Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 23:05:20 PDT From: wasmith@eis.calstate.edu (Waugh Smith) Articles from GLAAD/LA's August newletter: 1 Bus Bench Ads 2 Media Coverage of Stonewall 25 and Gay Games IV 3 Louganis on Cobb County 4 Dean Hansell, GLAAD/LA President 5 Hate Organizations American Family Association (Donald Wildmon) Chalcedon (Rousas John Rushdoony) Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson) Christian Coalition (Ralph Reed) Concerned Women of America (Beverly LaHaye) Coral Ridge Ministries (James Kennedy) Eagle Forum (Phyllis Schlafley) Family Research Council (Gary Bauer) Family Research Institute (Paul Cameron) Focus on the Family (James Dobson) Free Congress Foundation (Paul Weyrich) National Association of Christian Educators/ Citizens for Excellence in Education (Robt. L. Simonds) Operation Rescue (Randall Terry) S.T.R.A.I.G.H.T. Traditional Family Coalition (Lou Sheldon) Westboro Baptist Church (Fred Phelps) 6 Film & Television ABC Programming Standards The Family Channel (Pat Robertson) Century Cable General Hospital (HIV+ character) Kristine Gebbe: National TV Programming for g&ls 7 Radio & Print Doonesbury For Better or For Worse Entertainment Weekly : Keanu Reeves, Gay characters generally Parade Mag 8 Advertising Wildmon v Disney AT&T Wildmon for "Lifeline" (long distance) American Airlines Kraft General Foods & "The Kiss" 9 In the News Shannon Byrne, Cobb County, Coke Cuomo, NY Domestic Partners Gary Fairy CD-Rom Digital Queers Dick Sargent "10 Most Biased TV Shows" Larry Horne, Out Entertainment Group 10 Lee Werbel, Executive Director 11 GLAAD/LA General Meeting, G&Ls working in the media 12 GLAAD/LA's People of Color 13 Gay nets carrying this newsletter 1) Update: GLAAD/LA Awareness Project We Are Who YOU Are The Awareness Project involves placing 200 bench ads at bustops around the greater Los Angeles area. Some of the benches have already been defaced (GLAAD/LA Reports July '94). The bus bench company replaces each damaged ad as it is reported. GLAAD also uses each defaced bench as an opportunity to work with the media to increase our visibility and to inform as to the value of this effort. This is exactly why this campaign is so critical -- we are valuable members of our community. Our status as lesbians and gay men should not get such an ugly response as the statements painted over the ad at National and Sawtelle. You can help by adopting a bus bench and serving as a scout. If you you see any of the benches defaced during your travels about town, call the GLAAD/LA office - (213) 658-6775 - or the Hotlines - (213) 931-9429 (English) or (213) 658-6074 (Spanish) - immediately. [If you want a list of the locations of some 200 busbench ads in the LA area send an e-mail to wasmith@eis.calstate.edu] 2) Stonewall 25 and Gay Games IV How Were They Covered? Los Angeles... The Los Angeles Times (LAT) is on a roll. Not only did the LAT cover the Stonewall 25 Celebration but it has been running articles on gay and lesbian issues and personalities with increasing regularity. The exception: Sport Section coverage of the Gay Games IV. The Sunday June 26 edition ran a front page feature on the local history of the gay rights movement in Los Angeles. Early gay rights pioneers were described as well as the constant harassment, homophobia and brutality from the LAPD. Sir Ian McKellen discussed the challenges of coming out in the entertainment industry (see Lee Werbel's Executive Director's column in this issue); a guest editorial decried harassment of a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher; the Book Review section ran no less than five articles on gay literature after Stonewall. On Monday, June 27, two gay-related articles graced the front page. The first was on the Stonewall 25 March in New York and the second reviewed the ten-year history of the City of West Hollywood. The Times wound up its coverage of Stonewall on June 28 with a strong editorial in favor of a federal bill to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, the Sports Section was another story. Gay Games results were not being run. Calls to the Times by Rick Valdivia, who was monitoring the paper, began on June 20 when he asked why results were not included among the sport stats. (The opening of the Gay Games had been covered in the View Section.) He was told that Associated Press was not sending the results. A call to AP in New York disputed that reason; AP was sending the results every day. If the Times wasn't running them, the Times didn't want to, said AP. On 6/22, two inches of Gay Games stats appeared, but so did a full page story about night fishing off the coast of Los Angeles. This destroyed another excuse by the Times why the Gay Games was not being covered. Rick had been told earlier that the Sports Section did not cover "amateur" events or events that were not "professional." Night fishing? Rick finally deduced that the "good guy" at the Times was Acting Sports Editor John Cherwa (213) 237-7070; FAX (213) 237-7876. Also, contact the "big guy" at the Times, Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Shelby Coffey III, Times-Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053; (213) 237-7679. New York... The New York Times covered Stonewall 25 and the Gay Games in an unprecedented fashion. From front page pictures to in-depth examinations of Stonewall 25 and Gay Games IV, editorials and features were well-written, positive and accurate. A vast improvement over previous gay and lesbian coverage. Comments to: The New York Times, 229 W. 43 Street, New York 10036. Chicago... The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as other local print and TV news outlets, virtually ignored the Gay Games. Coverage was difficult to find. The Chicago Sun-Times did run two moderately sized stories, borrowed from other sources, on June 25 and 26. The Sun-Times ran a one page wire service story on June 19 about Stonewall 25 and a scant one inch by two inch story on June 26, the day of the March. The Tribune ran an extensive and well written front page story, including photos, in its Sunday, June 26 edition and on the 27 published a large, full color front page photo of the mile long "rainbow flag" carried along the Stonewall 25 parade route. The editorial pages of the Tribune carried pieces by Michael Sherry ("Gay Rights: A Positive not a Negative") and a page long op-ed column from the New York Times news service called "Gays in the mainstream make homophobic critics look paranoid," by Anna Quindlen. The Sun-Times countered with a scathing editorial called "Rights, Not Privileges, for Gays. Comments to: Dennis A. Britton, Editor & Executive Vice President, Chicago Sun-Times, 401 