From the New York Daily
News Online at http://www.nydailynews.com/2000-03-08/New_York_Now/Television/a-59232.asp
appearly originally on Wednesday, March 8, 2000
The War on Dr. Laura
Gay groups turning up the heat on radio host Schlessinger
By DAVID HINCKLEY
Daily News Staff Writer
The cross fire intensified this week in the raging war of
words between sharp-tongued radio host Laura Schlessinger
and several gay organizations, which warn that unless she
tones down her "venomous anti-gay rhetoric," they
will try to kill her upcoming television show.
Schlessinger has sparked the ire of gay groups by declaring
homosexuality "a biological error," for which she
says she feels "compassion" and "sadness."
She also refers to gays as "deviants" and suggests
they need therapy to guide them to heterosexuality.
"How would anyone like to be called a 'deviant' and
a 'biological error'?" says spokesman Steve Spurgeon
of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD). "It doesn't exactly make your day. Someone who
says what she says on the radio shouldn't have a TV show."
After the San Francisco-based Horizons Foundation called
for Paramount Television to cancel the Schlessinger program,
which is scheduled to start this fall, she blasted back Monday
on her syndicated radio show, which is heard on a one-day
delay daily over WABC (770 AM) from 9 to 11:45 a.m.
Her message: No retreat, no surrender.
Tying the criticism of her to the campaign against California's
Proposition 22, which defines marriage as between a man and
a woman, Schlessinger warned listeners against what she calls
the gay-activist agenda: "You people have to get off
your duffs, or you're going to lose your country to fascism."
Schlessinger's office is making "no comment" on
the subject beyond what she says on the radio, where she devotes
only a small percentage of her 15 weekly hours to gay issues.
Horizons and GLAAD
say her comments this week don't change their aim of getting
Paramount to pull the show unless Schlessinger tones down
comments they say "promote discrimination and even violence
against gays."
Horizons Executive Director Peter Teague says, "The
next move is Paramount's," and GLAAD has requested another
meeting with the company to discuss the subject.
Paramount has already met once with GLAAD and a Schlessinger
representative, last month, and is not particularly enjoying
its position in the middle. It issued a statement confirming
that the development of the show continues, and adding, "We
respect and believe in Dr. Laura's right to have and express
her own point of view."
Since Paramount spent $3 million to sign Dr. Laura and has
commitments to have the show carried in 90% of U.S. markets,
there are big dollars and high hopes at stake.
The campaign to stop it is considered a long shot, even though
gay organizations are among the strongest in the country at
advocacy campaigns. That may be why Paramount is still stepping
gingerly ó declining to comment even on whether it
will hold another meeting with activists.
Schlessinger said Monday the first meeting was just a routine
session of the sort companies periodically hold with many
advocacy groups. Paramount had no comment on that characterization,
either, though GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry says
Schlessinger's show was specifically discussed.
She says GLAAD asked for three things: that Schlessinger's
opinions "not be unopposed on the show," that "credible
research would be cited in any discussions on homosexuality"
and that "Dr. Laura not defame the gay community."
Garry says Paramount "assured us on both [the first
two] points," but that the third "remains unfinished
business. And it is GLAAD's intent to finish it."
Schlessinger said Monday that the TV show, unlike her radio
show, has always been intended to include opposing viewpoints.
She also defended her research, which gay activists criticize
for its reliance on the Family Research Council, a conservative
Washington-based organization that calls homosexuality "immoral,
unhealthy and destructive."
"She claims her sources are scientific when they're
really political," says GLAAD's Spurgeon.
This is not the first time Schlessinger has stepped into
a minefield of controversy, of course, and there are those
who believe she will once again simply step out of it.
WABC program director Phil Boyce says that, so far, the gay
issue is a nonissue here. "We get calls and letters about
Dr. Laura," he says. "But they're almost all on
other issues, like whether she treats callers rudely. We haven't
heard much at all on this."
"I don't think this controversy is bigger than she's
faced in the past," says Michael Harrison, editor of
the radio trade magazine Talkers.
"Controversy is part of the package with her ó
and it's part of what's made her so successful. My guess is
this will blow over in a couple of weeks."
