Clear Channel Issues Statement Regarding Radio Host Jim Quinn’s Outrageous Remarks; GLAAD Asks the Company to Live Up to Its Own Diversity Policies
January 25, 2010
On the January 14 edition of Clear Channel’s nationally syndicated radio program, “The War Room with Quinn and Rose,” host Jim Quinn made outrageous and defamatory comments about people living with HIV/AIDS and what he called the “homosexual AIDS lobby.” Quinn erroneously compared contagious tuberculosis patients to people living with HIV/AIDS and went on to say, “When you get AIDS, pal, the door opens up to you. You have got all kinds of government goodies, including a maid to clean your house, transportation – I mean it’s – there’s just a wealth of wonders that come.”
Following our Call to Action, GLAAD allies wrote numerous e-mails to Clear Channel executives and demanded that Jim Quinn be held responsible for his outrageous comments.
As a result, Clear Channel’s Chief Communications Officer, Lisa Dollinger, released the following statement to GLAAD:
Clear Channel doesn’t condone Jim Quinn’s remarks and we don’t share his view. Clear Channel has raised considerable funds and positive awareness for HIV/AIDS and the GLBT community over the years and we will continue to do so. We’ve spoken with Mr. Quinn about the seriousness of this incident.
While GLAAD appreciates this statement from Clear Channel Communications, we urge the company to live up to its own diversity policy which states in part:
Our ZERO TOLERANCE policy that prohibits discrimination extends beyond our employees, into each and every market in which we conduct business.
If Clear Channel is truly committed to prohibiting discrimination, the company must ask Jim Quinn to apologize for his grossly inaccurate and offensive remarks and ensure that these kinds of defamatory attacks cease in future broadcasts.
Please continue to write to Clear Channel Communications and tell the company that Jim Quinn’s inaccurate and appalling comments are unacceptable and Clear Channel must stop allowing Quinn to perpetuate hatred, fear and misinformation.
CONTACT:
Lisa Dollinger
Chief Communications Officer
Clear Channel Communications
(210) 822-2828
lisacdollinger@clearchannel.com
Rod Phillips
Programming Senior Vice President
(210) 822-2828
rodphillips@clearchannel.com
Robert H. Walls, Jr.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
(210) 822-2828
robert.walls@clearchannel.com
The Washington Post Misses the Mark Again in Its Profile of Anti-LGBT Archbishop Donald Wuerl
December 3, 2009
Just last month, GLAAD alerted readers to The Washington Post’s one-sided profile of anti-LGBT Bishop Harry Jackson published on November 18.
In response to that article, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios penned a Letter to the Editor that confronted The Washington Post’s bias and challenged the newspaper to set higher standards of fairness in future reporting.
That Letter, however, was not published by The Washington Post, though a Post staff member noted that two other letters that responded to the Bishop Harry Jackson piece were published. (Those letters can be found here and here).
(The text of GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios’s Letter can be found below)
On Tuesday, however, The Washington Post once again published an unfair article by staff writer Michelle Boorstein about the Anti-LGBT Catholic Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl.
Boorstein’s article advanced the misconception that faith communities and LGBT people are incompatible. Boorstein overlooked countless clerics and practicing worshipers who welcome equal protections for their gay and transgender brothers and sisters. Organizations like Clergy United for Marriage Equality – a group of over 200 African-American clergy members who are currently working to achieve marriage equality in Washington, D.C. – and Dignity USA – a national organization that affirms LGBT Catholics across the globe– could and should have been included in Boorstein’s piece to offer a different perspective to the anti-LGBT stance that Archbishop Wuerl has taken.
The article also omits the personal stories of loving same-sex couples whose families are directly impacted by the pivotal equality legislation that is advancing in the nation’s capitol.
GLAAD urges you to contact The Washington Post’s ombudsman, Andrew Alexander, and express your concern about the Post’s unfair articles on LGBT people and marriage protections for committed same-sex couples. Tell The Washington Post that loving same-sex couples and their families deserve unbiased and accurate representation in the newspaper so that readers can make fair and informed decisions about the community and its struggle for equality.
Andrew Alexander – Ombudsman, The Washington Post
____________________________________________________________________
Text of GLAAD President Jarret Barrios’s Letter to the Editor regarding Wil Haygood’s Nov. 18 article, “Seeking to Put Asunder”
Wil Haygood Misses the Mark in Profiling Bishop Harry Jackson
Wil Haygood’s profile detailing Bishop Harry Jackson’s opposition to Councilperson David Catania’s bill that would allow committed same-sex couples the right to marry was one-sided and misleading.
The article portrays Jackson as simply an opponent of same-sex marriage and suggests that he is otherwise unconcerned with the gay community. In reality, however, Jackson has a long history of opposition to equal protections for gay and transgender people. It was not long ago, for example, that Jackson spearheaded the “Muzzling the Pulpit” campaign that sought to defeat crucial hate crimes legislation meant to protect gay and transgender Americans from hate-motivated violence.