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 60611; Howard Tyner, Editor, The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. Long Beach... The Long Beach Press Telegram ran a piece on 6/2 on the Gay Games in their Sports Section, and a personal feature-style piece on Greater Los Angeles residents who were going to the Games. They quoted that 11,000 athletes from 43 countries were expected. Comments to: Jim Crutchfield, Editor-in-Chief, Long Beach Press Telegram, 604 Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90013. Time Magazine... The July 11 weekly issue of Time magazine devoted less than a sentence to Stonewall 25, and then failed to highlight the broader political reasons for the event. It placed Stonewall 25 in the "Losers" category of its "Winners and Losers" column, and justified this move by criticizing the organization's financial situation. With only one other mention of Stonewall 25, in a fairly comprehensive and thorough article in the June 27 issue, Time's overall record of coverage was dismal. Write, call or FAX Time and express your feelings about its scant coverage. Contact: Jason McManus, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc., Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York 10020; phone (800) 843-8463; FAX (212) 522-0601. Television Networks: ABC... "Wide World of Sports" on Saturday, June 25, gave very positive coverage, several minutes long, of Gay Games IV. It was treated exactly like any other sporting event. A brief history of the Games was included...ABC World News did a thorough presentation on the history of Stonewall 25. Comments to: ABC News, Roone Arledge, President, 47 W. 66th Street, New York 10023. CBS... CBS Evening News presented fair, accurate and respresentative stories on Gay Games IV and Stonewall 25. Given prominence was the diversity of the g/l community, the history of Stonewall 25 and recognition that the struggle for equal rights was just beginning. Write: Eric Ober, President, CBS News, 524 W. 57th Street, New York 10019. CNN... CNN Headline News swallowed and reported the New York City Parks Department drastically underestimated "official count of the number of Stonewall 25 participants." (Stonewall 25: 100,000 participants in Central Park, based on an estimated Great Lawn official capacity of 180,000. However, Pavarotti drew 500,000 to the Great Lawn and Paul Simon 750,000, no doubt a sardine packer's dream. Great estimating, Parks Dept.!) Organizer's estimates run to 700,000. CNN was derelict in its reporting duties. It should have reported the disparity in the numbers rather than reporting the Parks Dept. number. Your comments to: CNN News, Roger Babre, Senior Producer, 1 CNN Center, P.O. Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 3-348-5366. NBC... NBC drew upon the history of Stonewall, recognizing the contributions of drag queens throughout the 25 year history of the g/l struggle. In addition, they reported on the activities in New York City accurately and showed the increased visibility of gay men and lesbians throughout society. Contact: Andrew Lack, President, NBC News, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York 10012. On Monday, June 27, "Today" with Bryant Gumble and Katie Couric covered the previous week's activities of the Gay Games and Stonewall. Los Angeles Television... Despite more coverage than previous g/l events, Los Angeles television outlets did not give nearly enough coverage to the Gay Games or Stonewall 25. While Channel 4, KNBC-TV, featured Garret Glaser, and "In the Life" with Mr. Glaser and Ellen Carton of GLAAD/New York did air, the other menus were sparse. Basically disappointing. Where Were the Lesbians?... Did anyone else notice the imbalance of gay over lesbian Stonewall 25 coverge? From The Nation to the mundane, Newsweek, mostly men writing stories on mostly men. Lesbians have some serious work to do. Straight Radio Plays Gay Weekend... Los Angeles area radio stations were invited to take part in a weekend program called "Live and Let Live...Celebrating the Silver Anniversary of the Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights Movement," on June 24 - 26, 1994. A GLAAD/LA radio-play package was delivered to each of the stations, offering them: Play a PSA: An enclosed tape by Grammy Award winning lesbian singer Melissa Etheridge stating that America celebrates "equality and civil rights for lesbians and gay men. Just like you, demanding the basic rights guaranteed to evey American. To be proud of who we are. To live and let live." Play Songs: Play a block of songs from an attached playlist of gay and lesbian musicians/bands and g/l positive songs. Invite Discussion: Invite DJs and talk radio hosts to discuss gay and lesbian civil rights and good old-fashioned American concepts of tolerance and equality. 3) Louganis Speaks Out: "Olympics Out of Cobb" Greg Louganis, the first man to win both diving gold medals in successive Olympic Games, received a career achievement award, the Robert J. Kane Award, on July 7 from the U.S. Olympic Committee and spoke out to the audience about being gay. "I'm proud to be standing before you as an openly gay athlete," said Louganis. He then went further and spoke out against the Olympics holding any events in Cobb County, GA. "By passing the resolution, they've made it clear some of the athletes won't be welcomed. This is not a political issue, it's an issue of fairness. An openly gay athlete should be able to compete without barriers." Louganis attended Gay Games IV in New York City where he put on two diving exhibitions. He dedicated his career achievement award from the U.S. Olympic Committee to the memory of Tom Waddell, the founder of the Gay Games. Support Greg Louganis and his courageous appearance before the U.S. Olympic Committee, contact: Billy Payne, President, ACOG, Suite 6000, 250 Williams Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30301; (404) 224-1996, (404) 224-1906 or (404) 224-1200; FAX (404) 224-1997 or (404) 224-1989; Juan Antonio Samaranch, President, International Olympic Committee, Chateau de Vidy, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland. 4) President's Column by Dean Hansell, GLAAD/LA President (Editor's note: The GLAAD/LA Board of Directors has begun a reorganization process. The Board has shifted from having Co-Presidents to a single President. With the retirement of Stephanie Farrington-Domingue (GLAAD/LA Reports July '94), Dean Hansell is now the President instead of Co-President.) The recently concluded Gay Games IV and the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, New York were milestone events in the history of the gay and lesbian rights movement. Among the more significant features of these two