Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 17:59:44 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert October 29, 1998 GLAAD ALERT October 29, 1998 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Chicago (Cathedral of) Hope The Cathedral of Hope is the largest lesbian and gay church in the world located in Dallas, Texas -- and someone thinks that that's too much to air. The church, which is in the process of building a new home designed by world-renowned architect Philip Johnson, produced a 30 minute infomercial which talked about the congregation, the new cathedral, and the tenets of faith on which the church is founded. Using Tower Media, an agency in Chicago, Ill. the church bought air time on WGN, a "superstation" in Chicago which reached up to 62 million households, many of which are rural, paying $12, 000 for three air slots. The WGN executives initially approved the program, scheduled it, and cashed the church's check. It then sent a letter to Tower Media on July 30, stating that "due to a miscommunication in out standards approval process, you were given the wrong information regarding [the program]. [It] has not in fact been approved to air on WGN-TV." No further reason was given for the cancellation, and continuing discussions between the Cathedral of Hope and WGN failed to resolve the matter. On October 28, a lawsuit was filed against WGN by the church, asking that the station adhere to the terms of the contracts as it was signed, and air the production as promised. Sadly, all of the national cable networks which Cathedral of Hope had approached about airtime, had rejected the informercial -- however, these stations have the right to do so. What WGN did was agree to air it, and then, whether because of cold feet or overt discrimination, then reneged on what is a binding legal agreement. Please contact WGN and let them know that their viewers deserve the opportunity to see the Cathedral of Hope program, and make up their own minds. Also tell them that their breach of contract sends a message to its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers that they are not valued as an audience. You can contact Tribune Media as well, to let them know how you feel about WGN's decision. Contact: Peter S. Walker, General Manager WGN-TV, 2501 Bradley Place, Chicago, IL, 60618 Fax (773) 528-6857; e-mail wgntv@aol.com; http://www.wgntv.com. Matthew Shepard: Ongoing Coverage While the election, and impending referenda on same-sex marriage and civil rights legislation come to the fore, coverage of the murder of Matthew Shepard continues to illustrate the larger meaning of one young man's death at the hands of hate. o Salon magazine, an online publication, published two outstanding essays from writers Richard Rodruigez (essayist for the Los Angeles Times, Harper's, and PBS' The News Hour With Jim Lehrer) and Lily Burana, who writes for Salon regularly, and moved to Wyoming from New York a few months ago. Rodruigez's piece, entitled "My heterosexual dilemma: Can someone please explain how flirting can lead to murder?" looks at the complex mysteries of sexuality, how the calls for a return to family values are so often spoken by men, how America is truly a country of individualists, and his own feelings as a gay man. "[...] I do not expect other Americans -- male or female -- to approve of my sexuality. But I demand my right to be." Burana's "Letter from Laramie" relates an incident where, sitting around with people after a rodeo, a conversation ensues. "I hadn't heard such cavalier use of the F-word [fag] since, like, seventh grade." This being her first impression of the Wyoming attitude, she was surprised at the outpouring of contempt for the attack on Matthew Shepard. "I'm relieved, and proud, to say that the reigning sentiment here is disgust and anguish." She then questions whether the murder will result in a further stereotyping of Westerners, and finds herself "skeptical, but hoping for the best -- on a local and national level [...] As with any good western, I hope the good guys win in the end." oThe October 25 edition of Toledo (Ohio) Blade carried an opinion column by Marilou Johanek, decrying the murder and protests by extremists hate groups at Matthew Shepard's funeral. While having read many opinion pieces abhorring Rev. Phelps' pickets, Johanek's very personal voice ("I caught the end of the news on the car radio and figured I must have missed something. There couldn't have been picketers at the funeral, for Pete's sake"), and the venue in which it was published make it both a moving and important example of how Matthew Shepard's murder has touched and moved the entire country. o The November 3 issue of the Village Voice devotes four articles to Matthew Shepard. The first, but writer Guy Trebay, covers Wyoming after the press has gone home. Trebay's vivid depiction of the landscapes of Laramie: the fast food restaurants proclaiming "Hate and Violence are not Wyoming Values"; the murder of a young woman in 1997 who was found partially frozen by two people searching for pinecones; the Laramie city council who voted the day before Shepard's funeral against enacting hate-crimes legislation; and the professor at the University of Wyoming, who examines her own complicity in letting intolerance go unchallenged. On the local angle, Alisa Solomon asks whether the vigil held in New York City, which resulted in 136 arrests and numerous reports of police brutality, will spur on a new wave of activism. Austin Bunn recounts the role the Internet played in disseminating information about Shepard and the New York City vigil; and finally, four eyewitness accounts of the New York City events, including one by transgender writer/activist Leslie Feinberg, are included to give readers a close-up view of what some have called "Stonewall II." Contact: o Mr. Tom Walton, Editor, The Blade, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660-0001, fax: 419.724.6191, e-mail: letters@theblade.com o Mr. David Talbot, Editor, Salon, 706 Mission St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, fax: 415.882.8731, e-mail: salon@salonmagazine.com o Mr. Doug Simmons, Managing Editor, Village Voice, 36 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003, fax: 212.475.8944, e-mail: editor@villagevoice.com Suddenly Homicide: NBC Killing Stereotypes This past week NBC's Homicide: Life on the Streets and Suddenly Susan addressed bisexuality and gay stereotypes, respectively. On the Friday, October 23 episode of the crime drama Homicide (see GLAADAlert 1.9.98), Det. Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) asks Det. Renee Sheppard (played by actress Michael Michele) out on a date. Renee confusingly asks Bayliss if he is gay, having heard precinct gossip. He denies being gay but says he recently slept "with a guy, (we had) sex...a couple times." Then asked to describe himself, Bayliss says he's "bi-curious." To which Renee answers that she is bi-curious as well and has in fact dated "bi-guys" before. After the matter-of-fact exchange, they agree to go out. Currently, Homicide is the only current primetime television show with a bisexual character. Exchanges like this are groundbreaking dramatic television--television that does not demonize or belittle bisexual people. On Monday, October 26's Suddenly Susan, Pete (Bill Stevenson), the sitcom's gay mailroom person, is encouraged to dress in drag for Halloween and let loose. The next day at work, he shows up in leather pants, and a busy shirt and continues to effeminately let loose on his befuddled coworkers. Hank, his partner, confronts him, calling his new style and attitude a "tired stereotype" and not the Pete he knows and loves. Pete explains his fear that Hank will wake up one day and find himself bored with the often endearingly dull Pete. Hank explains that boring Pete is the man he fell in love with, and that Pete needs to be true to himself. Suddenly Susan's lesson is clear: be yourself. Please thank Homicide, Suddenly Susan and NBC for thought provoking, stereotype breaking television. Contact: o Mssrs. Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana and Jim Finnerty, Executive Producers, Homicide, c/o NBC Studios, 330 Bob Hope Dr., Burbank, CA 91523 o Mssrs. Garry Dontzig and Steven Peterman, Executive Producers, Suddenly Susan, c/o Warner Bros. Television, 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522 o Mr. Warren Littlefield, Entertainment President, NBC Television Network, 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91523-0001 "Ex-Gays" World Tour 1998 Two recent articles covering the "ex-gay" movement's continuing campaign against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community displayed what could be termed a "suspension of disbelief," and while that's crucial in watching fictional films, most people expect more from their newspapers. o The October 22 Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle published "Ex-lesbian in Ministry", written by Virgina Norton. The piece, follows the story of Jami Breedlove, who is one of the proponents of "conversion" through her Restoration Ministries in Colorado, and is in Georgia to offer a series of talks. The article offers an entirely unbalanced accounting of Breedlove's campaign. The reporter cites statistics purporting Restoration's "success," and makes no attempt to discuss the voluminous evidence regarding the failures of "reparative" therapy, and its damaging effects. Norton then points out that Breedlove "has been picketed by homosexuals.