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July 7,2000 ? Jvaft MrtJ 2 1
Maybe She's an Insecure
Closeted Dyke
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or many people across the United States,
she is the voice of reason. She’s the day
time alternative to soap operas, dishing out
advice with an attitude to millions of
eager, problem-plagued listeners. She’s got a
sharp tongue and she rarely stutters. She seems
to tell it like it is, with one major exception:
She’s got some sort of problem with gays.
For this reason, radio talk show host Dr.
Laura Schlessinger has recently been high on
the hit list of prominent national community
organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation and Parents,
Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
Schlessinger’s show is a call-in program. Lis
teners are instructed to present a “moral dilem
ma question.” On her own Internet site,
www.drlaura.com, Schlessinger says the purpose
of her radio show is to dispense morals, values,
principles and ethics.
According to GLAAD, however, Sch
lessinger has used her program (which is broad
cast in Portland on KEX 1190-AM) to rail
against gay men and lesbians, calling them
“deviant,” and “biological errors,” and has sug
gested that a “huge portion” of gay men are
involved in pedophilia. She also has said that
gay men and lesbians should undertake “repara
tive therapies” to become heterosexual. (Tran
scripts from her show may be found on the
G LA A D Internet site, www.glaad.org.)
Schlessinger’s supporters often remind oppo
nents of her right to free speech under the First
Amendment, while anti-Schlessinger activists
complain that listeners are being tricked by her
title. Because of the “Dr.” in front of her name,
they argue, her views are perceived to have
clinical value. (Schlessinger uses the title
because she holds a doctorate in physiology.)
D p . Laura to set Portland
straight on KGW-TV
Continued from the cover
Buratti says she’s received several e-mails
protesting the show and a few threats (of
demonstrations). So far none of the threats
have come to fruition, she says.
Rather than respond to threats, protests and
demonstrations, Buratti says, she would prefer
to speak directly and have “a meaningful dia
logue” with people who have concerns about
the show.
Paramount has been very cooperative,
Buratti says, and is working with Schlessinger
to assure the content of the show is acceptable.
Whatever the reason “Dr.” Laura Schlessinger calls gays
“deviant” and “biological errors” on public airwaves
by “K aty ” D avidson
GLA AD began its retaliation
against Schlessinger nearly two
coiAfc o u t ;
years ago. More recently, an ad
LAUfcA...
hoc group of activists began a
COfAE 00 ^
“coalition against hate cam
paign” based on a
Internet site called
StopDrLaura.com.
This group put up its
site late last year and
has already received
more than 30 million
hits. Now, more than 10
major U.S. cities have
started StopDrLaura.com
groups that protest against
stations slated to air her
new television show this
fall.
A few months ago,
Procter & Gamble Co., one
of the country’s largest consumer
products manufacturers, found itself
sandwiched between Paramount
Television and GLAAD because of
its plans to be a major corporate
sponsor of Schlessinger’s show.
If such negotiations are in fact taking place,
Schlessinger glossed over them in an exclusive
interview in the July 3 issue of Time. She told
the magazine that
Paramount hasn’t
asked her to tone
down her show.
“What’s unique
about this show,”
Schlessinger said,
“is that the host will
have a point of
view.”
In response to the public’s concern, and for
her own peace of mind, Buratti says, she plans
to view every episode before the show’s airtime
(now scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday through
Friday).
While the program director admits it is
for rea l m usic lovers
i
[W
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s u m o
unusual to preview syndicated shows, it isn’t
unheard of. Periodically Buratti would see an
advanced listing (a sort of synopsis) of The
Roseanne Show that
would concern her
enough that she pre
viewed the tape
before airtime.
Buratti says she
pulled the comedi
an’s show five or six
times and replaced
it with a backup
episode (reserved for days when satellites are
malfunctioning). Since then KGW has dropped
the comedy from its schedule due to content.
Buratti says the same tactics would likely be
used if an episode of Schlessinger’s show were
deemed inappropriate before airtime.
Schlessinger asserts that she has many
gay listeners who support her.
She believes that only gay activists
are involved with the protest
j
a rea l stereo store
Both GLAAD and StopDrLaura.com heav
ily campaigned for P&G to
pull its sponsorship, and,
after only one week of
protesting, the company
caved under the anti-
Schlessinger activists’
pressure.
“We have decided not
to sponsor the Dr. Laura
show,” a P&G spokesper
son said in May. “There
has been controversy sur
rounding Dr. Laura on a
number of topics. We’ve chosen not to be
involved with a show that will require
time and resources to deal with this kind
of controversy.... There are lots of pro
gramming options, and we’ve decided there
are better ones for us.”
The move by P&G came soon after a
Canadian broadcast industry standards
group issued a scathing condemna-
)A tion of Schlessinger’s radio com
mentary, calling her remarks
about gay men and lesbians “abu
sively discriminatory.”
esto ver
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H e ig h t s
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Offering general internal
m edicine and excelling
in sexual health care
In June, the corporate giant wavered about
its decision to stop its advertising after it met
with representatives of several right-wing
groups, then redecided again and stuck to its
guns. P&G will not only pull its sponsorship of
Schlessinger’s upcoming television show, it
plans to pull its radio advertisements as well.
“GLAAD salutes Procter & Gamble’s corpo
rate responsibility and good conscience in its
decision to discontinue advertising Laura Sch
lessinger’s programming,” said GLAAD Execu
tive Director Joan M. Garry. “By doing so, the
company has demonstrated the kind of respect
for fair-minded people everywhere that we
would like to see from Paramount, which plans
to produce and distribute Schlessinger’s TV
program this fall.”
(Unfortunately for animal rights activists,
P&G has yet to reverse its policy of testing
chemicals on animals to make sure products
are safe for humans. Of related interest,
Schlessinger admitted she “hates cats” on her
radio show May 29.)
Following P&G’s lead, Xerox, AT&T, Unit
ed Airlines, Toys ‘R’ Us and American Express
have distanced themselves from Schlessinger’s
program as well. These companies’ decisions
may have been influenced by a recent Harris
Interactive/Witeck-Combs Internet survey
which found that three out of four gay men and
lesbians and two out of five heterosexuals are
less likely to buy products advertised on shows
that negatively portray gay men and lesbians.
■ T he D r . L aura P rogram airs in the Portland
area between I and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday
on KEX I I 90-AM.
KATY D avidson is a Just Out staff reporter
and cat lover.
O
ne of the founding members of StopDr-
Laura.com, Robin Tyler, says the national
movement has incredible support. “Not
since Anita Bryant has there been this kind
of spontaneous protest,” she says, referring to
a national outcry from gay men and lesbians
about singer Bryant's public anti-gay com
ments in the 1970s.
Schlessinger asserts that she has many gay
listeners who support her. She believes that
only gay activists are involved with the
protest. But Tyler’s comments suggest that the
StopDrLaura.com movement has gone
beyond stereotypical gay activism. The site
has received more than 30 million hits, Tyler
says, and continues to get about 500,000 new
visitors each month.
Continued on Page 23
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