”Seeking to Put Asunder” not only presents a narrow interpretation of marriage, but also a narrow interpretation of the gospel. To be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender does not mean one cannot also be a person of extraordinary faith. The article omitted voices of gay and transgender African-Americans and African-American clergy who support equal rights for LGBT people. In the D.C. area alone, there are a number of African-American advocates and allies who could have attested to their community’s support for marriage equality. The group Clergy United for Marriage Equality, for instance, has over 200 African-American clerics who are currently working to achieve marriage equality in Washington, D.C. By not adding theses perspectives, Haywood further reinforced the false notion that the African-American community and its churches all share Jackson’s anti-LGBT views.
Haygood’s own bias becomes clear when he writes of gay and transgender people as those who lead “alternative lifestyles.” It should be noted that both The Associated Press and The New York Times have set guidelines that discourage journalists from applying the word ‘lifestyle’ because of its false implication that sexual orientation and gender identity are matters of choice.
The dialogue between the gay and faith communities merits a fair assessment of information, opinion and theological reflection. Instead, Haygood offered the same partisanship that continues to stifle a more informed and rounded conversation.
Jarrett Barrios — New York, NY
Barrios is the President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and a former Massachusetts state senator.
Related Posts:Boxing Promoter Bob Arum Makes Anti-Gay Comments
September 11, 2009
The sports website Fanhouse reports today that 77-year old boxing promoter Bob Arum made several defamatory statements during an interview at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Following a press conference on the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight, Arum, the CEO and Founder of ’Top Rank Boxing,’ voiced disparaging and homophobic opinions about the sport of Mixed Marshall Arts (MMA). According to Fanhouse:
The 77-year-old boxing promoter criticized Floyd Mayweather for fighting “scared” and not being an entertaining fighter. Arum also seemed to squash any hopes of seeing a Mayweather-Pacquaio super-fight in the future. But his harshest words were saved for MMA, as Arum said the sport looks like “guys rolling around like homosexuals on the ground” and called MMA fans “a bunch of skinhead white guys.”
You can view the remarks here. The skinhead comments can be found at 4:40. The homophobic statement can be seen at 5:40.
GLAAD condemns Arum’s comments and calls on him to make a swift and sincere apology. This kind of gratuitous anti-gay commentary has no place in the public discourse and we’ll be reaching out to Arum directly to voice our concerns.
Check back here for further updates.
Related Posts:Anti-Gay Group Targets LGBT Prom and Exploits Youth.
June 30, 2009
LGBT youth proms like the one that BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth) hosts annually in Boston, MA give young members of the LGBT community an opportunity to participate in and enjoy high school prom in a safe and supportive environment that affirms who they are.
On May 9, 2009, MassResistance, an anti-gay group self described as “a pro-family action center” sent a 20-year-old referred to only as “Max” to infiltrate the BAGLY prom. When he returned, he wrote a report about the prom on the group’s website that was picked up by WorldNetDaily staff writer Chelsea Schilling. She wrote about the event and Max’s report in her article “Kids attend prom from ‘sexual hell’”.
Max’s report uses offensive and dehumanizing language in reference to the prom attendees, often misconstruing the sexual orientations and gender identities of those he writes about. He underplays the security of the event, which included 100 adult chaperones (including BAGLY staff, police officers and parents), mandatory bag checks and metal detectors. He refers to the adults present as “homosexual recruiting gangs,” and paints a crude, deliberately misleading picture of what was actually an inclusive and celebratory event for young people.
The report targets these LGBT youth and puts them in harms way by exploiting and misrepresenting what was suposed to be a safe and inclusive opportunity to relax and have fun. Max misrepresented himself as a member of the community and took photos of these young people, which were posted on the MassResistance webpage without the permission of the attendees or their parents or guardians. An event that was supposed to serve as a safe space for local LGBT youth was turned into the opposite by MassResistance.
This incident highlights exactly why LGBT proms and similar events and institutions are especially important. It is essential that young people have a safe and secure environment to express themselves without being subjected to harassment. Groups such as BAGLY are vitally important because of their dedication in providing these kinds of safe spaces for LGBT youth.
Related Posts:Delonas Controversy Is A Symptom Of A Larger Problem At The Post
February 25, 2009
Last week, the controversy surrounding a cartoon by Sean Delonas, the New York Post editorial cartoonist, vaulted the New York City-based tabloid into the national spotlight. As we’ve written about here and here, the cartoon from Wednesday, February 18, depicted police officers having shot and killed a chimpanzee and made an implied reference to President Obama, saying, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”
Soon after the edition of the Post with Delonas’ racist cartoon hit newsstands, a chorus of voices began questioning and condemning both Sean Delonas and the leadership at the New York Post, focusing on Col Allan, the Post’s editor-in-chief.