[...]None of the incidents have been violent, however," leaving the reader to think that violence is the natural result of gay men and lesbians disagreeing with someone. In closing, Norton writes-- and note that the quotations marks are ours, and not hers -- "The roots of homosexuality are in the brokeness that comes into lives. Homosexuality is bondage to sin and not an identity -- there is no scriptural evidence that God created anyone to become a homosexual, said Ms. Breedlove." Note that the quotation marks are ours; the reporter, by not quoting directly, let the statements stand out with the authority of the journalist, doing a disservice to the very fairness and balance that should be paramount when writing about any subject, particularly one so charged as this. o An October 27 Washington Times Culture etc., piece by Julia Duin purports to illustrate the "backlash" against religious political extremists in the wake of Matthew Shepard's murder. "Criticism of homosexuality is being suppressed as `hate speech'" opens the article, incorporating one of the more absurd contentions of opponents of hate-crimes legislation: that, if enacted, the laws will then lead to prosecution for "thought crimes" or for one's opinions. It then goes on to document three incidents, which Duin uses as evidence for her contention of backlash. One of these examples -- the cancellation of a NARTH conference by the Beverly Hilton Hotel (which was moved to another hotel in Los Angeles) -- stands out, with inflammatory comments by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi of NARTH, John Paulk of Focus on the Family (and star of the "ex-gay" advertisements) and the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition. Representatives of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are completely absent, and the most vitriolic of Sheldon's statements goes unquestioned. He says: "What Hitler began to build against the Jews is now being built against people of faith who believe the Scriptures are valid for today and their injunctions against certain sexual behaviors is correct. [...] If you don't agree with [homosexual activists] [sic], they use Gestapo tactics to stop you." Please write to the Augusta Chronicle and the Washington Times, and tell them that their shoddy, slanted reporting does nothing to contribute to the important dialogue in this country between communities of faith, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and America as a whole. Let them know that writing stories about those who fight against equality for our community, without seeking out the "other side," is irresponsible and inflammatory. Contact: o Mr. Will Kennedy, Managing Editor, Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta GA, 30913; Fax: 706.823.3345, e-mail: letters@augustachronicle.com; or via WWW: http://www.augustachronicle.com o Mr. William Giles, Managing Editor, Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002-1996, fax: 202.832.2982, letter@twtmail.com "I Love a Man In Uniform..." In its October 25 edition, Chicago Sun-Times reporter John Carpenter writes about Mike Perdue, an openly gay police officer on the Chicago police force, who serves as district liaison to the gay and lesbian community. Perdue, who moved to Chicago from San Francisco twenty years ago, applied for the force two years ago, through the efforts of the local Gay And Lesbian Police Association. Accepted to the academy, he has become one of the several out officers working in district with a significantly lesbian and gay area. The reporter asks the former district commander whether he thinks it's important that officers in the area reflect the community. "I don't just think it's important...I think it's critical...just as we have Hispanic officers in the Hispanic community." Carpenter also interviews an out lesbian working in the civil rights division of the Police Department, and a "civilian" representative from the community. The reporter walks with Perdue down Halstead Street, and encounters a man who onlookers, the reporter notes, "might have speculated that the younger man was a friend who was also gay." In fact, he's a fellow officer, looking for a shop Perdue told him about, so he can buy his girlfriend a present. The piece closes, "`Great guy,' Perdue said as the man walked away. `He and I went through the academy together.'" Please write to the Chicago Sun-Times and let them know how important articles like this are. Showing a gay man living his life and serving his communities -- gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, and the city of Chicago as well -- is a significant contribution in helping erode misconceptions and stereotypes, and shows diversity in an arena not often thought of as inclusive. Contact: Contact: Mr. Mike Cordts, Deputy Metro Editor, Chicago Sun-Times, 401 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-5642, fax: 312.321.3084 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation in the media as a means of challenging homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. 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