GLAAD and Horizons don't think so ó and her critics
have stepped up their own fire with the creation of a Web
site, called www.stopdrlaura.com,
that urges readers to send their protests to Paramount.
The site, which Horizons says has had "tremendous"
response, includes posted messages like "I'm a real doctor.
Dr. Laura is a fake" and "Dr. Laura is giving Judaism
a bad name with her message of hate." Schlessinger, an
Orthodox Jew, has a Ph.D. in physiology.
Schlessinger responded Monday by saying the "hateful
people" are her critics. "People who have been involved
with my show could be attacked in their homes," says
Schlessinger. "That's terrorism."
Meanwhile, Harrison is among those who suggests that taking
on Schlessinger in public battle is a tactical error.
"The power of media hosts to motivate people is not
as great as many think," he says. "I personally
think gay groups would be better off ignoring her ó
or countering her with their own views."
Horizons' Teague says he has weighed that argument, but that
since 15 to 20 million people tune in Schlessinger's radio
show each week, action was necessary.
"Unlike Rush Limbaugh, who enjoys debating people with
opposite views, it's almost impossible for an articulate spokesperson
with another viewpoint to get time on Dr. Laura's program,"
he says. "So there comes a time when silence is not acceptable."
"Words have the power to hurt, there's no question,"
says Harrison. "And if Dr. Laura's words make life for
gays more difficult, she has crossed the line. Personally,
I don't think she has. But if she does, she'd better be careful,
because this business can turn on you fast."
So far, this business has been very good to Schlessinger.
She went into national syndication in 1994 and four years
later sold the rights to her show for $71.5 million.
Nor does she lack personal confidence to match that success.
Monday she called herself "a lone voice out there standing
up for Judeo-Christian principles."
In fact, it wasn't until August 1998 that Schlessinger, who
had previously advocated tolerance, decided those principles
required her to consider homosexuality "destructive."
But she also says she has "never made an anti-gay statement,"
only "anti-gay-activist-agenda commentaries."
Which she seems to have no intention of retracting.
"If there were any question about my backbone,"
Schlessinger said Monday, "you just spent 15 minutes
getting the answer."
In Her Own Words...
On Sexual Orientation
"I'm sorry, hear it one more time perfectly clearly:
If you're gay or lesbian, it's a biological error that inhibits
you from relating normally to the opposite sex. The fact that
you are intelligent, creative and valuable is all true. The
error is in your inability to relate sexually intimately,
in a loving way to a member of the opposite sex. It is a biological
error.
"Nobody said they were 'bad people' or incompetent or
not intelligent or not good citizens. They just said the sexual
behavior is deviant and we don't want it in schools, and we
don't want it to be recognized on the same level as heterosexuality."
On Pedophilia
"Although numerically there are more pedophiles that
are heterosexual, percentage-wise in a population it's much
greater in the homosexual community."
On Same-Sex Parenting
"It's not normal. It's not in the best interest of children.
This is a travesty that these two lesbians were given two
little children, intentionally depriving them of a father.
It's despicable. It's unhealthy."
On Gay Rights
"Rights. Rights? For sexual deviants Ö there are
now rights. That's what I'm worried about with all the pedophilia
and the bestiality and the sadomasochism and the cross-dressing.
Is this all going to be 'rights' too, to deviant sexual behavior?
Why does deviant sexual behavior get rights?"
On Terminology
"When we have the word 'homosexual,' we are clarifying
the dysfunction, the deviancy, the reality. We change it to
'gay' and it makes it more difficult to pinpoint the truth.
So one of the things the homosexual agenda did was to change
the name. Well, 'homosexuality' is the truth. 'Gay' isn't."
***END ARTICLE ***
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From the GLAAD website, about Dr. Laura
GLAAD = Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination
From the GLAAD web site at
http://www.glaad.org
----------
Important Updates On GLAAD and Dr. Laura
From Joan M. Garry
GLAAD Executive Director
March 7, 2000
Stations Carrying Dr. Laura's TV Show
As you probably know, Dr. Laura's show will be syndicated,
which means that stations around the country with various
network affiliations purchase the right to air her show. So
in one market you'll find her on a CBS affiliate, and in another,
a UPN affiliate.
