Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 04:13:30 -0500 Sender: GLAADP21@aol.com Because of technical errors, you might not have received this edition of the Media Watch (Oct. 28, 1994), which is being re-sent at this time. If you experience any problems with Media Watch e-mail inthe future, please call GLAAD's administrative line at 415-861-2244. Thank you. *********************************************** GLAAD MEDIA WATCH for October 28, 1994 By Al Kielwasser SOME HUMANITY ON WALL STREET "I'm just calling to tell you I'm thinking about you and praying for you." So said Bill Clinton in a call to Pedro Zamora, the twenty-something gay AIDS activist who recently achieved international celebrity as a cast member on MTV's The Real World. Significantly, the President's call is mentioned as part of a front-page tribute to Zamora in the October 21 issue of The Wall Street Journal (Western Edition). Zamora is currently hospitalized for an AIDS-related neurological disease for which there is "no proven treatment" and he is "now gravely ill." Staff reporter Eric Morgenthaler first wrote about Zamora in another front-page Journal article in 1991 and, he says, they have since become close friends. The most-recent article reflects that friendship, and also includes comments from the many lives -- famous and obscure -- that have been touched by Zamora's public battle with AIDS. For example, Morgenthaler quotes a young South Carolina woman who wrote to Zamora: "I never thought anyone could change my opinion on homosexuals and AIDS. Because of you, I've seen the human side of something that once seemed so unreal to me." Also quoted is a 22-year-old gay man from North Carolina, who never met Zamora but wrote him to say: "Please know this, if you never helped one other person, if you never made a difference in anyone's life, you made all the difference in mine." It's refreshing to see an above-the-fold article whose frank subjectivity provides a uniquely humane and honest example of mainstream reporting on AIDS and gayness. Send feedback to Paul E. Steiger, Managing Editor, and Eric Morgenthaler, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281, tel. 212-416-2000. HAPPY HALLOWEEN? The popular Roseanne sitcom is well-known for its annual Halloween episode. This year the show (broadcast October 26 on ABC) revolved around a Halloween party thrown by the series' continuing gay character, played by actor Martin Mull. Clearly, both Roseanne (the actress) and Roseanne (the TV series) are ardently well-intentioned when it comes to lesbian and gay issues. But, once again, both the star and the show offered a mixed message on the subject of queerness. The Halloween episode boosted drag-queen visibility and even offered a quaint (if fumbled) attempt at explaining homosexuality to Roseanne's youngest child, D.J. On the other hand, the episode also contained some rather stale, homophobic humor. After her husband Dan masquerades as a gay man (a Halloween prank), Roseanne tells him: "Hey Dan, if you're still gay I could go for a mimosa and eggs benedict." How very funny. Roseanne's worst joke of the evening is told at the expense of Fred, a man she thinks might be gay. In this scene, Roseanne tells husband Dan about her suspicions, which he dismisses as nonsense. In response, Roseanne tells Dan: "You can go stick your head in the sand if you want, but I wouldn't do it around Fred if I was you." The Roseanne show seems to have a penchant for painting an image of lesbians and gays as people who prey on straight folks; while this is perhaps an accurate reflection of heterosexual fears, such fears are nonetheless unfounded and grossly homophobic. We wouldn't put up with this crap from our straight enemies, so why take it from our straight friends? Both Roseanne (the star) and Roseanne (the show) want to do better than this. Send your suggestions to either or both, c/o ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, tel. 310-557-7777. ANOTHER GOOD DATELINE NBC's news-magazine show, Dateline, has once again provided good coverage of a significant lesbian/gay news item. The program's October 21 episode included the segment "Family Feud," produced by Joe Decola. The segment covered the custody case being fought by Sharon Bottoms, a lesbian mother whose son Tyler was taken away from her by the Virginia courts. Sharon was accused of engaging in "oral sex" (a felony in Virginia) and "open displays of affection." The Dateline segment allowed ample time for Sharon and her lover April to make the case for their fitness as parents. Sharon's mother -- who filed for custody of Tyler on the grounds that her daughter is a lesbian -- came across as the moron she is. For example, when pressed to explain just how, exactly, Tyler would suffer from living with his lesbian mom, all Sharon's mother could say was: "Tyler will be messed up." Significantly, Dateline did not drag out any hysterical, Bible- thumping homophobes to condemn all lesbians to hell. Instead, a university researcher -- and actual expert! -- was interviewed. University of Virginia psychology professor Charlotte Patterson explained that, after an exhaustive review of the research literature, she could not find a single shred of evidence to support the homophobic notion that lesbian parents are harmful to a child's development and welfare. Encourage Dateline to continue reporting fairly and accurately on lesbian and gay subjects. Send compliments to Joe Decola, Dateline, NBC News, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York NY 10021, tel. 212-664-4444. MILLIONAIRE, MEDIA MOGUL AND . . . VICTIM? Activist Scott Tucker has suggested that the sympathy reserved for closeted gays is stretched to the limit by those wealthy elites who "can make their closets as commodious as castles." In his recent book Contested Closets, Larry Gross expands upon this idea: "While understanding and sympathizing with those who would be truly vulnerable to discrimination and reprisals if they were to come out, gay activists have long expressed impatience and anger with those whose wealth and position would protect them from such dangers." Recently, the oh-so-commodious closet of KOFY-TV owner Jim Gabbert was cracked