events is that the main stream media, for almost the first time, covered these events more fully and more accurately than they have almost any previous major gay and lesbian activity. It is as though we are starting to come of age with a press that is starting to take up more seriously than it has in the past. The coverage by the main stream press was more comprehensive and more balanced than in many previous events. It was more comprehensive because it covered not only the activities but the history that led up to these events. The Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Chicago Tribune all carried extensive coverage of the Games and the Stonewall March, with coverage of the events themselves, background pieces on the history of the gay rights movement and even commentaries, such as Paul Monette's essay in the the Los Angeles Times Magazine about the state of the gay nation 25 years after the Stonewall Uprising. Even the book review sections in both the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, during the week of the events, were dominated with descriptions of gay and lesbian-themed books, such as George Chauncey's long-awaited historical work "Gay New York." The press coverage was also more balanced because it did not for the most part dwell solely on the more colorful aspects of our community. To be sure there were references to participants in the swimming races consuming bottled water (no doubt Perrier) while they swam and to marchers in drag. But these are the playful aspects of the community and the main stream press did not focus upon them but rather included those references as part of broader stories. The increased accuracy of the main stream press coverage must be contrasted with the phenomena such as police crowd estimates, which systematically downplay the attendance at causes the police do not like. For example, the New York Police Department official estimate of the size of the crowd at the March was on the order of 100,000 while organizers and participants know that the true number of participants was about 700,000. Further, the radical right press was working full time cranking out hatred. "Sodomites March on New York" was the enlightened headline from one Southern newspaper. Other media sources including several television stations, in an attempt to trivialize what took place, focused only upon drag queens and the like. (The point, of course, is not whether drag queens, etc. are part of the lesbian and gay community but that our community does not consist only of drag queens.) In an additional attempt to delegitimize what took place, these accounts also featured prominently dissenting view points from bigots. The main stream coverage is a welcome contrast to coverage of previous major mass demonstrations. The media coverage on the occupation of the Food and Drug Administration headquarters during the 1988 March on Washington, for example, focused not on the reasons for the March and occupation but rather on the act of the occupation itself. The coverage of that event tried to marginalize the participants as angry young male losers who have tattoos and wear earrings. The differences in coverage today of events like Stonewall 25 and Gay Games IV from like events of the past cannot be explained by any one phenomenon. We are more media savvy today and have become more active in making sure that the press is able to report the totality of an event. Groups such as GLAAD have helped to sensitize journalists and editors to the biases implicit in certain types of coverage and the need for balanced and full coverage. More lesbian and gay journalists and editors are coming out and being given the opportunity to play a role in the coverage of such events. This is not the time to relax. As good as some of the coverage of Stonewall and the Gay Games was in many of the major main stream press, these activities did not play at all in Peoria. In the media markets of Main Street, USA the press choose to ignore the events altogether. GLAAD is attempting to address the issue about how do you reach the media markets of smaller cities in two ways. We have begun an editorial project that prepares articles and editorials from professional writers on gay and lesbian subjects and then makes them available to smaller newspapers. We have already begun to enjoy some successes with this venture. Second, through the work of GLAAD chapters in smaller cities such as Kansas City, Dallas and Denver and through our organizing efforts in other smaller cities, we have been able to reach media outlets that heretofore have given little attention to lesbian and gay issues. GLAAD's efforts without your help, however, will not be enough. Your support of GLAAD and for those of you in smaller towns or with media contacts in small towns is absolutely critical. Lest you think that the opinions of people in less populated areas are not important, remember that fully half of our United States Senators come from so-called rural states. It's time to get involved. 5) Hate, American Style Right wing organizations are continuing to proliferate, siezing every opportunity to advance their agenda of discrimination, bigotry, divisiveness and hate. Some of these groups target Congress and the political process, others are moving ahead rapidly to control and produce programming for all television access systems (cable, satellite and commercial), while others are busy in local school districts and organizing around social issues (abortion, human rights and "pro-family values"). Some of these organizations are: American Family Association Promotes its agenda through courts actions; also targets media/entertainment industry. Concerns include homosexuality, pornography, profanity, "anti-Christian bigotry," liberal media. Influential on National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding and public school curricula censorship. 600,000 members, 640 local chapters. Donald Wildmon, P.O. Box 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803. Chalcedon Principle center of the Christian Reconstruction Movement (CRM). Leader in establishing Christian legal organizations and a major think tank. Publisher, speakers bureau and seminar presenter. Largely unknown outside of conservative Christian circles. A recent report by Neighbors Network Alert (NNA), an Atlanta, GA organization monitoring hate crimes and hate groups, states that the CRM advocates abolition of secular government, replacing it with a Christian theocratic republic, and the death penalty for homosexuals. CRM is described by NNA as a "radical group" with ties to Cobb County Commissioner Gordon Wysong and Georgia Congressional candidate Bob Barr. Connected to Chalcedon/CRM is Rousas John Rushdoony. Information on the watch dog group NNA may be obtained by calling Walter Reeves at (404) 816-8348. Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Flagship of the Pat Robertson ever-growing right wing media empire. CBN broadcasts "The 700 Club" and produces unending reams of press releases and fact sheets advocating the right wing agenda. An armada of connected media outlets include International Family Entertainment, the Family Channel and most recently the Cable Health Club. CBN, 700 CBN Center, Virginia Beach, VA 23463. Christian Coalition Umbrella group headed by Ralph Reed with backing from Pat Robertson. Agenda is to target issues that attract the more moderate and mainstream person, i.e. support for police, fighting against drugs, etc., but then advance ultra right wing agenda, i.e. America is a "Christian" nation, anti-gay and lesbian rights, anti-pro-choice, etc. Last month the group announced the addition of the 1 millionth name to its data base of supporters. Moving aggressively in all media areas. Ralph Reed, Executive Director, P.O. Box 1990, Chesapeake, VA 23327; (800) 325-4746. Concerned Women of America Anti-gay, anti-abortion, "pro-family" agenda via grassroots organizing and Congressional lobbying. Pressures elected officials via local groups ("prayer chains") 600,000 members, 800 U.S. Chapters. Beverly LaHaye, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW, #800, Washington, DC 20024. Coral Ridge Ministries Helped in producing the infamous video "The Gay Agenda." Dr. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302. Eagle Forum A women's organization powerful in national and Republican party politics thanks to Phyllis Schlafly, founder. Mother of a gay man, she opposes AIDS education, sex education, daycare, family leave, abortion rights, the ERA, and NEA funding. 80,000 members. Phyllis Schlafly, P.O. Box 618, Alton, IL 62002. Family Research Council Lobbies against gay/lesbian/bisexual civil rights, reproductive freedom, government-funded health care, child care and equal protection of laws for women in the worplace. Says lifting the ban on military service by openly gay men will dramatically increase AIDS incidence. Split from Focus of the Family in 1992. (Not the same as Paul Cameron's Family Research Institute.) Gary Bauer, 700 13th Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC. Family Research Institute Another "high purpose" sounding name that really cloaks the extreme ignorance and mind-set of its chief bigoted practitioner, Dr. Paul Cameron. Some recent quotes from Dr. Cameron about Gay Games IV, "The Death Games...AIDS is primarily a homosexual disease...The majority of those stopped from giving blood are homosexuals. If you don't call that spreading AIDS I don't know what is...At 54 I've already outlived the life span of homosexuals...We have tracked The Advocate and 17 other gay and lesbian publications and the median age of death is about 40...Gays are spreading AIDS to health care workers...I don't agree that lesbians are AIDS free...There is no evidence that suicide is higher in gay and lesbian teens...What about the guy who started the gay games. He's dead. He died at 42." Focus on the Family Employs almost 1,000; has 1,550 radio stations worldwide. A leader in the passage of Colorado's Amendment 2 to disallow equal rights to lesbigay Americans. Conducts seminars nationally to involve fundamentalists in the political process. James Dobson, P.O. Box 35500, Colorado Springs, CO 890935. Free Congress Foundation A research/educational organization. Formed National Empowerment Television (NET) to mobolize Right for grassroots lobbying. Is expanding to cable TV. Operates Judicial Selection Monitoring Project. Has four TV shows including two to target black conservatives and college campuses. Paul Weyrich, 717 Second Street, NW, Washington, DC 20002. National Association of Christian Educators/ Citizens for Excellence in Education Goal is to bring public education under Christian control. Priority is disruption of public schools via attacks on curricula, text books and school boards (1,250 chapters). Dr. Robert L. Simonds, P.O. Box 3200, Costa Mesa, CA 92628. Operation Rescue Nationally known for violent shut-down of abortion clinics and vandalizing property, terrorizing women and health-care providers including stalking, harassment and other intimidation tactics. Trains activists. Added gay rights to agenda when Clinton proposed to lift the military ban. 35,000 plus members. Randall Terry, P.O. Box 1180, Birmingham, NY 13902. S.T.R.A.I.G.H.T. Society to Remove All Immoral Godless/Gross Homosexual Trash. An extreme right wing hate group that is now publishing a newsletter and is responsible for various fliers advocating death for homosexuals. STRAIGHT, P.O. Box 5251, Denver, CO 80217. Traditional Values Coalition Opposes gay and lesbian rights, reproductive freedom, teaching evolution, and sex education except for abstinence. Newest group is the Heterosexual Ethic in America. Active in DC, Oregon and California to outlaw civil rights protections for queers. Now organizing anti-gay initiatives in California and elsewhere. Helped repeal g/l rights in Irvine and Concord, CA. Advocates AIDS quarantine. 25,000 churches nationwide. Reverend Lou Sheldon, 100 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 320, Anaheim, CA 92805. Westboro Baptist Church Home base for the homophobic Reverend Fred Phelps. Always looking for media opportunities to advance his various campaigns, especially picketing the funerals of gay men. Truly "out there." Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, 3701 W. 12th Street, P.O. Box 1886, Topeka, KS 66604; (913) 273-0325. For Additional Information... Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League has published a book called "The Religious Right: The Assault on Tolerance and Pluralism in America" that examines and profiles the religious right and its movement to roll back the civil rights gains made by gays, lesbians, feminists and African-Americans. Listed are such major players as Pat Robertson, Lou Sheldon, R.J. Rushdoony and Jerry Falwell. Copies are available by writing: Anti-Defamation League, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017. Freedom Writer The August 1994 issue of Freedom Writer, published monthly by the Institute for First Amendment Studies, provides an excellent overview and resource guide to "the organized assault on gay rights." Write: First Amendment Studies, P.O. Box 589, Great Barrington, MA 01230. 