Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 23:02:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Rex Wockner Subject: Newsclips #1244: Outing of Kolbe and McCreary From: WolfePax@aol.com Subject: My Outing of Kolbe and McCreary On Sunday last I reported on WBAI (the Gay Show) on NPR radio that two congressmen, Kolbe, R of Arizona, and McCreary, R of Louisiana, both had voted for DOMA, and both were closeted gay men. In short, they were outed. It was after weeks of intense examination and only after giving both men an opportunity to respond. (Kolbe's office told me when I asked if he was gay that they would have to get back to me on that). Maintaining credible journalistic integrity within the gay press is difficult. We are held often to lower standards than the non-gay press. That coupled with the disgraceful non-disclosure to its readers by the Advocate concerning their semi-fictitious Clinton interview, leads others to take the gay press less than seriously. I have been in broadcasting for 22 years, and have been an openly gay television/radio/print reporter for about 12 of those years. It has never been my policy when I worked in New York on OUT IN THE 90'S, nor is it the policy of the television program I currently produce (OUT IN NEW ENGLAND) to "out" people. It has, however, always been our position to hold those with special influence over our lives, sometimes entertainers, often theologians, and always elected officials, accountable for their behavior, especially if that behavior is so egregiously bad as to profoundly and adversely impact on the gay and lesbian community. That a television celebrity is gay is of little consequence to us. This is different on several levels. 1. We have no fear that "outing" someone is "defaming" anyone's character. They would be obliged to demonstrate how being gay or lesbian is a defamation. We have fortunately evolved behind that point. 2. They are public figures and in the Supreme Court decision Falwell v. Flynt, all public figures are the subject of scrutiny that average citizens need not bear. 3. There is no more important issue in our lifetimes than DOMA. Gays in the military was about jobs. Colorado was about discrimination as it was codified. This goes to the heart of who we are. It goes to the right we claim to love the person we chose. There is nothing more personal or important than that, and it by far outweighs an individuals right to remain closeted. 4. If it is an issue within the African American community that Clarence Thomas, a black man, votes to overturn affirmative action, then it is equally an issue to lesbians and gays if a homosexual in a position of extreme influence votes against us on DOMA. The only difference: Clarence Thomas cannot hide his race. 5. Is it therefore newsworthy: yes. Despite all of these reasons, I still demand of my staff that stories such as these be EXTREMELY well supported, often by means beyond what the non-gay press would require. In this case I have more than I need. I have three independent sources, none of whom knows the other, all who's stories conform to each other to the letter. One is a highly placed Washington insider with personal knowledge of those in question. Personal knowledge does not mean having had sex. I am not interested in unhappy ex-lovers. It also does not mean simply seeing someone on one occasion walking into a gay bar. Another source is a long time extremely reliable source who has on numerous occasions been 100% accurate in everything given to me. For me as a reporter, it is a question of whether 1) is it news, 2) can it be supported, 3) is it the right thing to do. Yes to all. I have little patience with the gay press that wants to be taken seriously and yet is not willing to do either the work or take the chances. I expect the non-gay press to balk at outing even when the circumstances are as clear as these. I am utterly dismayed when I see the Advocate walking on eggshells over ethics, it didn't bother them in the Clinton interview, or In NewsWeekly stammering about the right thing to do. I live and work in Worcester, Massachusetts with a staff of no more than eighteen. With hard work and a clear concept of what was right, none of us lost any sleep over this story. There are some in the gay press that would be wondering if "outing" was appropriate as we were being herded onto the trains. Kurt Wolfe OUT IN NEW ENGLAND