Subject: MEDIAlert! [Part "A"] - 7.22.97
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 21:31:31 -0400 (EDT)

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INDEX:  "MEDIAlert!" for 07.22.97  [PART "A" ONLY]

-ITEM 1: "Weekly World Spews" [Dear Dotti; Weekly World News; America
Online].

-ITEM 2: "A Lesson Spurned" [Ellen; Amelia Earhhart Elementary School;
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; Pacific Justice Institute].

-ITEM 3: "Seems Like Old Times" [Reuters; Newsweek; Andrew Cunanan; Talk
Back!].

[Part "B" ("Media/Briefs" and "Web Watch") posted separately]
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M   E   D   I   A   l   e   r   t   !
__________________________

July 22, 1997    Al Kielwasser

[1]

W E E K L Y  W O R L D  S P E W S

Among supermarket tabloids, the "Weekly World News" has established its niche
as the most outrageous and even comical of the lot.  However, the paper's
advice columnist -- Dotti Primrose -- is not only factless, but humorless as
well.  In the world of hyperbolic "journalism," her hate-spewing features are
the stuff of homophobic excess.

In the current (July 29) issue of the "News," a reader -- "Darlene in
Lexington" -- wrote to ask:  "Dear Dotti, I've been dating a wonderful guy
for eight months now and under ordinary circumstances, I'd marry him in a
minute.  Unfortunately, these aren't ordinary circumstances, because I'm
bisexual and love his sister as much as I love him.  My boyfriend, Jim, isn't
aware of my sexual preferences and I'm afraid I'll lose him if I 'fess up....
 So what am I going to do?"

In reply, Dotti answered:  "Dear Darlene, You say you love Jim with all your
heart, but like most bisexuals, all you really have on your mind is having
sex with any creep you can drag into bed....  Just use Jim and his sister
until they find out the truth -- and kick your butt to Nebraska and back!"

Previous issues of the "News" are no better.  In another recent column, for
example, a reader wrote:  "Dear Dotti, You always get to the heart of the
matter, so you'd better tell me straight on this:  Is my daughter-in-law
making sissies out of my little twin grandsons by letting them sleep in the
same bed with my son and her at night?"  In answering, Dotti offered this
malignant advice:  "Let's just say she's not making self-assured, masculine,
well-adjusted, straight guys out of the limp-wristed little fellas."

In another letter -- signed "Worried in Hot Springs" -- a 14-year-old boy
explained that his "dad's good buddy, George is gay."  "Sometimes I get the
feeling that George is attracted to me," the boy wrote.  "So far, he hasn't
tried anything.  But I'm beginning to think he will."

"Georgie boy is up to no good," Dotti advised the teenager.  "And if you
don't say something, he'll have you in his clutches quicker than you can say
'child molester.'"

Yet another reader, "Lee in Mason," recently wrote:  "I have a wonderful,
17-year-old son who makes straight A's in school and is as sweet a kid as
you'd ever care to meet.  The only problem is....  it seems like every time I
turn around he's sashaying around in one of my dresses....  Should I get
tough -- or leave well enough alone?"

"Dear Lee," Dotti replied.  "I wouldn't let a daughter wear my dresses, much
less a son.  Then again, I'm not a sicko transvestite - and you, apparently,
are!"  Such verbal bashing is typical of "Dear Dotti's" style, which
frequently boasts of physical violence as well.

In one column, for instance, "Debbie in Sparta" wrote to ask:  "Dear Dotti,
My mom is a lesbian and frankly, it's okay with me.  Unfortunately, her
girlfriend is a different matter....  The problem is, she's got the hots for
me!  She's always leering and pawing at me....  What can I do?"

Typically, Dotti answered:  "Dear Debbie, The last lesbo who ogled and pawed
me is still trying to get her teeth fixed.  Get the picture?"

Covering everything from space aliens to vampire babies, other content in the
"Weekly World News" can easily be dismissed as incredible satire.  But "Dear
Dotti" is far less creative.

Collectively, her advice columns amount to more than just a bad joke.
 Reaching a weekly audience of some 30 million readers, they pander with
disdain to the worst of homophobic FEARS.  And in so doing, they foster the
worst of homophobic HATE.

* * * *  ACTION  ALERT!   Don't let "Dear Dotti's" bi-, trans- and homophobic
phlegm go unchallenged; criticism and complaints should be directed to:
 Dotti Primrose, Contributing Editor, and Susan Jimison, Managing Editor,
"Weekly World News," 600 E. Coast Avenue, Lantana, FL 33464-0002, tel.
561-540-1001 (ext. 2402), fax 561-540-1084.

In addition to print circulation, the "Weekly World News" is now "the first
supermarket tabloid to be offered in America Online's newsstand" -- where
current and past "Dear Dotti" columns are attractively archived for easy
access.  Whether packaged as "news" or "entertainment," these columns mock
AOL's much-touted standards -- which claim to discourage online hate
mongering, gratuitous defamation, and the pursuit of prejudice-for-profit.
 Contact:  Steve Case, President, America Online, 8619 Westwood Center Drive,
Vienna, VA 22182, tel. 703-448-8700; AOL users can post messages directly to
(and about) the "Weekly World News" at keyword:  WWN.

