Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 16:46:08 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert - October 14, 1999 GLAADAlert October 14, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 1. Turner, WCW Drop Anti-Gay Representations 2. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's Quality Coverage of Shepard Anniversary, Trial 3. Money Matters: CNNfn Explores Lesbian and Gay Financial Planning 4. MTV Fights for Education and Acceptance 5. A. Magazine's Inclusive Top 100 6. Exploring Internet Hate on Jenny Jones Turner, WCW Drop Anti-Gay Representations In our last GLAAD Alert (Sept. 30), we told you about a stereotypically gay wrestler named Lenny, who had appeared on Turner Network Television's (TNT) World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Adorned with pigtails, pink trunks and body glitter, Lenny would enter the arena prancing and skipping through the crowd to homophobic chants of "Faggot! Faggot! Faggot!" by the crowd. The epithets continued whenever Lenny or his wrestling partner, Lodi, were beaten by an opponent. GLAAD contacted TNT and WCW and explained the potential consequences posed by targeting audiences with such anti-gay representations, violence and rhetoric. Turner and WCW both agreed with GLAAD's assessment of the situation, and decided to pull the characters from their programs, promising to reintroduce the wrestlers who portrayed Lenny and Lodi as new characters in the future. GLAAD, TNT and WCW agree that representations that can lead to gay bashing pose a very real threat to the safety of gay men. By taking responsibility for their programming, Turner and WCW have demonstrated a commitment to the safety of our community and the fairness, accuracy and inclusiveness of gay representations. GLAAD hopes that WCW will develop and introduce another gay wrestling character in the near future, and that the construction of such a character will be free from damaging stereotypes and dangerous anti-gay audience responses. Please thank Turner and WCW for their responsible actions and sensitivity to our community's concerns. Contact: Mr. Brad Siegel, President, Turner Network Television (TNT), 1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318-5604, fax: 404.885.2427. Contact: Mr. Bill Busch, President, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), 1050 Techwood Drive, NW, Atlanta, GA 30318-5604, fax: 404.603.1005. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's Quality Coverage of Shepard Anniversary, Trial In the days leading up to the first anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard and the trial of Aaron McKinney, the second of Shepard's accused killers, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle devoted considerable space and attention to both of these important local stories. Its coverage included: * A very well-researched and reported Oct. 10 article on possible prosecution and defense strategies in the McKinney. Its focus on whether Shepard's sexuality will be addressed by either side made for fascinating - if disturbing - reading. * Two Oct. 10 commentaries by Carbon County attorney Thomas T.C. Campbell and Laramie County Deputy County Attorney Mark Voss provided a good look at the opposing legal philosophies likely to emerge from the McKinney trial. Campbell's argument that the death penalty associated with the trial should not prejudice the case's facts is countered by Voss' suggestions that the media has biased any empaneled jury, and that the crime committed by McKinney calls for life imprisonment - not the death penalty. Both opinions are articulate and contribute to the community's informed discussion of the trial. * An Oct. 11 article on the University of Wyoming vigil and concert, held in Shepard's memory and attended by Shepard's parents and nearly 2,000 others, gave several students the chance to speak forcefully against hatred and violence. * Two articles (Oct. 11 and 12) reported on the presence of silent angels protesting demonstrations outside the Albany County Courthouse by Fred Phelps and members of his virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. In all these stories, the reporting was fair, accurate, inclusive and balanced. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle is to be commended for its commitment to such high standards of journalism. Contact: Mr. Reed Eckhardt, Editor, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, 702 W. Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001, fax: 307.778.7163, e-mail: opinions@wyomingnews.com .. Money Matters: CNNfn Explores Lesbian and Gay Financial Planning On Oct. 11, the interactive arm of Cable News Network Financial Network (CNNfn) published a feature discussing the options and pitfalls lesbian and gay couples face in their long-term financial planning, given the inability of gay couples to legally marry. In interviews with John Lewis, marketing manager for MetLife Securities, Inc., Tom Swift, vice president of the Horton Investment Advisory Group, and Jeffrey Newman, president and chief operating officer of the Gay Financial Network, CNNfn staff writer Shelly K. Schwartz explores the options available to same-sex couples in protecting their assets and long-term financial security. Among the suggestions offered by these financial experts: recognize that you'll need to place added emphasis on retirement savings; make sure you and your partner have a life insurance policy and that you've named each other as the beneficiary; and make sure you are both