The Reverend Al Sharpton and his National Action Network, the NAACP, ColorOfChange.org, New York Governor David Patterson, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and many other local and state officials were some of the first voices in a loud and growing outcry over the Post’s ugly defamation.
GLAAD was also one of the voices joining in this chorus. We put together a slideshow of Delonas’ defamatory and anti-LGBT cartoons and issued a national Call to Action, asking supporters to contact the Post and its parent company, News Corp. As part of our mission and ongoing work, we felt it was important that continuing conversations about Delonas’ latest offense be put in the context of his long history of defamatory attacks, including those against LGBT people
It is also critical to note, however, that Delonas’ work is just a symptom of a larger problem at the New York Post. After all, activists formed GLAAD in 1985 as a direct result of the Post’s deplorable and defamatory coverage of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980’s.
Through the years, the Post has continued to engage in exploitative tabloid sensationalism of LGBT issues. Just since 2000, when Col Allan began his tenure as editor in chief, if you picked up a New York Post you could find headlines such as, “Tranny Heaven,” “Free to be He-She,” “Attack of the Killer Lesbians,” and many more (see the slideshow with more headlines below). In response, GLAAD issued numerous Calls to Action and the Post has made the “Worst” list on our “Best and Worst of National News” multiple times.
We’ve repeatedly had our supporters – our community and our allies – rise up and call for a change in the way the Post covers LGBT issues. Unfortunately, a majority of the time the calls and the letters and the protests have fallen on deaf ears.
Yesterday, news came that Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of the New York Post, had decided to publish a statement on the recent controversial Sean Delonas cartoon:
“As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me.
Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.
Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you – without a doubt – that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.
We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.”
But looking through the catalog of anti-LGBT Sean Delonas cartoons and reflecting on the Post’s long history of hurtful and defamatory coverage, it is clear that real, substantive change needs to be made at the New York Post, and that change needs to come from the top.
Therefore, we at GLAAD are calling on Rupert Murdoch to take real and appropriate measures to stop the defamation at the New York Post.
Rupert Murdoch
Chairman and Chief Executive
News Corporation
1211 Avenue of Americas
8th Floor
NY, NY 10036
Phone: 212-852-7000 (Ask for Mr. Murdoch’s office)
E-Mail: rmurdoch@newscorp.com
You can also CC the News Corp Press Contacts on your email:
Teri Everett, Senior Vice President
Corporate Affairs & Communications
Phone: 212-852-7070
E-Mail: teverett@newscorp.com
Jack Horner, Director
Corporate Affairs & Communications
Phone: 212-852-7952
E-Mail: jhorner@newscorp.com
Why Rupert Murdoch? Well, in Murdoch’s own words, “The buck stops with me.” As Chairman of the Post and owner of News Corp, which own the Post along with Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, the responsibility ultimately lies at his feet.
And after all, it’s clear that his editor in chief, Col Allan, won’t be a credible agent of change here.
Look through some of the Post’s coverage below and stand with GLAAD and its allies by calling on Rupert Murdoch to take real and appropriate measures to stop the New York Post from continuing its hurtful, inaccurate, and defamatory depictions and portrayals.
You can click here to view the individual images.
Sample of New York Post Stories:
- December 2008 – ‘60s By Cher
- December 2008 – Woman to Claim ‘Tranny Defense’ in Murder Trial
- September 2008 – Ye-She-Va
- March 2008 – Tranny Heaven
- February 2008 – Axis of She-Vil
- January 2008 – EVIL LESBIAN MOM LEFT TODDLER TO DIE SLOW DEATH: DA
- December 2007 – Lesbian ‘Killer’s’ Bitter Truth
- November 2007 – Lesbian ‘Killer’s’ Mental Woe
- April 2007 – Attack of the Killer Lesbians
- February 2007 – Free to Be He-She
- March 2005 – HE-SHE FUMES OVER DOOR DISS
- May 2001 – SCHOOL KILLS MOTHER’S DAY
Sean Delonas Cartoons:
- Click here for a slideshow of defamatory and anti-LGBT cartoons.
GLAAD Actions:
- December 2008 – New York Post Continues to Denigrate the Transgender Community
- June 2008 – New York Post Cartoon Takes an Immature Swing at Gay Couples
- June 2008 – Call To Action: New York Post Publishes Juvenile Cartoon Swipe at Gay Couples
- February 2008 – New York Post Prints Two Dehumanizing Headlines About LGBT People
- January 2008 – NY POST ARTICLE FEATURES GRATUITOUS AND SENSATIONAL HEADLINE
- November 2007 – The New York Post Continues to Defame the Transgender Community
- October 2007 – GLAAD Condemns Dehumanizing New York Post Column
- July 2007 – NY POST PUBLISHES YET ANOTHER GRATUITOUS VULGAR ANTI-GAY CARTOON
- June 2001 – New York Post’s Homophobia, AIDS-phobia Continue
- May 2001 – Homophobia and the New York Post
