The GLAAD Bulletin Fighting for fair, accurate & inclusive representations of lesbian & gay lives. Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 150 W. 26th Street, NY, NY 10001 Subscription information available upon request. Published by GLAAD/New York for national distribution. Permission granted to reprint with attribution to GLAAD. GLAAD appreciates copies of your letters, and responses. Send to above address. The only way to defeat homophobia is to confront it. ------------------------------ May/June 1992 Issue: PRIME TIME GAY? Your voice has a say! The 30-week TV season has just ended. The networks, we're told, count every letter they receive as if it represents 20,000 people! In short, your letters about these recent episodes will translate into more gay stories next year. TEXACO TO PBS: NO SUPPORT FOR NONTRADITIONAL TV Texaco, the long-time corporate underwriter for PBS's "Great Performances" arts series, will end its support as of June 10th. "The Lost Language of Cranes," a BBC/WNET adaptation of David Leavitt's novel about the parallel coming out of a gay father and son, was screened by company officials prior to their announcement. "Cranes" airs June 24th on "Great Performances." Texaco denies charges by Out in Film, an association of lesbian and gay film professionals, that it acted to avoid supporting an explicitly gay- themed drama. The oil giant says its move was based on "a review of both the current and future direction of the series" that found it moving away from "traditional and classical works." Earlier this season "Great Performances" broadcase "Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane and Company," which included homoerotic dance scenes and a moving interview with choreographer Jones about the AIDS-related death of his lover and "one true companion," Arnie Zane. The suddenness of Texaco's announcement and the fact that "Great Performances" has aired contemporary dramas in the past lends credence to Out in Film's charges. Express your displeasure to Texaco and encourage the company to support programming that deals with gay themes and issues on PBS and on the commerical networks. Gays buy gas, too! Write: James W. Kinnear President and CEO Texaco, Inc. 2000 Westchester Avenue White Plains, New York 10650 Fax: 914-253-7753 Also, praise "Great Performances" for its inclusion of gay-themed works. Write: Jac Venza Executive Producer Great Performances WNET 356 West 58th Street New York, New York 10019 ----------------------------------------------- MORT ZUCKERMAN: WHERE'S THE BALANCE? John Leo, whose column runs weekly in U.S. News & World Report, strikes again -- while financier/publisher Mortimer Zuckerman turns a deaf ear to protests about his magazine's one-sided coverage of gay issues. In an April 6 diatribe, "The Politics of Intimidation," Leo used gay protests, including those against "Basic Instinct," as a pretext to once again savage Act Up, Queer Nation and gay activism in general. Protesting the movie's representation of lesbians and bisexual women as man-hating murderers was an "attempt to censor the script." Moreover, "Gays count verbal slurs against homosexuals as 'violent' incidents and sometimes as 'hate crimes,' but the disruption of masses and the regular villification of Catholics do not count at all," fumed Leo. More disturbing is that Leo's column was the only coverage in U.S. News of the controversy over "Basic Instinct" and, more generally, Hollywood's homophobia. In the past, Leo has lambasted the gay movement on a regular basis (hate crime legislation and gay family rights are among his pet peeves). Last year's column accusing Irish lesbians and gays who fought to march in New York St. Patrick's Day parade of "Catholic-bashing" was the only coverage of the parade in U.S. News. Zuckerman has ignored GLAAD's request to provide gay-supportive voices to counter Leo's (or at least to objectively cover the stories that Leo uses for fodder in his columns). Since U.S. News is surpassing Newsweek as the country's number 2 news weekly (behind Time), its importance can't be underestimated. Demand a balanced representation of lesbian and gay issues. Write: Mortimer Zuckerman Chairman and Editor-in-Chief U.S. News & World Report 2400 N Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20037-1196 ------------------------------------------- CRACKER CHANNEL? LEGITIMIZING BIGOTRY Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants -- "good country cookin'" in 118 outlets throughout the South -- last year fired all its lesbian and gay employees. The chain's commericals are now running nationally on cable's The Nashville Network. Cracker Barrel, whose policy is not to employ people "whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society," has been the subject of widely publicized protests (major stories ran recently in The New York Times and on 20/20). We doubt The Nashville Network would sell commercial space to any company as racist or anti-Semitic as Cracker Barrel is homophobic. (Cracker Barrel now disingenuosly claims its employment policies are based on "merit," but no fired lesbian or gay workers have been rehired; no laws protect gay workers in these states.) Ask the network to stop doing business with bigots. Write: E.W. Wendell President The Nashville Network 2806 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214 Also, call Cracker Barrel's corporate office at 1-615-444-5533. The number reaches an answering machine evenings and weekends (when rates