oppose are basic civil rights for lesbians and gays -- equity under law, accuracy in education, and redress for discrimination. While groups like the TVC have capitalized the media to propagate notions of "special rights" and a "gay agenda," their own HETEROSEXIST AGENDA remains hidden. Last month, for example, the "Orange County Register" (February 3) reported that "Gay-rights groups and religious conservatives are mobilizing to battle over what promises to be the state Capitol's most explosive social issue this year: a proposal to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians in public education." The newspaper quotes sources from "a gay-rights group" (Life Lobby) and "opponents of gay rights" (the TVC and California assemblyman Steve Baldwin). According to the "Register," these opponents "believe homosexual behavior is a choice and thus deserves no special protection." "I could create a category of people who like to pick their nose," Baldwin said. "Should we have special laws designed for nose-pickers?" Another example of this jargon can be found in a recent article from the Associated Press (March 12). Reporting on U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli's decision to extend domestic partnership benefits to his lesbian and gay staff, the AP also quotes the opposing factions. Comments are attributed to "a homosexual-rights group" (Human Rights Campaign) and "a conservative group" (Family Research Council). According to the FRC spokesperson, domestic partnerships "cheapen the meaning of family." Significantly, even though both the FRC and TVC are committed to a blatant anti-gay agenda, they are NOT identified by the press as "HOMOPHOBIC groups." Nor are such organizations EVER labeled as "heterosexual-rights groups" (a construction that, however awkward, is nonetheless accurate). Notably, the terms used by newspapers to describe homophobic groups (e.g., "conservative") are terms that those groups also use TO DESCRIBE THEMSELVES. By contrast, the "gay rights" catch phrase favored in the press is NOT widely used by lesbian or gay organizations. For example, the AP's description of the Human Rights Campaign (as "a homosexual-rights group") hardly echoes HRC's own billing -- as "the country's largest national lesbian and gay political organization," which "envisions an America where lesbian and gay people are ensured of their basic equal rights -- and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community." Perhaps, as some queer critics argue, various homosexual groups -- as divergent as Digital Queers and Queer Nation -- DO share a basic commitment to the common cause of "gay rights" (just as feminist groups are said to be committed to "women's rights"). What is most significant, however, is the media's absolute failure to consider, with stylistic parity, the cause of "homophobe rights." The special rights demanded by organized homophobes (the right to take children from lesbian mothers, for example, or the right to torture queer youth with bogus "psychiatric cures") are seldom enumerated as such. As a matter of routine, heterosexist privileges are not articulated fairly -- and are thus defended covertly -- by the mainstream press. More than "just semantics," the consequences of this media habit are not easily dismissed. Because "gay rights" are nominalized in the press (and "straight rights" are not), homophobia is normalized -- and becomes something much harder to defend against. In our popular culture, heterosexism is not simply "a right," but SIMPLY RIGHT. * * * * ACTION ALERT! Encourage the world's major wire services to adopt non-heterosexist style guides and avoid biased "gay rights" cliches. Contact: Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10020-1666, tel. 212-621-1600, fax 212-621-1500 or 212-621-7520, e-mail rgersh@ap.org; United Press International, 1400 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, fax 202-898-8057 or 202-898-8133. Also, ask journalism associations and trade periodicals (as monitors of the profession's quality and conscience) to investigate, report and promote fairer and more-accurate coverage of homophobia... and homophobes! Contact: Society of Professional Journalists, 16 South Jackson Street, Greencastle, IN 46135-1514, tel. 765-653-3333, fax 765-653-4631, e-mail spj@link2000.net, web http://spj.org/spjhome.htm; American Press Managing Editors Association, 604 Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90844, web http://www.ptconnect.com; "American Journalism Review," 8701 Adelphi Rd., Adelphi, MD 20783-1716, tel. 301-431-4771, fax 301-431-0097, web http://www.ajr.org/. [Side Bar: For more information about the Human Rights Campaign or Life Lobby, contact: HRC, 1101 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, tel. 202-628-4160, fax 202-347-5323, e-mail hrc@hrc.org, web http://www.hrc.org; Life Lobby, tel. 916-444-0424. To monitor the "conservative" doings of the FRC or TVC, contact: Family Research Council, 801 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20001, tel. 800-225-4008, tel. 202-393-2100, web http://www.frc.org; Traditional Values Coalition, TVC, 100 S. Anaheim Blvd., #350, Anaheim, CA 92805, tel. 714-520-0300, e-mail webmatser@traditionalvalues.org, web http://www.traditionalvalues.org]. [2] L E A R N I N G T O T E L L C R I M E Most of the major news media carried reports of the latest "gay bashing" survey, conducted by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). Indicating a significant rise in violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, the new survey also prompted a number of local reports -- tracking incidents of hate crime in several of the 14 cities surveyed by NCAVP. Despite some improvement, the recent coverage of hate crime is warped by an old, salacious spin. Again, national and local reporters skirted the vital connections between hate violence and organized homophobia. Even individual homophobes are oddly missing from many news reports, which have tended to dwell more on the VICTIM'S behavior (and much less on the VICTIMIZER'S). Victims might not be blamed, outright, any longer -- but they are implicated nevertheless. Typical of this subtle bias of "homophobe omission" is the NCAVP coverage from United Press International (March 11), which reports that: "Violent crimes against gay communities caused 867 injuries or deaths nationwide...." Literally, of course, violent CRIMINALS (i.e., homophobes) were the immediate cause. Yet neither the word "homophobe" nor "homophobia" appear -- anywhere -- in UPI's story. The UPI report does use the phrases "gaybashing" and "gaybashers," however. While common parlance among gays, these terms can prove misleading in the mainstream press. A style guide developed by the Seattle chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association advises journalists to avoid the term "gay bash." As NLGJA explains: "The choice is complex, because while the term focuses on assaults on gays and lesbians, its overuse may also minimalize them. 