 |
Chicago, Dallas Demonstrations Call for Boycott of Stations Channels Planning to Air TV Show Targeted |
|
Compiled By GayToday
A wide-ranging coalition of demonstrators under the auspices of
the national organization StopDrLaura.com, protested at the Dallas Offices of
CBS affiliate KTVT, channel 11,on April 15th. They demanded that KTVT-TV drop
plans to air a television show hosted by radio talk show host and anti-gay
activist Laura Schlessinger. A similar protest against the Laura Schlessinger
TV show was held in Chicago on the same day and was organized by a coalition
of groups also lead by StopDrLaura.com.
On Friday afternoon April 14th, gay and lesbian community representatives met with Brian Jones, VP, General Manager to demand that KTVT drop Laura Schlessinger's upcoming television show. John R. Selig of StopDrLaura.com, Cathy Renna of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Steve Atkinson of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA) and Dave Gleason of Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) met with Brian Jones for over an hour. The group shared their concerns with Jones over the station's plans to air Schlessinger's show. Jones promised that KTVT would monitor Schlessinger's show for balance and content. However, he is unable to cancel the show at this time. During the meeting Brian Jones brought out a memo that he had received from CBS stating that Schlessinger had apologized for her comments against gays. When the gay and lesbian community representatives pointed out that Schlessinger had recanted her apology a few days later, Jones appeared surprised and expressed disdain that CBS had failed to share that information with him. The activists requested that Jones relay the concerns of the gay and lesbian community to top management at both CBS and Paramount. The meeting was the beginning of continuing dialogue with KTVT. The protest at KTVT on April 15th remained a necessity because of KTVT's unwillingness to cancel Schlessinger's TV show. Over 125 protesters attended the rally. Speakers faced the crowd from atop the bed of a pickup truck and addressed the protesters with a bullhorn. A banner held behind the speakers read "Hate Must Be A KTVT-TV Concern." Protesters waved a variety of homemade and printed signs. Rabbi Harold Caminker's daughter made and carried a sign that bragged, "I'm My Gay Dad's angel." Pat Stone, the first President of PFLAG's Dallas Chapter made a sign that asked, "Dr. Laura. What Changed Your Mind Since We Spoke 5 Years Ago?" Another sign read, "You Say 1st Amendment Then KKK Needs a Program Too." Yet another stated, "No Thanks "DR" Laura, I'll get my Advice from a REAL Shrink." Still another sign read, "Love the Bigot But Hate The Bigotry."
 The April 15th protest at KTVT-TV was sponsored by StopDrLaura.com with co-sponsorship by the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA), Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Gays and Lesbians Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Gay, Lesbian And Straight Education Network - Dallas (GLSEN), The John Thomas Gay & Lesbian Community Center, Safe Spaces in Work Places (SSIWP) and the Green Party of Dallas County. Saturday's protest at KTVT in Dallas came a little over six weeks after the debut of StopDrLaura.com. The site has received more than fifteen million hits, and has ratcheted up the controversy over the "Dr. Laura" TV show, bringing thousands of phone calls and over twenty thousand e-mails to Paramount from concerned citizens. On March 10th, as pressure mounted, Schlessinger issue a tepid "apology" for her remarks about lesbians and gays. But a few days later she recanted the apology in an interview with a "Boston Herald" reporter, and said she will continue to speak out against gay and lesbian rights initiatives and will continue to promote dubious "reparative therapies" to make gays heterosexual.
Steve Atkinson, Activism Chair of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance addressed the crowd, "Channel 11 needs to hear the lesson loud and clear that we are not going to go away on this issue. If they put Laura Schlessinger on the air, they have to be held accountable." Next, Cathy Renna, Director of Community Relations for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), reminded everybody that, "This is not a censorship issue. It is not about Dr. Laura's rights to her personal religious or moral values. She can scream them from the mountaintops. But if any media entity gives her a platform to spew her misinformation and defamatory language about us as people, we are going to hold them accountable." David Taffet, President of Congregation Beth El Binah (a predominately gay Jewish congregation) and Board Member of the John Thomas Gay & Lesbian Community Center, reminded everybody that, "Laura Schlessinger does not have a right to the air waves. If she has a right to her own TV show, then so do we." Rabbi Harold Caminker, from Temple Ner Tamid shared some lessons concerning hate, "There is a tradition in Judaism that goes back thousands of years concerning 'hatred without cause.' And I wonder, Dr. Laura, if you know about it. It was 'hatred without cause' that lead to the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. In my Judaism there is no room for hate." Reverend John Thornburg, the minister of the North Haven United Methodist Church admonished Laura Schlessinger, "Laura, you're just too busy deciding who is okay and who is not. It's not right to demean people; no matter what religion or spiritual tradition you follow. And It's not right to speculate and call it fact. Now Paramount, it's not right to put this on the air, even if you have the right to do it."
Finally, Dave Gleason, President of PFLAG-Dallas reminded the protestors, "Its not just the gay community themselves that are upset, that are angry. For every child or adult out there who is gay, lesbian, bisexual transgendered or questioning, there are parents out there; there are parents who are angry as hell at what Laura Schlessinger is saying about their children." StopDrLaura.com is dedicated to organizing protests at television affiliates throughout the country. Continue to check the web site regularly for the latest information on action steps needed, protests planned and the latest developments concerning Laura Schlessinger's TV show. Individuals interested in organizing protests at local television affiliates scheduled to air Laura Schlessinger's show should contact Robin Tyler, National Protest Coordinator for StopDrLaura.com at rtstopdrlaura Photos from the Dallas protest. More can be found online. |
Jennifer Parvin, Co-Chair of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network
(GLSEN) Dallas Chapter read a moving letter from 17-year-old hero named Corey
Johnson, a high school senior living in Middleton, MA. Corey has recently
made news for coming out to his parents, friends, teachers, coach, classmates
and team members. Corey was the co-captain of his high school football team.
Corey's letter read in part, "Young people, adults, my family, friends and
community have celebrated and accepted me. Why can't Ms. Schlessinger and her
Ph.D. from Columbia in physiology, not psychology or counseling, do the same?
The simple answers: fear and ignorance. KTVT, be a leader and set the
precedent to stop hate."