6) Film and Television No More "Ridicule or Attack" on ABC Following public outcry and an entertainment industry visibility and accountability effort led by GLAAD/LA over ABC-TV's attempt to censor the kiss between Mariel Hemingway and Roseanne Arnold on the sitcom "Roseanne," the American Broadcasting Company is extending its programming standards to include lesbians and gay men. This means that we will be added to the list of groups not to be "misrepresented, ridiculed or attacked" on its network programming. To thank ABC-TV for this step forward and to encourage them to be pro-active in their policing and implementation of this new policy, write: Ted Harbert, President, ABC-TV, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles 90067; Christine Hikawa, Vice-President of Broadcast Standards and Practices, ABC-TV, 77 W. 66th Street, New York 10023. Quotable Quote... From a spokesperson for Wesley Snipes after Mr. Snipes attended a speech given by Nation of Islam official Khallid Abdul Muhammad, "Wesley has a Jewish agent, a Jewish lawyer and a gay publicist. If he was really aligning himself with what this guy is saying, he'd put a bullet in each of us." The Family Channel... Slithering Its Way In Ready to move ahead rapidly as part of the information superhighway on cable TV is The Family Channel. A safe, innocuous title for a channel whose owner pushes hate as a Family Value. The Family Channel is a bigoted off-spring of Pat Robertson and will soon be available on the newly aligned channels offered by Century Cable. While its initial programming may be entertaining and will definitely be aimed at "families," Robertson is a master of deception (example: "The 700 Club") and will be programming material to advance his personal theocratic view of America. Let your local cable company know that "The Family Channel" is a euphemism and is really a front for a bigoted, reactionary religious personality. Century Cable: Pacific Palisades, West Los Angeles (310) 453-2233; Santa Monica (310) 828-2111; Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz: (213) 258-8500; San Fernando Valley (818) 374-1230, (213) 873-2522. On the Soap Beat... GLAAD/SFBA reports that according to the Star, June 28 edition, "General Hospital" is the first network soap opera to openly hire an HIV-positive actor in a key role. Actor Lee Mathis appeared on the soap on June 21. AIDS/HIV Education Effort Just before her recently announced resignation as "AIDS Czar," Kristine Gebbe announced that the United States government is prepared to produce a national television campaign specifically aimed at young gay and bisexual men. The last government-funded effort was criticized for omitting all references to lesbians and gay men, whatever their age. As with all programs designed to educate the public about AIDS there will to be the continuing loud "drum beat of opposition" from the right wing. The right wing is able to raise large sums to fight the "homosexual agenda" on the basis of the government spending funds to fight AIDS. Your support can only be helpful, contact: Kristine Gebbe, National AIDS Policy Office, 200 Independence Ave., SW, Room 738G, Washington, DC 20201; FAX (202) 690-6584. 7) Radio and Print "Doonesbury" & "For Better or For Worse" Garry Trudeau, creator of the "Doonesbury" comic strip, ran a series about same-sex unions sanctioned by churches - Catholic and Eastern Orthodox - which paralleled the release of the new book by John Bosewell entitled "Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe" (Villard Books). As reviewed by L.A. Times religion writer Larry Stammer, "'Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe,' asserts that from the 8th to the 18th centuries, the Catholic church sanctioned same-sex unions and offered ceremonies complete with prayer for the couple's union, Holy Communion and directing the couple to kiss a book of the Gospel, the priest and one another." Trudeau characterized the reaction to the book by various figures, religious and secular. Each daily "Doonesbury" strip carried an "Editor's Note" which said, "Church spokesmen dispute the claims made in a book by Yale University Professor John Bosewell." Meanwhile, on the comic page of the Friday, July 1 issue of the Times, Lynn Johnston, creator of the strip "For Better of For Worse," was ending a long sequence of strips built around senior graduation and proms. Last year Ms. Johnston depicted the coming out of strip character Lawrence. In the July 1 strip, Lawrence arrives at the prom with his male date, Ben. Strip regular Mike says, "I didn't think you were coming!" Replies Lawrence, "Yeah...we thought about cuttin' out, Mike, but then I figured - this is one time you gotta be there. I decided that no matter what anybody thinks or says, you gotta stand up for yourself...stand up for freedom...stand up for..." At this point Lawrence is interrupted by another character who says, "Uh, Lawrence...sit down and eat!" Your comments to Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Johnston c/o The Los Angeles Times, Times-Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. "Speed," Keanu & EW The June 10, 1994 edition of Entertainment Weekly (EW) carried a feature story on Keanu Reeves ("The Next Mel Gibson?") sparked and cranked-out over his high-powered performance in "Speed." Starts the EW article, "Little Frida's, a lesbian coffee shop in West Hollywood, may be one of the few places in America where the androgynous beauty of Keanu Reeves is lost on the local populace...Reeves has a china-doll complexion, black beads for eyes... Sipping his cranberry juice and appearing politely horrified by the femo-phallic artwork on the walls." The multi-page interview contains enough "hurrah material" on Mr. Reeves to show that it would be unfair to Mr. Gibson to compare the two. In the same edition is an article entitled "Paying Lip Service" where writer Ken Tucker makes the observation that "gay characters are turning up regularly on such shows as `Melrose Place' and `Northern Exposure,' but when it comes to romance it's all talk and no action." His well-written piece includes references to "One Nation Under God," "Roommates," the gay inclusive IKEA ads, "Tales of the City" and "Roseanne." And on page 57 is a review of the "unauthorized book" on k.d. lang written by Victoria Starr. Ms. Starr recounts ms. lang's childhood and career and includes this quote from the remarkable ms. lang, "I know these radio guys pick up my album, see the picture and say, `Who's this faggot?'" Your comments to: Mr. Jason McManus, Editor-in-Chief, Entertainment Weekly, 1675 Broadway, New York 10019. Your Family in Parade "What does family mean to you?" That's the theme of the American Photography Contest sponsored by Parade magazine and Kodak. No view of the American family would be complete unless lesbians and gay men are included. Therefore, we encourage you to submit your family photos for consideration. For entry rules see a copy of Parade, or contact: Lee Kimble, Parade, Parade Publications, 711 Third Avenue, New York, 10017. Deadline: August 15, 1994. 