protected through durable powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney, wills and trusts, and other ways to construct strong legal bonds between partners. Mainstream media stories dealing comprehensively with financial planning issues for the lesbian and gay community are rare. Please thank CNNfn for this vital and informative feature. Contact: Mr. Allen Wastler, Managing Editor, CNNfn, 440 9th Ave., New York, NY 10001, fax: 212.714.6925 . MTV Fights for Education and Acceptance On Oct. 3, MTV premiered a public service announcement (PSA) produced by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The PSA, which begins with screen text reading "Fighting Words," shifts to a series of young men menacingly approaching the screen, shouting "That's so gay!," "Fag!," "You're a queer, aren't you?," "Queer!" and "Faggot!" The camera shifts to Judy Shepard, standing in a classroom. "The next time you say these things," she implores, "think about what they really mean." The screen then shows a picture of Matthew Shepard, followed by the words "Murdered=8ABecause He Was Gay," and closing with the simple words, "End Hate." The PSA, adopted by MTV as part of its ongoing "Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Violence" campaign, is currently airing at least six times a day in prime timeslots, and is reaching an estimated 30 to 45 million people per week. It represents an extraordinary opportunity to reach out to the very youth targeted by messages saying it's alright to discriminate and harass lesbian and gay men. The PSA shows in no uncertain terms the harm wrought on real people by such hateful words. MTV is to be applauded for this important contribution to the education of all our youth. Contact: Ms. Judy McGrath, President, MTV, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036-8901, fax: 212.258.8184 A. Magazine's Inclusive Top 100 In its October/November issue, which also serves as its 10th Anniversary issue, A. Magazine spotlights 100 of the most influential Asian-Americans of the decade. Among this group are several out lesbians and gay men, including National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Policy Institute Director Urvashi Vaid, Award winning journalist and "Ms. Magazine" contributing editor Helen Zia, East West Players Producing Director Tim Dang, "Amerasia Journal" and "Asian American Sexualities" editor Russell Leong and former supermodel Jenny Shimizu. While some profiles don't mention sexual orientation, the magazine does not shy away from it either. In her profile, Shimizu told A. Magazine, "...people still come up and tell me how my being Asian Amerian, gay and in the spotlight helped them identify with someone." Many publications have ignored the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in their year-, decade- or century-in-review issues, but A. Magazine demonstrates the rich diversity of our community by profiling these outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions over the last ten years. Please congratulate A. Magazine for letting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community be part of its celebration. Contact: Mr. Jeff Yang, Publisher, and Ms. Karen Lam, Executive Editor, A. Magazine, Metro East Publications, Inc., 677 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022. Exploring Internet Hate on Jenny Jones On Oct. 4, The Jenny Jones Show took an hour-long look at hate on the Internet. One of the segments focused attention on the "God Hates Fags" web site developed by Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, and featured two members of the Phelps family. Hate on the Internet is a very important issue, and Jones deserves thanks for exposing her audience to the impact of such unregulated hate speech on all minorities - racial, ethnic, religious and sexual. However, as good a job as Jones and her audience did in exposing the hatred and prejudice of the Phelps family, it is disconcerting that they were given the forum to spread their anti-gay rhetoric in the first place. Internet hate can and should be covered without giving a prominent platform to homophobic rhetoric such as that of the Phelps family. Please write to The Jenny Jones Show. Commend her for teaching her audience about the impact of hate speech on the Internet, and explain that such education does not require that she provide a platform for the spreading of the very hatred she condemns. Contact: The GLAADAlert is the bi-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 323.658.6775 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) =46eel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media and breaking news of interest to the LGBT community 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. GLAADAlert may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= ~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY GLAADNOTES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= ~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 17:29:17 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert Addendum - October 14, 1999 The Exploring Internet Hate on Jenny Jones GLAADAlert item in the Oct. 14 edition did not include contact information for the show's executive producer. Contact: Ms. Debby Harwick Glaven, Executive Producer, The Jenny Jones Show, 454 N. Columbus Dr. 4th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, fax: 312.836.9473 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY GLAADNOTES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.