Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force
May 2000 Alert and Advisory
re: Media Mergers and Hate Demagogue "Dr. Laura"

The Question
[Communication data is provided below.]

Will you participate in and publicize if you can a focused effort to stop Dr. Laura’s hate campaign against lesbian and gay people? Campaign components include: a critical mass of calls, letters, emails, and faxes to (1) local stations and (2) national media sponsors as well as (3) letters of protest to the FCC and to the Department of Justice about approved or soon-to-be approved media mergers. A brief background follows then specific steps with contact information. Calls to the local Viacom/CBS stations are the first priority.

Please Help Get the Word Out! It would be very helpful if you would alert friends, families, and organization allies to obtain this information and to make a contribution for this work through our web site at www.op.net/plgtf. (see special thanks below) Media complaints and compliments can also be submitted through the web site, through standard mail, or through the hotline. (215-772-2005 or toll-free in Pennsylvania at 1-877-PRIDE-2000).

Negotiations/Time-Lines

In early April 2000, then CBS’ local television and radio chiefs agreed to meet with the Task Force and community organizational representatives [ note 1 ]. One of two meetings with KYW TV has been completed with a second meeting scheduled for mid-May. A briefing and negotiation with WPHT Radio is scheduled in mid-to-late May. Your calls now would be particularly effective and, on an on-going basis until demands for local programming and progressive voices are met.

Background

Laura Schlessinger, Ph.D. ("Dr. Laura"), is a nationally syndicated radio and soon television demagogue. In brief, Schlessinger promotes extraordinary lies and distortions about gay and lesbian people. Her commentary is sadly reminiscent of the Anita Bryant "Save the Children Crusade" several decades ago.

Schlessinger refers to gay people as "biological errors," as "deviants, " and links homosexuality to incest and pedophilia. In her broadcasts, Schlessinger recommends reparative therapy to cure homosexuality and frequently cites as authority the right-wing Family Resource Council. Like the Council she promotes, Schlessinger is misguided, mean-spirited, and very wealthy [ note 2 ].

Transcript excerpts can be downloaded from several web sites (see data below).

Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force
Rita Addessa, Director
Kathryn Furano and Larry Gross, Ph.D. Co-Chairs.
Room 1005. 1616 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA. 19103-5310
215-772-2000. 1-877-PRIDE-2000. Discrimination and Violence Hotline. 215-772-2005
www.op.net/plgtf and plgtf@op.net

Follow the Money and Distribution

More Media Monopoly:

The FCC’s decision last week to permit Viacom/Paramount to acquire CBS further solidifies this media mogul’s vertical and horizontal integration, generally [ note 3 ]. Paramount Television is distributing "Dr. Laura" through CBS stations and other vehicles. Clear Channel, a media company that owns 200 plus radio stations and 18 television stations in 48 markets, sponsors Schlessinger and Russ Limbaugh and other national radio personalities for national radio distribution. The Federal Communications Commission is now considering Clear Channel’s acquisition of five local AM-FM radio stations (WDAS, WIOQ, WJJZ, WLCE, and WUSL). If the FCC approves Clear Channel’s nation-wide acquisition application inclusive of the local stations, it will be the largest USA radio conglomerate.

Philadelphia Market: Please Call the Questions !!!

In Philadelphia, CBS/KYW-TV-3 (now Viacom) has recently signed a two-year contract effective September 2000 to air the new "Dr. Laura" television program. CBS/Infinity/WHPT-AM (1210) has signed a three-year contract (January 2000) for both Schlessinger and Limbaugh adding to its conservative local line-up, e.g. Dom Giordano [ note 4 ].

CBS KYW TV (3): Vice-president Marcellus Alexander, who is very humane, asserts that he would not have contracted with "Dr. Laura" he had known the facts. While an important sentiment, the question is:

Will Alexander cancel the contract and/or in contrast, provide the opportunity for progressive voices to speak through locally originated programming, broadcast weekly, which are well-funded and publicized?

CBS WPHT AM (1210): General Manager Chris Claus is proud to host "Dr. Laura" and avers that ratings and profits are all that matter. Claus claims he has no time on his broadcast schedule for progressive voices and disclaims any responsibility for the social impact of his hosts’ ill-informed and inflammatory rhetoric. The questions are similar:

Will Claus cancel the contract and/or (1) hire local broadcast hosts and/or (2) broadcast available syndicated programs that offer a progressive ideological framework to assure viewpoint diversity on talk radio?

For the record: CBS/Infinity/WYSP’s Howard Stern reportedly is increasing subtle anti-gay rhetoric on air, and so, too, AM/FM Media/WUSL FM morning talk show hosts. None of these stations is friendly to any public interest concerns, with the too-occasional exception of WUSL [ note 5].

