Advisory

To: Members and Friends
From: Rita Addessa, Executive Director
Date: July 20, 1998

Re: The Christian Coalition Propaganda Ad Campaign,

Knight Ridder-Daily News and TV Fallout

Following the Daily News’ offensive coverage of the DeVito murder, the Task Force reached agreement with Zach Stalberg, long-time executive editor, to meet about current issues and specifically about certain recommendations to enhance coverage. Editors agreed, at least, to engage in more substantial discussions about the formation of an on-going civil rights beat. The following chronology of recent news coverage suggests that we have a long way to go. A call list follows if you would like to chat with media policymakers. (FYI: The Task Force has scheduled a collaborative briefing with the Inquirer’s management team in September.)

Selected Review of July 1998 Coverage (aka Ping Pong)

• April 17, 1998 Daily News columnist Jill Porter blames murder victim DeVita’s "eccentricity" for the victim’s murder. Porter’s apology following substantial protest and letters to the editor does not resolve the issue nor justify the article’s framework.
• July 2, 1998 A small Task Force convened group (Task Force, GALLOP, Family Pride) meets with the Daily News’ management team (Zach Stalberg, Ellen Foley, Michael Days, and Frank Burgos substituting for Morris Thompson, editorial). The discussion includes a review of specific recommendations including a commitment to annual briefings (agreed); substantially increased news coverage; diversity; the establishment of specific beats (e.g. civil rights, labor, communications etc.); and the institutionalization of accountability mechanisms to assess the newsroom environment and objectively its coverage (see one page recommendations summary and Stalberg’s response excerpt dated July 14, 1998 attached).
• July 6, 1998 The Daily News publishes a "news" story about a February 1998 murder (April Adamson) of a gay man named Keith Matthews that glorifies police, blames the gay community generally for failing to help police, misrepresents the Task Force’s work, and omits any description of the historical and fact-based relationship between the police and the community. A one line excerpt of an erratum may have been published several days later.
• July 13, 1998 The Daily News Editorial department publishes Task Force Co-Chair Larry Gross’ responsive letter to the offensive and misrepresentative Adamson news story.
• July 14, 1998 On July 14, 1998, the Daily News’ publishes an article headlined God will cure gays, ad says. The article reproduces as news the Christian Coalition’s misogynist propaganda ad campaign (for example, July 13, 1998 New York Times) to exhort women to be submissive and obedient to god (the father and the husband). The ad, in tandem, exhorts lesbian women to heterosexual conformity and, one presumes, fundamentalist christian conversion. While a picture within the ad images both women and men, the ad focuses on and frames lesbianism as both sexual confusion and as a response to childhood sexual molestation the answer to which lies not in ending male domination and aggression but in women’s willingness to become compliant, married, heterosexual and christian. The Reuters news clip that accompanies the ad reiterates the ad’s content but does not quote progressive Christians, Jews, and Muslims – nor atheists - in contrast to religious conservatives and fundamentalists. One NGLTF representative (Tracy Conaty) is quoted, which is useful, who characterizes the ad campaign’s "hatred, bigotry and intolerance as the real perversion…."

  The Daily News in defining the campaign as "news" could have, but did not, elect to publish local commentary with Lesbian and feminist advocates, progressive religious, academics, economists, psychologists etc. who would comment critically about the ad campaign, its subtext, and to the more general conservative assault in which this campaign lives and breathes against limited socio-legal gains by all women, each differently depending upon our race, class, and sexual orientation and, in concert, against the limited gains of gay and lesbian people as a class locally and nationally. Shame!

  TV Fallout: On July 14 and 15, 1998 respectively KYW TV 3 and WCAU TV 10 – NBC exacerbate the problem in their coverage. KYW-TV fails to interview lesbian women, feminists, and progressive religious, a tact taken with one brief 30 second exception by WCAU-TV. (WCAU TV did interview Task Force CoChair Kathryn Furano). KYW Radio, WPVI-TV 6, WTXF-TV 29, WPHL-TV 17, and WHYY-FM locally have elected – to date - to do nothing. Data and resources were provided to each station over the July 14-16, 1998 period encouraging appropriate and contextual coverage. (See the call list.)

• July 15, 1998 Daily News Editorial publishes more quickly than anticipated, Rita Addessa’s prepared Op-Ed piece about the Pennsylvania Civil Rights Initiative, discussion of discrimination and violence, legislators’ failure to act, and a call for support.
• July 17, 1998 Daily News’ front cover teases with the lead "Lilith and Lesbians." An inside entertainment feature about the Lilith Fair Concert Festival, overall, is well-done excepting the suggestion that "being out" may be (is) (but hopefully is not) a fashion trend, and closes on the encouraging note that "…girl power is growing into woman power, and there ain’t no stopping them now…."(Jonathan Takiff)

   

Overall, a few of the local and state stories the Daily News has chosen not to define as news includes: the Pennsylvania Civil Rights Initiative (1996-); the Philadelphia Education Project (1984- and most recently the June 10 102 briefing); the Philadelphia Police Project (1986 - and the May 20 collaborative policy briefing); as well as key events that provide the opportunity to speak to a range of issues: e.g. Diversity of Pride, Giovanni’s Room 25^th anniversary year, Ladies’ 20^th anniversary; the Task Force’s 20^th anniversary, the 20^th year commemoration of the assassination of Harvey Milk with an examination of the social – legal advances over this time span. A full content analysis, which would be very useful, is not available absent dedicated resources.

Selected Media Contact List: Please keep for future reference

Daily News:

Zach Stalberg, Executive Editor 215-854-5905 and fax 5910
Michael Days, Deputy Managing Editor 215-854-5984 and fax 5691
Morris Thompson, Editor, Editorial Page 215-854-5912 and fax 5691

Relevant Television and Radio

Paul Gluck, News, KYW TV 3 215-238-4855 and fax 4783
Mark Helms, News, KYW Radio 215-238-4700 and fax 4657
Karla Carpenter, News, WPVI TV 6 215-581-4594 and fax 4530
Steve Doerr, VP News Quality 610-668-5650 and fax 5756
Steve Schwaid, News, WCAU TV 10 610-668-5642 and fax 3700
David Other, VP, WHYY FM 215-351-1248 and fax 0396
Richard Scott, news, WPHL TV 17 215-879-7390 and fax 7682
John Mussoni, News, WXTF TV 29 215-925-7032 and fax 592-1535