open (by a sex scandal, no less) and the Bay Area media mogul has been quick to plead his status as victim. In a lengthy article in the Oct. 23 San Francisco Examiner, Gabbert explained that he "feared a backlash from viewers and advertisers if his homosexuality were publicly discussed." "I'm in a business with a high profile where we depend on ratings, we depend on public perception," Gabbert said. Of course, he has since conceded that no negative backlash resulted from admitting he is gay (a lesson Gabbert could have learned from the likes of mega-producer David Geffen, who continues to rake in the media millions long after he -- finally -- came out). The Examiner further reports that Gabbert "simply considered himself a successful businessman who is gay and chose not to talk about with the press." Now which is it? Was he forced into the closet by an angry, television-viewing mob? Or was it a simple, personal "choice?" Actually, Gabbert has done much more than "simply not talk about it." He continues to use his own weekly TV program -- All Night with James Gabbert -- to prance around like a pubescent heterosexual on an aphrodisiac high. He has chosen to present himself as a straight man. And that is far different (and far more repugnant) than "simply not talking about it." "I have a lot of enemies in the gay community," Gabbert also told the Examiner, "because I'm not a gay broadcaster, but a broadcaster to happens to be gay." Maybe there's some truth to that claim. But the community anger directed at privileged closet-cases is not limited to whether or not such individuals choose to be "gay leaders." Rather, this anger stems from an acute awareness that silence always reinforces the stigma of homosexuality, suggesting that being gay is just too disgusting to discuss. Why shouldn't a concerned community be upset with someone who would seemingly put social status above civic responsibility, and money above morality? For that matter, why shouldn't the queer community expect something more from a "broadcaster who happens to be gay?" The story of Gabbert's unplanned outing is -- in every respect -- a real tragedy. Only Jim Gabbert isn't the victim. Share your thoughts on the matter with James Gabbert, President, KOFY, 2500 Main St., S.F., CA 95124, tel. 415-821-2020. OUT OF THIS WORLD The October 23 edition of This World -- a Sunday supplement to the San Francisco Chronicle -- is billed as a "voter handbook for election '94." The 20-page guide examines key election issues, including the race for California's next Superintendent of Public Instruction. In her analysis of candidates Delaine Eastin and Maureen DiMarco, Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov completely ignores the lesbian/gay angle. As any reporter covering the education beat should know, California is the site for a major struggle over lesbian/gay content in the public school curriculum. The new Superintendent of Public Instruction will have the opportunity to stand up to the State's homophobic Board of Education and demand the fair and accurate inclusion of lesbian and gay issues in school textbooks (an effort that only Eastin has pledged to seriously undertake). Asimov could have -- but did not -- report how the candidate's viewed homophobic sections of the California Education Code, which actually require textbooks to "teach honor and respect for monogamous, heterosexual marriage." Nanette Asimov does report that: "Unlike political contests with clear-cut party lines and issues, the nonpartisan superintendent's race is a muddy, heated battle that requires -- as with most school matters -- some study." Unfortunately, she apparently didn't fully follow her own advice. Educational equity issues are extraordinarily important to lesbian and gay voters, who intimately recognize the role that public education could play in combating homophobia before it takes hold and rots the minds of another generation of children. The Chronicle certainly missed the mark by failing to raise the issue in its "voter handbook." Direct complaints to the attention of Ken Coner, Editor, and Nanette Asimov, Reporter, This World, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-777-1111 MEDIA BRIEFS * The nationally-distributed DYKE TV is available locally every Sunday, 6:OO PM, on Viacom channel 53. The series -- described as "the first national lesbian show in the history of television" -- is a pioneering effort, with producers operating in 75 U.S. cities as well as London and Moscow. That effort is supported by members who receive a quarterly newsletter and a compilation of the season's "hottest segments." The series is also seeking volunteers to do everything from editing to grantwriting. For more information, contact DYKE TV, P.O. Box 55, Prince Street Station, New York, NY 10012-0001, tel. 212-343-9335, fax 212-343-9337. * On Nov. 19, Home Box Office (HBO) will receive the 1994 "Corporate Vision Award" from the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center. Says The Center's Executive Director, Lorri Jean: "HBO is one of the most enlightened broadcasters, often bringing programming into the homes of millions of Americans that encompasses gay and lesbian themes." For details, call The Center at 310-996-1188. Comments can also be directed to HBO, 1100 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, tel. 212-512-1000. WE MUST CONFRONT THE MEDIA'S HOMOPHOBIA IN ORDER TO CURE IT! TO NOTIFY THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION OF ANY DEFAMATORY OR AFFIRMATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE CALL OUR 24- HOUR MEDIA WATCH HOTLINE AT 415-861-4588, OR WRITE TO GLAAD/SFBA, 1360 MISSION STREET, SUITE 200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103; FAX, 415- 861-4893; E-MAIL GLAAD SFBA@AOL.COM. SEND ITEMS FOR THIS WEEKLY REPORT TO THE ATTENTION OF "MEDIA WATCH" AT GLAAD/SFBA OR E- MAIL TO GLAAD SFBA@AOL.COM. WHEN APPROPRIATE, ATTRIBUTIONS FOR ITEMS USED SHOULD BE MADE TO AL KIELWASSER AND/OR GLAAD/SFBA. AS ALWAYS, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE COPIES OF ANY PUBLICATIONS THAT USE ALL OR PART OF THE "MEDIA WATCH." THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUING INTEREST IN GLAAD'S WORK!