What Can You Do Against Media Giants?

The rule of law, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and deregulation, have undermined litigation strategies to argue for public interest principles, public accountability, and programming that enables the representation of diverse voices, wide-ranging viewpoints as well as stories and images that reflect the reality of our lives. The U.S. Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of "Justice" (DOJ) in an unholy alliance have abdicated their role to promote diversity and pluralism and, in concert, to thwart monopoly (oligopoly) control of public airwaves. Given the absence of public interest law, and the federal government’s imprimatur of national (and therefor global) media mergers, grassroots strategies are increasingly critical.

Together, members, friends, and organizations can forge a critical mass protest to stop on-air bigotry and to challenge the government’s imprimatur of ever-greater media concentration because it will:

(1) harm and diminish tangibly our ability as a people to speak and to be heard, (2) further stratify our diverse communities, and (3) support the financial interests of an elite few at the expense of an enlightened and informed citizenry capable of intelligent and disciplined participation in our society.

Additional Information Web Sites include: www.op.net/plgtf - www.mediaacess.org – www.stopdrlaura.com - www.hatewatch.org – www.fcc.gov - _www.usdoj.gov and www.sec.gov (go to the EDGAR data base for 10K reports).

In closing, please take action. A thousand calls and/or letters from our contributors alone will make a tangible difference on "business as usual." Please do as much as you can, and thank you. (Communication data follows on the reverse side).

[1]. Community Organization Participants: Colours, Family Pride, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

[2]. In 1994, Schlessinger sold her syndication rights for more than 71 million dollars, according to the New York Observer (March 13, 2000) (cited on stopdrlaura website)

[3]. Viacom reported 1998 revenues of estimated 12 plus billion dollars and CBS, 7 billion dollars in 1999. (SEC data)

[4]. Last year, Giordano, then a host on WWDB, organized and promoted a press conference at Giovanni’s Room linking the gay community to child molestation. (March 1999 plgtf press release)

[5]. Media Complaints or Compliments: Please go to our web site and fill out and submit a media monitoring form, or call for a print copy.

Special Thanks

We are very grateful to Mike Toub, our stellar computer guru, for designing and maintaining the Task Force web site, to Richard Smith for his sustained commitment to the Year 2000 Study Project, and to Debbie for her support. We are equally grateful to our members who have generously contributed to our work. This is a difficult financial period so please tell friends and family that they can contribute anonymously if they wish by credit card on-line, or directly to the Task Force by check or credit card. Thank you.

Communication Data
(Please keep for future reference.)

Each reaps enormous profit from hate propaganda.

Step 1: Act Locally – Philadelphia Market Priority

Marcellus Alexander, Vice President and GM
Viacom//CBS/ KYW -TV (3)
5^th and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-4904 (4700 main number) / fax: 215-238-4505
Alexander@kyw.com

Chris Claus, General Manager
Viacom/Infinity/CBS/WHPT AM and WOGL FM
10 Monument Road, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
610-668-5921 (5950 main number) / fax: 610-667-1904 fax (5888 main fax)
cjclaus@cbs.com

Step 2: Act Globally

Sumner M. Redstone – the big mahaf
Chair, Viacom (owns Paramount, owns now CBS/Infinity)
Chair, National Amusements Inc. (also known as NAIRI, owns Viacom)
200 Elm Street, Dedham, MA 02026
781-461-1600
Or, 98 Baldpate Road, Newton, MA 02159

Kerry McCluggage
Chair, Paramount Communications. 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
323-956-5076. kerrymccluggage@paramount.com

Mel Karmazin, President and COO
Viacom/Infinity/CBS Corp. 51 West 52nd Street - 35th floor, NYC, NY 10019
212-975-4321. Attn: lortega@cbs.com (Lydia Ortega, Assistant)
Or, One Central Park West, Apt. 48 B, NY, NY 10023

L. Lowry Mays, CEO
Clear Channel (distributes Schlessinger, Limbaugh and others to radio)
200 East Basse, San Antonio, TX 78209 (new address).
210-822-2828 / fax: 210-822-2299
lowrymays@clearchannel.com and l.lowrymays@clearchannel.com
www.clearchannel.com

Step 3: Act Nationally

Janet Reno, Attorney General and Joel Klein, Esq., Chief Anti-Trust Division
U. S. Department of Justice
Constitution Avenue and 10^th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20554
202-514-2000 / fax: 616-2645
www.usdoj.gov

William E. Kennard, Chair, Federal Communications Commission
445 12^th Street, SW, 8^th floor, Washington, DC 20554
202-418-1000 / fax: 202-418-2801
www.fcc.gov

U.S. Capitol Information Switchboard: 202-224-3121

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