Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 23:12:25 -0500
From: ACTION ALERT Moderator 
Subject: ACTION ALERT: Media Terminology

[ submitted by GLAAD...

  Moderator Note: various media outlets used the term "gay lifestyle" to refer
to gays and lesbians.  Please let these media representatives know that such
terminology is outdated, idiotic, and meaningless. The Associated Press and NBC
News were the biggest offenders. ]

*** SUMMARY ***

Ever since Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss) compared
homosexuality with "alcohol or sex addiction or kleptomaniacs" on June 15,
the media has attempted, with varying degrees of success, to present an
objective description of both the Senate Majority Leader's comments and the
many responses which various organizations have issued. Most problematic
was the Associated Press (AP), which used the term "gay lifestyle"
throughout its June 15 story penned by Alan Fram, stating: "The remarks
shoved Lott into a controversy that has engulfed the scientific, gay and
conservative communities: Whether homosexuals have chosen their lifestyle
or whether it is biologically predetermined." It also noted that Lott
opposes the Hormel nomination, "viewing [Hormel] as an aggressive advocate
of the gay lifestyle." The story does not indicate which "lifestyle" it is
referring to. Is it the jet-setting lesbians and gay men? Those who belong
to bowling leagues? Suburban lesbian and gay parents? Homeless lesbian and
gay youth? Just what is the "homosexual lifestyle," and is there a
corresponding "heterosexual lifestyle?" The June 16 Dallas Morning News
reprint of the initial AP article actually amended the AP's grossly
inaccurate language, and changed it to "...viewing [Hormel] as an
aggressive advocate of homosexuality." Yet, this, too, is an unclear choice
of language. How exactly does one advocate for homosexuality? Perhaps the
AP meant to say that Hormel has advocated for equal rights for lesbians and
gay men. What is particularly clear is that The Associated Press needs to
update the style guide in their Washington bureau. Professional journalists
using the buzzwords of religious political extremists in mainstream
reporting is not just biased-it is inaccurate and confusing. Below are some
other good and bad examples of reporting on the Lott comments:

… A separate AP article on June 16 about the Hormel nomination from the
same day indicated that the opposition was based on his "active support of
gay causes."

… The June 16 AP update of the original June 15 story, also penned by Alan
Fram, changed the first usage of "lifestyle" to read: "...Whether
homosexuals have chosen their sexual orientation or whether it is
biologically determined." Yet it preserved the sentence about Hormel
aggressively advocating the "gay lifestyle."


*** ACTION ***
Please write AP and NBC and ask that they stop using the term "gay lifestyle" as
it is meaningless.

[ ... ]

… NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw on June 17 constantly referred to
lesbians and gay men repeatedly as "homosexuals," and used clips of half
naked men in leather and drag queens to illustrate the lesbian and gay
community.

[ ... ]

GLAAD has compiled statements from nearly thirty leading lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and progressive organizations regarding Lott's
comments. To view these remarks, visit GLAAD Online at:
http://www.glaad.org 

Contact:
… Jonathan P. Wolman, Bureau Chief, Associated Press, 2021 K St. NW #606,
Washington, DC 20006-1082, fax: 202.776.9861

[ ... ]

… Andrew Lack, News President, NBC Television Network, 30 Rockefeller
Plaza, NY, NY, 10112-0002

[ ... ]

-- 
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