Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 11:20:05 EST From: "NGLTF" Subject: Getting the Story Out NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE PRESS RELEASE Contact: Mark F. Johnson, Media Director mfjohnson@ngltf.org 202/332-6483 x3314 pager 1-800/757-6476 2320 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 http://www.ngltf.org ................................................................. Washington, D.C.---June 10, 1997----Mediacracy is a new monthly column that will analyze and discuss the reporting of gay-related news stories in the national media. The column is written by Mark F. Johnson, Media Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Getting the Story Out Has your daily news feed been a little "lite" on gay-related stories? That could be because a number of the major mainstream news media no longer have reporters dedicated to a "gay beat." This is good if editors and producers finally see news as news, no matter what community it stems from. But if stories that may be of concern to a large percentage of the media market don't get reported that's bad. As I pitched ideas to the mainstream press or discussed new angles to the reporting of the story about man on the run Andrew Cunanan who is suspected in the murders of four gay men around the country, I talked to many different reporters at several media outlets. All the reporters that I spoke with handle beats that would cover different aspects of the story. For example, a reporter who originally broke the Cunanan story for his big city daily which has a national readership, told me that the story was no longer in his hands since Cunanan had apparently fled the city that he reports from. He advised me to contact the city desk at the home office of the paper if I wanted to discuss allegations that Cunanan might be holed up in that very city. This reporter also told me that as far as he knew, there was no gay beat reporter at his paper. There used to be one, he noted, but not anymore. In the meantime, gay activists in that city were actively urging the paper to do a story amid reported sightings of Cunanan in the city's gay neighborhoods. As it turns out, many major media outlets have gone to a policy of "mainstreaming." This means that beats that used to be given "special" attention are now covered as part of the normal course of business. Mainstreaming first started with coverage of the African-American community and now extends to other people of color communities. In many cases it has worked. For example, it is no longer considered acceptable to report news of the Asian community in a separate section of the paper or for only African-American reporters to cover general news events in the black community unless perhaps, it is an incredibly sensitive or potentially volatile issue. But in some other instances, mainstreaming has not worked as well. Remember the big city paper I mentioned that no longer had a gay beat reporter? Well, they do now. The reason is because it was realized through complaints about their handling of the Cunanan story that a lot of news stories relevant to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community were going uncovered. Finally, someone stepped up to the plate and took on the assignment. A reporter agreed to be his paper's eyes and ears for gay stories, in addition to his other reporting. He is familiar with the community and has a good sense of what is important news. He quickly points out that his paper is not anti-gay. Rather, in his opinion, editors and reporters often don't know what the important stories are. In many instances, if not most, the reporters offering to cover the gay stories or pitching story ideas are gay or lesbian themselves. Often they are "out" in their newsrooms. Yet, understandably, none of the reporters that I've talked with wants to be known as the gay reporter. They want their careers to be mainstream as well. It makes good sense on the part of editors to encourage reporters to bring them all kinds of stories that may have news value. This includes stories dealing with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Mainstreaming is a good newsroom policy that is enhanced when reporters and editors feel free to bring their individual perspectives to the stories that they report on or the story ideas that they hatch. As for who reports a story, it really shouldn't matter as long as the reporter understands the issue(s) and he or she reports the facts with balance and with the appropriate amount of sensitivity. The most important thing is that the news gets reported. Activists play a crucial role here. It is imperative that they too continue to educate the media as to what is important news and also to challenge the media to get the story out. -30- The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is the oldest national gay and lesbian group and is a progressive organization that has supported grassrroots organizing and pioneered in national advocacy since 1973. Since its inception, NGLTF has been at the forefront of virtually every major initiative for lesbian and gay rights. In all its efforts, NGLTF helps to strengthen the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement at the state level while connecting these activities to a national vision for change. _________________________________________ This message was issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Media Department. 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