8) Advertising Walt Disney Targeted Donald Wildmon's American Family Association (AFA) has targeted the Walt Disney Company because "Disney helps push the homosexual agenda." AFA claims that Disney ranks among the leading advertisers "who consistently appear on homosexual propaganda pieces." And what, pray-tell, are these "propaganda pieces"? "Beverly Hills 90210," "Birdland," "Roseanne," "Roc," "Northern Exposure" and "Melrose Place." AFA also indicts Disney for "their most explicit movie yet...featuring a lesbian encouter and frontal nudity." To encourage the Walt Disney Company to continue its ad policies, write: Michael Eisner, CEO, The Walt Disney Co., 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521. AT&T Reaches Out AT&T has launched a broadscale, national mail campaign aimed at the lesbian and gay community. The campaign is to find new long distance customers. If you're considering changing phone carriers, do it now and let AT&T know that this campaign was a factor in your decision. If you already are an AT&T customer, let them know they have given you another reason to remain with them. Write: Paula Bednar, Executive Assistant, Executive Response Team, AT&T, 175 Morristown Road, Basking Ridge, New Jersey 07920. Hate Hits the Phone Lines A full-page advertisement in the July newsletter published by the American Family Association (AFA), Donald Wildmon's hate group, is encouraging its readers to switch their present carrier for long distance phone services to Lifeline. Hypes the ad, "Are you as committed to family values as the radical feminists and homosexuals are to their leftist agendas? Nearly every group of radical left-wingers in America is being encouraged to switch their long distance phone service to carriers who give a percentage of their phone bills to causes such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Planned Parenthood of America and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund." By switching long distance carriers to Lifeline and naming the AFA as a beneficiary, a percentage of the charge for each long distance call will accrue to AFA. The ad further portrays Lifeline as a long distance carrier committed to "family values and decency." Lifeline may well be committed to family values and decency, but hopefully not at the expense of accepting the bigoted, misleading and hateful positions of the AFA. Call Lifeline and let them know that the AFA is using its name to promote hate and discrimination. Call (800) 493-2002. If you wish your own group to be listed with Lifeline call (800) 800-7550. American Airlines Goes the Distance In an unprecedented move, American Airlines has produced a videotape to convey the message to its employees that gays, lesbians and people with HIV are welcome on American, "...to make it clear that our policies of nondiscrimination and fairness are taken to heart." This action followed an unfortunate incident during the 1993 March on Washington when airline employees replaced blankets and pillows used by gay people out of ignorance about how HIV is transmitted. American's new message gives accurate information about AIDS and urges employees to treat people with AIDS with sensitivity and compassion. Please write to American Airlines to thank them for this important step. Write to: Robert Crandall, CEO, American Airlines, P.O. Box 619616, Mail Drop 5623, DFW Airport, TX 75261-9616; FAX (817) 931-4829. Kraft vs Tabloid Publicity Kraft General Foods (KGF), the giant food processing conglomerate, has responded to complaints that the company refused to buy ad time during the "lesbian kiss" episode of "Roseanne" with the statement that KGF does NOT have a "policy against advertising in programs that deal with homosexuality" and has "advertised in a number of made-for-TV movies and programs that include g/l themes such as `Early Frost,' `Northern Exposure,' and `Melrose Place.'" KGF didn't buy time on the "Roseanne" episode because of the "tabloid publicity" that surrounded the episode. Right wing hate groups such as Concerned Women of America have asked their membership to "flood Kraft with supportive letters" for not buying time on the lesiban kiss episode of "Roseanne." And while KGF may be well intentioned, according to GLAAD/SFBA, "Kraft's actions is an open invitation to such hate groups, letting them know that every time homophobes turn our lives into a `tabloid controversy,' Kraft will back away..." Your own tabloidesque remarks may be directed to: Michael Mudd, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Three Lakes Drive, Northfield, IL 60093-2753. Tracking the Ads The Media Outreach Committee wants to inform the gay and lesbian community of advertisers who either support programs about our community or contribute to censorship of those programs, and you can help. The next time you watch television, keep a pencil and paper handy. If there is such content, jot down the name of the show and its sponsors. Then, call the information into the GLAAD/LA Hotlines: English (213) 931-9429; Spanish (213) 658-6074; FAX (213) 658-6776. If you are an advertising industry "insider" who might have access to information about advertisers who have been under boycott or hate-campaign pressure to cease advertising on programs that are lesbian and gay positive, please call us. Any information will be treated in confidence. 9) GLAAD News Georgia On Our Mind All in the Family... Twenty-four year-old Shannon Byrne said she was shocked by the news that Cobb County had adopted a resolution condemning the "gay lifestyle," and stunned because one of the resolution's prime supporters - Cobb County Commission Chair Bill Byrne - is her father. In a June 23 interview in the Southern Voice, Atlanta's lesbian and gay weekly newspaper, Shannon said, "I didn't know if the papers were right, I just couldn't believe ...that my father had done that because he had actually been there, out of all my family members, the most supportive." For almost a year Shannon has watched from the sidelines as the issue refused to go away. "I'm sorry for what my dad has done," she said, "That's one of the reasons I'm coming out! I just wasn't at peace with keeping quiet...I feel like I needed to tell these Christian people that they are dead wrong. I don't think they have any idea about how to be Christian." Your comments to: Shannon Byrne, c/o Southern Voice, 1189 Virginia Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. FAX (404) 876-2709. Cobb County Demonstration... And the reaction to the Cobb hate resolution continues to grow. The Olympics Out of Cobb Coalition is calling for a massive protest/demonstration during the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, GA July 19 - August 4, 1996, to call attention to the scheduling of some Olympic volleyball events in Cobb County, GA. Olympics Out of Cobb Coalition, P.O. Box 77341, Atlanta, GA 30357-1341; (404) 798-7822; Carl Lange, ED, GLAAD/Atlanta, P.O. Box 55111, Atlanta, GA 30308; FAX (404) 876-4051. 