[2]

A  L E S S O N  S P U R N E D

In May, a California school teacher briefly discussed the coming-out episode
of "Ellen" with her 5th grade class.  Two months later, a disgruntled parent
is seeking revocation of the teacher's license -- for life.

On July 9, Mike Trelow filed a formal complaint with the California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing, alleging that Victoria Forrester -- a
teacher at Amelia Earhhart Elementary School in Alameda --  had violated the
state's Education Code with regard to "sex education."  State guidelines
require teachers to provide parents with advance notice, in writing, of any
discussions involving sexuality.

Specifically, an "opt-out" clause in the California Education Code (Section
51550) mandates that:  "No governing board of a public elementary or
secondary school may require pupils to attend any class in which human
reproductive organs and their functions and processes are described,
illustrated or discussed, whether such class be part of a course designated
'sex education' or 'family life education' or by some similar term, or part
of any other course which pupils are required to attend."

As further required by the Code, parents of pupils enrolled in such courses
"shall first be notified in writing of the class" and "no child may attend a
class if a request that he not attend the class has been received by the
school."  The law also requires that all sex education must "teach honor and
respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage" (Section 51553-6) and "stress
that pupils should abstain from sexual intercourse until they are ready for
marriage" (Section 51553-5).

Trelow acknowledges that no specific sex acts were discussed in Forrester's
classroom during the "Ellen incident."  However, he contends that ALL
references to sexual orientation necessarily raise such issues -- and thus
require parental notification, as mandated by state law.  Trelow also claims
that he and his wife had specifically notified the school that they did not
want their 11-year-old daughter, Heather, to participate in ANY discussions
of homosexuality.

"Homosexuality is immoral... and that is what my daughter has been taught,"
 Trelow recently told the "San Francisco Chronicle" (July 15).  "The teacher
told my daughter... 'I know how your parents are raising you, but you need to
be open to other points of view.'  That was out of line."  According to
Trelow, his daughter "was one of three students who did not raise their hands
agreeing with the teacher's praise for Ellen in the May 1 classroom
discussion."

When asked her opinion of Ellen's coming out, Forrester had described the
actress as "brave and proud."

According to "Chronicle" reporter Lori Oiszewski:  "Everyone agrees the
discussion started the morning after the 'Ellen' episode aired, when
Forrester began the day by asking students, 'Did anything exciting happen to
you?'  Some children replied they had watched the 'Ellen' episode, and the
teacher said she also had watched it."  That is when Forrester allegedly
"characterized Ellen's actions in a positive light."
 
Following this incident, Trelow had first complained to local authorities --
but to no avail.  Forrester's principal filed a supportive report with the
Alameda Unified School District, asserting that the discussion was
"nonbiased," "student-initiated" and in accord with the district's other
efforts to abate bigotry.

According to the "Chronicle," Trelow decided "to go public with his concerns
after the school district did not chastise the teacher."  He and his wife
have since removed their daughter from Amelia Earhart Elementary, and plan to
enroll her in a private school this Fall.

Assisting Trelow in his state-level complaint is attorney Brad Dacus, of the
conservative Pacific Justice Institute.  Dacus has been involved in several
such cases, including a highly-publicized incident that resulted in the
suspension of two San Francisco teachers in 1992 (the teachers were
sanctioned for "failing" to censor a lesbian guest speaker, who briefly
strayed off an approved anti-violence lecture to answer a sixth-grader's
question about homosexual sex).

Trelow's complaint to the credentialing commission is currently under review,
and a final decision could take up to six months.  The commission may dismiss
the case, issue a formal reprimand, or -- as Trelow and his supporters hope
-- revoke the teacher's license altogether.

* * * *  ACTION  ALERT!    Encourage education officials to dismiss this
homophobic complaint, which is based in utter ignorance.  Contact:  Carolyn
L. Ellner, Chair, and All Members, California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing, P.O. Box 944270, Sacramento, CA 94244-2700, tel. 916-445-7254,
e-mail [email-masked], web-site www.ctc.ca.gov (copy any
correspondence to Delaine Eastin, State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
721 Capitol Mall, P.O. Box 944272, Sacramento, CA 94244-2720).  

Support for Victoria Forrester can also be sent to:  August Scornaienchi,
Superintendent of Schools of Alameda, County Office of Education, 313 West
Winton Avenue, Hayward, CA 94544-1198, tel. 510-887-0152, web-site
www.alameda-coe.k12.ca.us.

Not only in California, but all across the nation, state and municipal laws
encourage parents to exercise the extraordinary option of REMOVING children
from discussions of homosexuality (as if lesbian and gay lives were nothing
but subjects of salacious propaganda!).  Encourage your local officials to
oppose such "opt-out" policies...  which ultimately deny EVERY student's
right to an education free of unchallenged bigotry and crippling fear.

A child whose parents believe the Earth is flat would still be expected to
attend geography class.  Why should we expect anything less for the children
of homophobes?