are lowest). Leave a message such as "Discriminatory hiring policies offend my values. I won't patronize your restaurants unless you rehire the fired and adopt a policy of no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." ------------------------------------------------- THREE "CHEERS" FOR HARVEY Near the season's end, Cheers featured openly gay actor/playwright/ wit Harvey Fierstein as Mark Newberger, who was Rebecca's high school sweetheart before he came out. Fierstein says the openly gay character could return in future episodes IF VIEWER RESPONSE IS POSITIVE. Write: Les and Glen Charles James Burrows Executive Producers Cheers Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions Paramount Television 5555 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90038 Be sure to send a copy to: Warren Littlefield President NBC Entertainment 3000 West Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91523 ------------------------------------------------ MURPHY BROWN: PROGRESS AND BACKLASH An openly gay character named Rick joined the staff at "FYI" (the series' fictional news program). The show sensitively provided insight into heterosexual angst (Murphy's straight boss, Miles, became worried after he dreamt about Rick) while slamming false stereotypes about gay men. In real life, gay staff on shows such as "FYI" are increasingly open about who they are. Unfortunately, Rick only appeared once this season. Ask that Risk and other gay and lesbian characters be included as REGULARS by writing: Diane English and Joel Shukovsky Executive Producers Murphy Brown 4000 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA 91522 Copies to: Jeff Sagansky President CBS Entertainment 7800 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 Flash: In April the American Family Association targeted Murphy Brown's biggest advertisers for "promoting homosexuality" on TV (and both received hundreds of complaints). To counter anti-gay censorship, ask for further sponsorship of shows with gay and lesbian characters and story lines. Write: Chairman Charles M. Harper ConAgra, Inc. One ConAgra Drive Omaha, NE 68102 fax 402-595-4665 (Health Choice foods, Morton frozen foods) and Chairman Henry Wendt SmithKline Beecham P.O. Box 7929 Philadelphia, PA 19101 fax 215-751-4306 (Aqua Velva, Calgon bath products, Massengil douches, Contact decongestant). ------------------------------------------------ ROSEANNE: EXIT LEON Roseanne, winner of a 1992 GLAAD Media Award, was the only sitcom on TV to feature a recurring gay character (Martin Mull as Leon, Roseanne's openly gay boss.) On a recent episode Mull broke up with his lover but started dating someone new (Rick Dees, in a guest appearance). Mull is moving on and will not be returning next season, but ask the producers to continue their groundbreaking inclusion of gay characters on TV's highest-rated series. Write to: Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner Executive Producers Roseanne Carsey-Werner, Co. 4024 Radford Avenue Studio City, CA 91064 Copies to: Robert Iger President ABC Entertainment 2040 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, CA 90067 ------------------------------------------- STAR TREK'S MIXED MESSAGE Star Trek: The Next Generation garnered mixed reviews for its March episode, "The Outcast," in which the crew encountered an androgynous race. One of the aliens, Soren (Melinda Cullen), tells Commander Will Riker of being born with the feelings of a female. They fall in love but when their friendship is discovered Soren is put on trial and sentenced by her people to curative "psychotechnic" treatment. On the one hand, Soren gave an impassioned speech saying "I am female. I was born that way . . . All of the loving things you do with each other, that is what we do. And for that we are called misfits and deviants and criminals." But in the end she is "cured," or maybe brainwashed, and rejects Riker. Many found the conclusion ambiguous and disturbing. While there were elements to praise, no mention was made of gays or lesbians in the future or about anti-gay discrimination in Earth's past. Both would have been natural to mention. Before his death, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry told The Advocate "In the fifth season ... viewers will see more of shipboard life [including] gay crew members in day-to-day circumstances." This didn't happen. Ask for REAL gay characters next season by writing: Rick Berman Executive Producer Star Trek: The Next Generation Paramount Pictures 5555 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038 ----------------------------- MAPLE DRIVE: GAY FAMILY DRAMA Doing Time On Maple Drive, a TV movie broadcast last March on Fox, was a realistic and moving look at a closeted gay son driven to attempt suicide because of his family's rigid expectations. "Matt," (William McNamara) later comes out and mends fences with his lover and with his family. The final reconciliation scene with his conservative father (James Sikking) was particularly affecting. (The film was directed by thirtysomething's Ken Olin.) It's important to give Fox positive feedback (and ask for more gay inclusion in future projects) by writing: Peter Chernin President Fox Broadcasting 10201 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 -------------------------- [Deleted part. filemanager@qrd.org] Message posted not endorsed by the University of California at Berkeley. Opinions expressed are mine alone and are not endorsed by my employer.