1-800-GET-COKE... Meanwhile, GLAAD/USA continues its campaign to target the Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in Atlanta, and a prominent sponsor of the Games, for its refusal to denounce or disavow the decision of the Atlanta Committee on the Olympic Games. "To hold the Olympics in a place where lesbians and gay men are not welcomed flies in the face of the concept of dignity that the Olympics is supposed to uphold," said Ellen Carton, Executive Director of GLAAD/NY, "And so does Coke's refusal to distance itself from this kind of bigotry." GLAAD/USA will be using phone trees, newspapers columns and computer activation networks to ask lesbian and gay consumers to contact the Coca-Cola Company's 800 line (1-800-GET-COKE; 1-800-438-2653) and demand that the company change its position. Also being alerted are restaurants, bars, supermarkets and any other outlets where Coke may be available. "There will be a lot of lesbians and gay men joining the `Pepsi Generation' if the Coca-Cola Company doesn't change its tune," predicted Ms. Carton. Contact: Billy Payne, President, ACOG, Suite 6000, 250 Williams Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30301; (404) 224-1996, (404) 224-1906 or (404) 224-1200; FAX (404) 224-1997 or (404) 224-1989; Juan Antonio Samaranch, President, International Olympic Committee, Chateau de Vidy, CH-1007, Lausanne, Switzerland. "Dialogue"... The Cobb Citizens Coalition, whose mission is "to promote understanding, tolerance and acceptance of all people" and "end discrimination based on sexual orientation," publishes a regular newsletter, "Dialogue." The newsletter reports on events in Cobb County. To receive a copy contact: Cobb Citizens Coalition, Inc., P.O. Box 965336, Marietta, GA 30066; (404) 256-8690. Extending Benefits Governor Mario Cuomo of New York made a surprise announcement on June 28 at a reception honoring the 25th Anniversary of Stonewall saying that New York State plans to extend health benefits to the domestic partners of homosexual state employees. (New York joins Vermont as the only two states extending such benefits.)...The City Council of Portland, Oregon voted unanimously on June 20 to extend health benefits to unmarried domestic partners of city workers without regard to sexual orientation...On June 19 Oregon State University in Corvalis said domestic-partner health benefits will be available to the university's 14,000 students...The San Diego city council on June 12 voted 5 to 4 to extend health care benefits to domestic partners. The measure was introduced by Councilmember Christine Kehoe who is a lesbian. Gary Fairy: CD-Rom Stereotype "Leisure Suit Larry" is a computer adventure game series chronicling the misdaventures of an aging 70's throwback named Larry Laffer. Larry is portrayed as an innocent schmuck who's only goal in life is to get laid. The game is marketed with "Parental Discretion Advised," but the cartoon quality of the graphics, the implied goal of a sexual encounter, along with the promise of "more laughs per megabyte than any other computer game on earth" certainly makes it attractive to young, impressionable game players. During the game, Larry enters the gym area of a posh spa-resort. Behind the towel counter is Gary Fairy, a stereotyped gay man: "bottle blond" hair styled in a flip curl, dressed in purple "short" shorts and midriff turquoise tank top (socks to match), large purple scarf tied around his neck, and armed with a powerful lisp. Some samples of the dialogue. Says Larry, "Excuse me sir, is this where I get my spa towel?" Answers Gary Fairy (in a girly sing-song voice)"Why yes it isth handsthome. May I please have your name...and room number?" (Giggle). Larry: "Why do you want my room number?" Gary Fairy: "Why stho we can charge you for the towelsth you don't return!" Larry: "Well, okay, I guess. It's room 201, right at the top of the stairs. Feel free to drop in..." Gary Fairy (excitedly): "Oh, goodie!" Larry (a la "Wayne's World"): "...NOT!!!" The author of this stereotypical drivel and "humorous homophobia" is Al Lowe. To help educate Mr. Lowe, send your own comments, with "more intelligent comments per megabyte," to: Sierra On-Line, Inc., Coarsegold, CA 93614. Digital Queers The June 26 Sunday edition of The New York Times featured "Wired for the Revolution," an article on Digital Queers (DQ) by Barbara Presley Noble. Noble captured the essence of DQ's unique and urgent mission, which seeks to "leverage its computer knowledge" in the service of queer activism. The San Francisco based group serves the queer community through donations of time, materials and expertise in new technologies. Compliments to: Ms. Noble c/o The New York Times, 229 W. 43 Street, New York 10036; Digital Queers, 1360 Mission St., Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103. In Memory Dick Sargent died on Friday, July 8, 1994. The actor may well best be remembered by the general public as Elizabeth Monthgomery's second television husband on the program "Bewitched." However, most of us will remember him also for his act of courage in coming out in 1991 as being gay. "It was such a relief. I lived in fear of being found out. Now it's given me a whole new mission in life," he said. GLAAD/LA was happy to be included as part of his new mission. His willingness to appear at GLAAD/LA functions and to speak out clearly about the ravages of being closeted in Hollywood will stand as part of his legacy. Media Research Center The conservative media watchdog, Media Research Center (MRC), has announced its "10 Most Biased Television Shows." In this case "biased" means anything that might remotely sniff of "liberalism." Topping the list is ABC-TV's "Roseanne," which MRC said "...a lack of positive role models, the frequent promotion of homosexuality, the condoning of drug use, the stereotypical religious fanatics...Thematically, no item of garbage was too filthy for this prime-time landfill." The other nine shows rounding out the list in order are: "Picket Fences," "Monty," "Captain Planet and the Planeteers," "Melrose Place," "seaQuest DSV," "Other Mothers," "704 Hauser," "And the Band Played On," and "Tales of the City." Not making the top ten were a couple of favorites that had been on some of the earlier three lists. Missing in 1994 were "Murphy Brown," "L.A. Law," "Northern Exposure," and "Beverly Hills, 90210." Comments to: Media Research Center, attn.: Sandy Crawford, 113 S. West Str., 2nd Fl., Alexandria, VA 22314. Larry Horne Stepping Down Larry Horne, the founder-director and guiding force of the Los Angeles International Gay & Lesbian Film & Video Festival, is stepping down to forge a new career as a producer. Larry can look back to 1982 the first year of the Festival when there were 29 films presented from seven countries. This year during its mid-July dating, the Festival presented 242 offerings from 29 countries. Larry will be launching, with a group of friends, Out Entertainment Group, and independent production and distribution company that will develop gay-and-lesbian-themed material for video, TV and screen. 