GLAAD MEDIA WATCH -- July 28, 1994 By Al Kielwasser The "BS" in "PBS" In his first news conference since becoming president of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), Ervin Duggan insisted that gay novelist Armistead Maupin "should be sending us letters of thanks" for broadcasting Tales of the City instead of criticizing Duggan's refusal to produce a sequel to the popular and critically-acclaimed series. Shortly after Duggan took over, PBS reneged on a promise to produce the sequel to Tales. That broken promise has been widely attributed to pressure from homophobic, censorious organizations -- which mounted hysterical, nation-wide protests over the airing of Tales of the City. "We are the people who have written the word 'courage' across the (television) screen," Duggan said in response to a series of questions about PBS' swerve towards conservative programming. At the press conference, Duggan admitted that he has received at least 2,000 letters encouraging PBS to go forward with a sequel to Tales. However, Duggan dismissed those letters as a "coercion" effort orchestrated by Armistead Maupin. Apparently, Duggan has nothing but disdain for the lesbian and gay public, a sizable segment of the audience for the Public Broadcasting System. He seems to abide by the anti-logic of 1984, in which those who advocate for free expression are cast as the "coercive" censors, while those who demand censorship are given their way. Broadcast your outrage to Ervin Duggan, President, PBS, 1320 Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698, tel. 703-739-5000 or 800-356-2626. Charge of the Right Brigade Hate monger and media mogul Pat Robertson recently issued a nation-wide call to the 1 million members of his "Christian Coalition" cult, demanding that they protest Visa's support for the Gay Games. Visa made a corporate donation of $10,000 to the Games, and the credit card service is now getting hundreds of calls from Robertson's dupes. To counter this pressure from the lunatic Right, call 800-336-3386. Be sure you ask to speak to a supervisor, so that your message gets recorded properly. Telling Visions The July 28 issue of the San Jose Mercury News carries "Out of the Closet, Into the Family Room," a feature story on television and homosexuality. Written by the Mercury's Television Editor, Ron Miller, the article touches upon television's generally- phobic relationship with lesbians and gays, and mentions such benchmarks as Soap, Melrose Place, Roseanne, and Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City. The article focuses on TV's double standard when it comes to romance, accurately pointing out that "the commercial networks are using more gay characters, but seldom let them relate to each other the way heterosexual characters do." Much of the article describes an upcoming CBS comedy series, Daddy's Girls. The new situation comedy will feature gay actor Harvey Fierstein playing a gay character. While Fierstein hopes to move his character "in the direction of giving him a lover," it's uncertain if CBS -- widely considered the most conservative of the commercial television networks -- will go along for the ride. Send feedback to Ron Miller, San Jose Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Dr., San Jose, CA 95190; Jeff Sagansky, President, CBS Entertainment, 7800 Beverly Blvd., L.A., CA 90036, tel. 213-852-2345. The "Second Darrin" The July 25 issue of People magazine features a one-page profile of Dick Sargent, the "second Darrin" on the late 60's/early 70's hit TV series Bewitched. The refreshingly warm and honest tribute to the late actor relates Sargent's decision to come out following Gov. Pete Wilson's veto of a California civil rights bill for lesbians and gays. The article also quotes Albert Williams, Sargent's "lover for the past four years." The subhead for the piece observes: "Not until Dick Sargent publicly proclaimed he was gay did he find peace." Send comments to Susan Toepfer, Editor, People, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-1393. Banned in Boling . . . Still Last December, the school board in Boling, Texas banned The Drowning of Stefan Jones, a young-adult novel about intolerance. Bette Green's book, which explores a town's prejudice against a gay couple, had been included on a supplemental reading list by a ninth-grade teacher in Boling. After stacking their meeting with pro-censorship speakers, the school board voted 5-1 to officially ban the book. More recently, the Texas Civil Liberties Union has shown interest in bringing suit against the school board. Additionally, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has been helping to defend the book. For more information, contact NCAC, 275 7th Ave., New York, NY 10001, tel. 212-807-NCAC, fax 212-807-6245. Bad Taste "Taste of Chicago," a city-sponsored arts festival in Illinois, recently featured the New Joy Community Singers. Among other ditties, a member of the gospel group seized the opportunity to preach: "We ain't got no homosexuals, hallelujah . . . 'cause we saved." For their effort, the group was paid $400 in city funds. In response to complaints, the mayor's office announced that, in future, performance contracts will prohibit the denigration of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or disability. Send comments to James E. Sheahan, Mayor, City Hall, 121 N. La Salle, Chicago, IL 60602. Rush is Flushed The Florid Citrus Commission has finally squeezed out Rush Limbaugh. The commission decided not to renew its contract with the homophobic talk show host, who - -- among other atrocities -- claims that lesbians "propagate the race" by mating with pigs. Incredibly, Citrus commissioners said the decision had nothing to do with protests from the lesbian/gay community. Comments should go to the Florida Citrus Commission, P. O. Box 148, Lakeland, FL 330802-0148, tel. 813-499-2500, fax 813- 499-2374. On a related note: Paper Tiger Television (PTTV) has announced the release of a new video, PTTV Flushes Rush: A Look at the Right Wing's Court Jester. Using historical analysis of past media demagogues and an economic analysis of the role played by media owners, PTTV "puts the Rush phenomenon in proper perspective." For more information, contact PPTV-West, P.O. Box 411271, S.F., CA 94141-1271. Media Briefs * The May/June issue of RaceFile features a special section on "New Rainbow Warriors: Right Wing Initiatives in Communities of Color." Copies of this useful resource are available from Applied Research Center, 440 Grand Ave., Suite 401, Oakland, CA 94610. * Lesbian and gay film and videomakers are encouraged to apply to Frameline for its 1994 Film/Video Completion Fund, which provides grants up to $2000. Contact Frameline Film/Video Completion Fund, 346 Ninth St., S.F., CA 94103, tel. 415-703- 8658, fax 415-861-1404. Deadline is October 15. * The hateful homophobes of the American Family Association (AFA) are offering a number of free "resources," including an "Intervention brochure -- how to help a porn addict who won't help himself" and a "Resource list -- books and articles about porn addiction." Sound interesting? Call 601-844-5036 or write the AFA, P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, NS 38803 for your free copies. We must confront homophobia to cure it! To notify the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation of any defamatory media coverage call our defamation hotline at 415-861-4588 or write to GLAAD/SFBA, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103; fax, 415-861- 4893. Send items for this weekly report to Al Kielwasser at GLAAD/SFBA (address above) or e-mail to Kielwasser@aol.com. When appropriate, attribution for items used should be made to "Al Kielwasser, GLAAD/SFBA Media Watch." As always, we appreciate copies of any publications making use of all or part of this report. Thanks for your continued interest in GLAAD's work. - -*-*-*-*-* Jessea Greenman, SAO, ESPM Undergrad Office, College of Natural Resources, 101 Giannini # 3100, Berkeley CA 94720-3100 510-642-4249; "We are in a race between education and catastrophe." Janet Jackson