[ R e / S o u r c e s :   A growing range of resources supports the work of
"curriculum advocacy" -- promoting educational equity and reforming
educational media.  Warren Blumenfeld, founder of the National Gay Student
Center (and editor of the "Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity"),
has compiled a list of suggestions on "Making Schools Safe for Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual & Transgender Students and Staff" (Contact:  Warren J. Blumenfeld,
P.O. Box 929, Northampton, MA 01061, e-mail [email-masked]).
 Online, the P.E.R.S.O.N Project maintains a comprehensive yet practical web
site -- promoting "Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally"
(www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/).  Another source of news and action
bulletins is "GLSTNAlert," a list service distributed by the Gay, Lesbian,
and Straight Teachers Network; to subscribe, simply e-mail a request to:
 [email-masked] -- with the words "Subscribe GLSTNAlert" in the subject
line, and your name in the message. ]

[3]

S E E M S  L I K E  O L D  T I M E S

Despite pockets of improvement in the coverage of murder-suspect Andrew
Cunanan, most mainstream media continue to use the words "gay," "prostitute,"
and "serial killer" in one quick breath -- as if these terms were virtually
interchangeable.  Reuters filed a recent (July 16) story with this lead, for
example:  "Fashion designer Gianni Versace knew the alleged serial killer and
gay prostitute suspected of his murder, according to 'Vanity Fair' magazine."

This "laundry list" style of reporting (literally) balances the crimes of
"serial killing" and "gay prostitution" -- which is hardly consistent with
the central facts of the story.  Cunanan is not on the FBI's most wanted list
for prostitution, after all, but MURDER.  Being either gay or a prostitute is
not the problem or the issue here; being a MURDERER is.

In the same story, Reuters goes on to report that Cunanan's victims "carried
the signature of what police called a 'pathological sadistic sexual
offender.'"  These strained sexual connotations are unfounded, however -- at
least to date.

When heterosexuals kill an ex-lover, they are first (and foremost) presumed
to be murderers.  Just because Cunanan is gay does not make his crimes a
"sexual."

Consistently, he press and the public tend to fixate on homosexuality in this
way -- treating it as either the cause or symptom of any and every ill.
 Clearly, a similar standard is not applied to heterosexual mayhem.  In the
endless coverage of O. J. Simpson's trial, the mainstream press NEVER
reported that the accused was "straight."

Such heterosexist bias is also evident in another Reuter's story on Cunanan
(July 21) -- which took cross-dressing as its focus.  "Slipping on a skirt
may sound like a strange way for a man fleeing the FBI to elude detection,"
the article began, "but in gender-bending Miami Beach even a cross-dressing
multiple killer could blend right in."

Here too, the reporter has opted for a long and awkward adjective chain.
 Implicitly, cross dressing is cast as one more act of deviance -- right
alongside killing.

Of course, the implied connection is baseless.  In the context of this story,
in fact, it makes about much sense as reporting the murderer's political
affiliation or favorite color ("Andrew Cunanan, a Republican-voting, brown
shoe-wearing, multiple serial killer....").

Individually, these matters of word choice and phrasing can seem a bit subtle
-- even insignificant.  Collectively, however, such reporting reveals a
constant, consonant bias.  The effect might be ignored, but can no longer be
denied.

The recent coverage of Cunanan harkens back to much earlier reporting on
homosexuality.  A 1949 issue of "Newsweek" included the article "Queer
People" -- which began:  "The sex pervert, whether a homosexual, an
exhibitionist, or even a dangerous sadist, is too often regarded merely as a
'queer' person who never hurts anyone but himself...."

The article referred to homosexuality just that once (and then went on to
give examples of other horrors).  "But the damage was done," according to the
editors of "Talk Back! - The Gay Person's Guide to Media Action."  "To the
average 'Newsweek' reader, homosexuals were established as violent
psychopaths."

A half-century later, that damage has yet to be undone.  Even worse -- it's
being done again.

* * * *  ACTION  ALERT!    Reuters and other mainstream news outlets must be
held responsible for the cumulative effect of an enduring media bias.  Send
critical feedback to:  Reuters, 199 Water Street, New York, NY 10038, fax
212-859-1717, e-mail [email-masked], web-site www.reuters.com.

[ R e / S o u r c e s :  The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has
compiled a useful list of journalist's "do's and don'ts" -- titled "Murder By
Design - A Resource for Media Professionals on the Andrew Cunanan Story."
 For a copy, contact: GLAAD, 8455 Beverly Blvd., Suite 305, Los Angeles, CA
90048, tel. 213-658-6775, e-mail [email-masked].  For additional background
on the troubling media coverage of Andrew Cunanan, see "Homocide"
(MEDIAlert!, May 23), available online at http://www.qrd.org/media/medialert.
]

[end part "A"]

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ABOUT MEDIALERTS

Distributed continuously since 1992 as a community press service,
"MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly,  action- and advocacy-oriented column of
media criticism, focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues.

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 Next "MEDIAlert!"  =  August 5, 1997.  Contact:  MEDIAlert!, 163 Park
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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; he was twice elected Chair of the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.