It is important as GLAAD continues to exert pressure on Paramount
that we not forget the stations who have made the deals to
carry her. The following is a list of the stations in the
top 10 media markets. For each station, we have included the
name of the station manager and his/her phone number.
Here's what to do:
-- If you see your affiliate listed, please contact them
and register your concern hat they have bought the "Dr.
Laura" program -- use the GLAAD
web site www.glaad.org) as a reference for any background
information and facts you may need or for transcripts from
her radio show.
-- If you do NOT see your affiliate listed, your local stations
may be negotiating or the show or they may have opted not
to carry the show. We would encourage you to call your local
stations or write a letter to your local newspaper, raising
the issue and expressing your concern. And you can continue
to look to GLAAD for updated information about stations carrying the
show.
Remember: To a station manager, a dozen calls feel like hundreds.
So start calling.
NEW YORK, NY
WCBS-TV 2
CBS affiliate
524 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212.975.4321
Fax: 212.975.9387
General Manager: Anthony Petitti,
LOS ANGELES, CA
KCBS-TV 2
CBS affiliate
6121 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: 323.460.3000
Fax: 323.460.3733
No E-mail
General Manager: John Severino
WASHINGTON, D.C.
WDCA-TV 20
UPN affiliate
5202 River Road
Bethesda, MD 20816
Phone: 301.986.9322
Fax: 301-654-3517
E-mail: upn20wdca@paramount.com
General Manager: John Long
ATLANTA
WAGA-TV 5
FOX affiliate
1551 Briarcliff Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30306
Phone: 404.875.5555
Fax: 404.898.0238
E-mail: feedback5@fox5atlanta.com
Station Manager: Gene McHugh
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
KPIX-TV 5
CBS affiliate
855 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 415 362.5550
Fax: 415.765.8844
General Manager: Jerry Eaton
DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX
KTVT-TV 11
CBS affiliate
5233 Bridge St.
Fort Worth, TX 76103
Phone: 817.451.1111
Fax: 817.457.1897
E-mail: ktvt@ktvt.com VP/General
Manager: Brian Jones
HOUSTON, TX
KPRC-TV 2
NBC affiliate
8181 Southwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77024
Phone: 713.222.2222
Fax: 713.771.4930
General Manager: Steve Wasserman
DENVER, CO
KUSA-TV 9
NBC affiliate
500 Speer Blvd.
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303.871.9999
Fax: 303.871.1819
General Manager: Roger Ogden
DETROIT, MI
WXYZ- TV 7
ABC affiliate
20777 West Ten Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48037
Phone: 248.827.7777
Fax: 248.827.4454
E-mail: wxyz@aol.com General
Manager: Grace Gilchrist
CLEVELAND, OH
WKYC-TV 3
NBC affiliate
1403 East 6th St.
Cleveland, OH 44114
Phone: 216.344.3333
Fax: 216.344.3326
E-mail: wkyc@aol.com General
Manager: Brooke Spectorsky
PHILADELPHIA, PA
KYW-TV 3
CBS affiliate
101 S. Independence Mall East
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215.238.4700
Fax: 215.238.4783
General Manager: Marcellus Alexander
SEATTLE, WA
KING-TV 5
NBC affiliate
333 Dexter Ave., North
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206.448.5555
Fax: 206.448.4525
E-mail: kingtv5@king5.com
General Manager: Glenn Wright
LITTLE ROCK, AR
KTHV-TV 11
CBS affiliate
720 Izard St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: 501.376.1111
Fax: 501.376.1645
General Manager: Susan Newkirk
LEXINGTON, KY
WTVQ-TV 36
ABC affiliate
6940 Man O War Blvd.
Lexington, KY 40509
Phone: 606.233.3600
Fax: 606.293.0539
E-mail: 36listen@wtvq.com
General Manager: Bill Stanley
PHOENIX, AZ
KTVK-TV 3
5555 N. 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Phone: 602.207.3333
Fax: 602.207.3477
Station Manager: Bill Miller
LAS VEGAS, NV
KTNV-TV 13
ABC affiliate
3355 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Phone: 702.876.1313
Fax: 702.871.1961
E-mail: ktnv@ktnv.com General
Manager: Chris Foate
BOSTON, MA
WCVB-TV 5
ABC affiliate
5 TV Place
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781.449.0400
Fax: 781.449.6682
E-mail: wcvb@aol.com General
Manager: Paul La Camera
PORTLAND, ME
WGME-TV 13
CBS affiliate
1335 Washington Ave.
Portland, ME 04103
Phone: 207.797.9330
Fax: 207.878.3505
E-mail: tvmail@wgme.com General
Manager: Alan Cartwright
ORLANDO, FL