'Bashing' has become synonymous with light verbal jabs, such as 'lawyer bashing.'" Even the most war-like violence against homosexuals -- like blowing them up -- still evokes vague and narrow assessments of homophobic hate. In covering the recent bombing of a lesbian club in Atlanta, for instance, the Associated Press (February 23) reported: "The mayor met with gay and lesbian activists Sunday ordered extra police protection for nightclubs frequented by homosexuals." Again, a subtle bias emerges. The AP did not report, as it could have, that homosexual venues required extra protection FROM HOMOPHOBES. Not surprisingly, the alternative press has edged out the wire services -- at least qualitatively -- on the hate crime beat. In a two-part feature for "Austin Chronicle" (March 14-20), for example, staff writer Amy Smith examines both the general problem of hate crime and a specific anti-gay killing. In her first article ("The Hate Crimes Debate"), Smith begins by describing an incident in which a man was kicked to death, by "a trio of hooligans" who shouted anti-gay epithets at their victim. To her credit, Smith at least acknowledges "the homophobic nature of the murder." She even attempts to connect that crime to a larger issue -- passage of a "stronger" hate crime bill in the Texas legislature. In her second feature, Smith fares less well. The article's headline ("A Gay Man's Search for Sex Ends in His Murder") and subhead ("Dangerous Liaisons") foreshadow an unfortunate slant -- one that is common in both the mainstream and alternative press. The reporter's good intentions give way to a biased emphasis on the murder victim's "risky" behavior. Specifically, Smith focuses on "pick-up encounters," in which gay men have "sex with strangers." She treats "cruising" almost as if it were a co-factor in hate crime. The suggestion, that such encounters are a particularly fertile medium for violence, is not backed up by any hard data -- at least not in Smith's article. Too easily missed in such coverage is that, in regard to any hate crime, the VICTIM'S behavior is essentially irrelevant. This point is well made by Guy Trebay, in one of the better columns generated by the NCAVP survey ("Village Voice," March 18). Trebay challenges a remark made by Janet Reno, who -- in commenting on the recent rise in hate crime -- had said that "federal hate crime statutes do not now permit us to prosecute offenses motivated by a victim's sexual orientation." "It's probably worth noting... the oddly reflexive bias of the attorney general's own formulation," Trebay points out. "Can victims really be said to 'motivate' hate crime? Isn't irrational hatred the cause of that?" Perhaps because of such "oddly reflexive" bias, the "riddle" of anti-gay violence has remained just that. Expounding a measure of evasion in lieu of prevention, "solutions" for hate crime are continuously vexed in their reflection of the media's deference to homophobia. It is far less effective, but apparently more acceptable, to reduce the risk of hate violence by changing homosexual behaviors (advising gay men to avoid "pick-up encounters," for example) instead of changing homophobic beliefs. Absent any diagnosis of homophobia by the press, hate crimes are treated essentially as symptoms of homosexuality! By way of remedy, the mainstream media could expand their coverage of hate crime, to include a sustained and direct interrogation of homophobia. Hate crime statistics might be reported with reference to hate groups. The coverage of annual surveys, in particular, begs for an examination of homophobes and homophobia -- the "who," "what" AND "why" that link these disparate acts as crimes of hate. While career homophobes are so often quoted for "balance" in ANY gay-related story, they are typically left OUT of articles on anti-gay violence. The omission is ironic. This might be the one story in which anti-gay spokespersons DO play an integral part -- whether they admit it or not. * * * * ACTION ALERT! Comments on the media's current coverage of hate violence, and suggestions for improvements in the future, should be sent to: Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10020-1666, tel. 212-621-1600, fax 212-621-1500 or 212-621-7520, e-mail rgersh@ap.org; United Press International, 1400 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, fax 202-898-8057 or 202-898-8133. Amy Smith, Assistant Editor for Politics, "Austin Chronicle," 4000 N. IH-3, Austin, TX, e-mail asmith@auschron.com, web http://www.auschron.com; "Village Voice," 36 Cooper Sq., New York, NY 10003-7188, tel. 212-475-3333, fax 212-475-8944, e-mail editor@villagevoice.com. Related Resources: "Triangle - A Professional's Guide to Covering Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals in Washington State" is a publication of NLGJA/Seattle, though its basic information is useful for any locale. Contact: National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association/Seattle, 1202 E. Pike, Suite 1175, Seattle, WA 98122; NLGJA/National Headquarters, 1718 M Street NW, #245, Washington, DC 20036, tel. 202-588-9888, fax 202-588-1818, e-mail exeoffice@aol.com. [End of Part "A"; Part "B" (Ellen) and Part "C" (Media Briefs & Web Watch) are posted separately] ---------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT MEDIALERTS! Distributed as a community press service since 1992, "MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly, advocacy-oriented column of media criticism, primarily focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues. Recipients may print, publish or post this material, in whole or part, under this or any title, without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution can be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "MEDIAlert!" File copies of publications using all or part of any "MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated. Next "MEDIAlert!" = April 4, 1997. [Regular subscribers, please note: Starting with this issue, "MEDIAlert!" will be sent out on the first and third Friday of each month, rather than the second and fourth]. Contact: A. P. Kielwasser, MEDIAction, 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203, e-mail mediaction@aol.com. ---------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR NOTES Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York: Haworth Press). His media criticism and research have appeared widely, in both mainstream and academic publications (including the "Journal of American Culture," "Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," and "Critical Studies in Mass Communication"); he was twice elected Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.