10) Executive Director's Column by Lee Werbel Stonewall 25: Twenty-five years of fighting for gay and lesbian civil rights. Where are we? How far have we come (out) in "Hollywood?" A recent interview with GLAAD/LA Media Award recipient, Sir Ian McKellen in the Los Angeles Times, provided one interesting answer to the question. The interview was conducted in connection with his one-man performance he created for the cultural festival accompanying Gay Games IV this past June in New York. I am using this space to excerpt parts of the interview that are pertinent to the work we are doing. The key question asked was, "Do you differentiate between how gay actors are accepted in Hollywood and Broadway?" Here is Sir Ian's response: "Absolutely. We're just beginning to see that it's OK on Broadway. It's all easing up wonderfully well. But not in television, not in Hollywood. Because they're appealing to a much larger audience. They're appealing to the lowest common denominator. And that includes prejudice. "So when we see `Angels in America' filmed you can bet your bottom dollar most of the actors will be straight. And they will be very clearly saying they're straight. It would have been incredible if `Philadelphia had been acted by a gay man. "It had to be Tom Hanks to reassure us about it. Doesn't `Angels in America' make `Philadelphia' look so old fashioned? There was only one openly gay person attached to `Philadelphia': the writer. Everybody else was straight. But that's why Hollywood is always behind the times, bless its heart. It likes to think it's somehow right at the beating heart of the nation. But it's always behind. Another question was "What if an openly gay actor had played the Tom Hank's role. Would `Philadelphia' have been as popular?" A: "Yes. And it would have made that actor a great star. And, of course, once he was a star, Hollywood would have been so pleased with itself and they would be running around looking for more openly gay actors who could be in other movies. What these silly agents don't realize is the first young actor of talent who comes out and stars in a movie and is a hit will be the most famous actor in the world and make a fortune for his agents and his managers and producers and the studio. It will be ground-breaking, history-book stuff. "They should be looking for this actor right now instead of telling people, as they are doing as we speak, `You're gay, that's fine with me, boy, but I want you to have a girlfriend. I don't want you to talk about your sexuality. You will be unemployable.'...These producers are out now. These studio heads are out now. These agents are out. They shouldn't be telling their actors to stay in. "I know English actors who are out in London and in the closet in Los Angeles. I know a 50-year old actress who has been out in the stages doing benefits, saying `I'm proud to be a dyke' in public. Now, she's gone to Hollywood and is trying to have a career there and she's being told suddenly to be straight." And as Micheal Kearns states in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Calendar story the following week regarding his work in Hollywood, "There's the assumption that L.A. is the nirvana for gay people, but Los Angeles is more homophobic at its core that Des Moines, because it's a factory town ruled by television and motion pictures." 11) GLAAD/LA General Meeting Tuesday, August 23, 1994 "Projected Images; Queer Performance, Identity and Culture" In recent months, GLAAD/LA programs have addressed gays, lesbians and bisexuals in film, television, the news media and computer communication. Join us on August 23 as we explore another dynamic creative way in which we both inwardly explore our artistic identities and project our images outward to the gay and non-gay worlds. Jordan Peimer, Administrative Director of Highways Performance space (honored by GLAAD/LA for Outstanding Community Service at our 1994 Media Awards) will moderate a panel of queer performance artists. We anticipate a frank discussion about the role of performance in the artistic and activist communities, as well as the controversial themes performance often addresses and the political ramifications which often result. Join us for a provocative, interactive evening. Our schedule: 7:00 p.m. refreshments, 7:30 p.m. program. Come to Temple Beth Chayim Chadishim, 600 West Pico Blvd., one block east of Crescent Heights. Donations requested. No one turned away for lack of funds. 12) "Club Cross Culture" GLAAD/LA's People of Color Fund Raiser Mark it down! Join the fun. You will want to be there on August 7, Sunday, from noon to 5pm at Rudolpho's, 2500 Riverside Drive (corner of Fletcher) in Silverlake, to celebrate GLAAD/LA's People of Color "Club Cross Culture." And you will be helping to raise funds for a great cause. Dancing will be to the sounds of DJ "DAX" (recently featured at CSW) and you will be tempted by a "Buffet of International Foods" donated by local restuarants. There will also be a no host bar. Live special performances will be given by M.C. Diamond, Nile recording artist, "Coco and Rosie," hot salsa rhythm and sounds, Lety Perez, vocalist, Joel Tan, Filipino paget poetry, Toni Wallace, lesbian feminist poet and many more. Make your plans now, but hurry. Advanced tickets are $10.00 each or $17.00 per couple, at the door it will be $15.00 per person or $22.00 per couple. Call the GLAAD/LA office at (213) 658-6775 for reservations and any other information. 13) GLAAD/LA Reports Electronically If you have a computer with a modem and have access to any of these nets, you can pick up this newsletter before it goes to press. This is about two weeks before it would be delivered by mail. Use these addresses: Queer Resources Directory: qrd@vector.casti.com Soc dot Motss: soc-motss@cs.utexas.edu Gay Lesbian & Bisexual News: glb-news@brownvm.brown.edu Gaynet: gaynet@queernet.org Or you can set your modem for (213) 658-6516 and get GLAAD/LA's bbs.