WKMG-TV 6
CBS affiliate
4466 John Young Parkway
Orlando, FL 32804
Phone: 407.291.6000
Fax: 407.521.1204
General Manager: Kathleen Keefe
Dr. Laura Speaks For Herself
On the GLAAD
website (www.glaad.org) , you'll find yesterday's monologue
in its entirety, and we encourage you to read it. But we decided
to include an excerpt here - paragraphs that are shocking,
even to me. We have long reported the distortions which Schlessinger
promotes in her rhetoric. These are the diatribes about us
as people, about homosexuality, about our rights -- about
our right to exist. The reason the two following paragraphs
are unusually bold is because they are so completely refutable
by any number of witnesses. Usually, Schlessinger cites subjective
experts: the Bible (the Torah, specifically), non-medical
research, letters from desperate or self-loathing gays, random
people whom she has met in life, and so on. Mostly, as we
ll know too well, it's just "the world according to Laura."
But her apparent anger over the story about her in yesterday's
"New YorkTimes" really tipped her over the edge.
The first paragraph here alludes to that. Then, in the following
paragraph, she brazenly lies about the meeting which GLAAD had with Paramount. Of course, fabrication and fantasy
are nothing new for Schelssinger to report as fact, but this
passage in her monologue is particularly brazen. Every one
of the senior executives at Paramount who attended that meeting
knows the truth - from the Chairman of Paramount Television
to the Executive Producer of her radio show. This was not
a "Who's free at 3?" kind of meeting. There was
only one topic: Dr. Laura, and it was the reason the meeting
was called.
Here are the comments:
EXCERPT FROM SCHLESSINGER'S 3/6/00 RADIO PROGRAM
"In The New York Times today, there's a very fair -
considering the fact that The New York Times is very against
marriage being defined as a man and a woman by virtue of their
last editorial comment last week or Sunday - I forget what
day it was in - I was really surprised at the article about
me and the gays attacking me, the gay activists, is fair -
but it is fair. There are two things in here that are fascinating,
and I want to put them together with one more statement. I
want to leave that percolating in your head so you know what
these groups are about, because to me, this is fascism, O.K.?"
"It says that the format of my program would differ
from that of the radio program in that the television program
would present, quote, "many points of view derived from
a variety of sources, guests and a studio audience,"
and that GLAAD knew that - Gay and Lesbian Anti-Defamation
group that met with Paramount. They didn't meet with Paramount
on my show. GLAAD meets with all the companies all the time.
They lied when they said they had a special meeting about
my show. That wasn't true. Paramount, as do all the companies,
meet with these special interest groups all the time out of
respect - which has been blown, by the way."
This is not the first time Schlessinger has misrepresented
the facts. Schlessinger's syndicated newspaper column for
the week of Feb.11, 2000 attacked SIECUS, the Sexuality Information
and Education Council of the United States. Due to erroneous
information contained throughout the column (including misspelled
names, mischaracterization of SIECUS' recent declaration,
and the blatant fabrication of a quote attributed to SIECUS
President Debra Haffner), Universal Press Syndicate issued
an extensive correction on the column.
Also, in her Oct. 21, 1999 radio monologue, Schlessinger
selectively edited and quoted from a "Washington Times"
story by Julia Duin on the gospel duo Angie & Debbie Winans,
making it sound as though Debbie Winans was commenting on
angry lesbian and gay activists when she was actually referring
to participants in the Million Woman March.
Day after day, Dr. Laura's words present a better case than
we ever could to the senior executives of Paramount. Dr. Laura
is not controversial, she's dangerous.
GLAAD's
Next Steps
Within the next few days we expect a response from Paramount
to the letter we sent last week. As we've mentioned, that
response will dictate our next steps. In the meantime, continue
to e-mail Paramount at television@pde.paramount.com.
Joan M. Garry
GLAAD Executive Director
