252:, a media watchdog organization. "Gay Power, Gay Politics", Alfred said, relied on "a systematic use of hearsay, oversights, exaggerations, distortions, inflammatory buzzwords, leading questions, and misleading and deceitful editing" that had as its result "patterned distortion". Of particular note was the scene of Feinstein at the Harvey Milk Democratic Club. The editor had inserted applause immediately after Feinstein apologized for her earlier
169:
voice at a certain point so what I said could not be cut. He seemed to want me to vilify Diane (sic) Feinstein in some way and set her in opposition to the gay community....During one of the breaks I told him that I didn't feel good about it...I felt I had been twisted and manipulated." Ultimately
Gearhart's interview was cut entirely, for which she was "ecstatic". When Crile began his interview with then-Mayor
343:(CUAV), a San Francisco group dedicated to addressing anti-gay violence in the city, reported a 400% increase of reported violent incidents against LGBT people. This marked a reversal of the decrease in violence reports to that point in 1980. Right-wing groups used "Gay Power, Gay Politics" as a fundraising tool until CBS forced them to stop. The
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group before them. Gay power, gay politics, that's what this report is about. It's not a story about life-styles or the average gay experience. What we'll see is the birth of a political movement and the troubling questions it raises for the eighties, not only for San
Francisco, but for other cities throughout the country.
331:, who stated that 10% of homicides in the city were gay-related and that some of those were related to the BDSM community. His words, which Stephens would later acknowledge were based on hearsay, were widely and inaccurately reported as meaning that 10% of all homicides in San Francisco were related to BDSM.
372:
attacked the program for its presentation of gays as "sexual hedonists, privileged powerbrokers, and arrogant men scheming to force their 'lifestyle' on a recalcitrant public". She further castigated the show for excluding lesbians and people of color (although she acknowledges that this to an extent
232:
Gay political organizations are acting all across the country. The right of homosexuals to organize like any other minority seeking to further its own interests is no longer in question. The question is, what will those interests be? Will they include a demand for absolute sexual freedom, as they did
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dismissed the bulk of Alfred's complaints as "trivial, irrelevant or clearly represent matters of opinion or judgment". Chandler went on to acknowledge that the applause was broadcast out of sequence but denied that it was intended to deceive. "Whatever the motivation, it is clear that our producers
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consultants. He reported that one out of every ten deaths in San
Francisco was attributable to gay men participating in BDSM and that one gay-oriented BDSM establishment's clientele engaged in sexual activity "so dangerous that they have a gynecological table there with a doctor and nurse on hand to
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began questioning their motives, coming to believe the network "was out to do a hatchet job". Crile interviewed
Gearhart for the piece but by the date of her interview she was so mistrustful of the producers that she took measures to try to prevent herself from being misrepresented. "I would lift my
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sub-culture. CBS used BDSM to discredit the LGBT community by implying that an increase in gay political power would correspond with an increase in BDSM and BDSM-related deaths. The program also miscategorized BDSM as an exclusively gay male activity, despite the fact that most of the BDSM material
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to gays and made them appear as threats to public morals and decency." CBS was also found to have offered distorted coverage of the city's annual Beaux Arts Ball and to have manipulated the soundtrack by adding the applause. The network later apologized for this on the air, the first time that the
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Crile and CBS were sharply criticized for the reporting and editing practices used in the documentary. A gay journalist named Randy Alfred, who had covered many of the same campaign events that were included in the episode, spent some 300 hours researching what he believed to be factual errors and
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was outraged and sent a letter of protest to CBS. Feinstein wrote to the station manager of KPIX denouncing the episode. She compared the program to "doing a documentary on
Italians and only showing the Mafia". She asked for three minutes of national airtime to respond but CBS denied her request.
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For someone of my generation, it sounds a bit preposterous. Political power for homosexuals? But those predictions are already coming true. In this report, we'll see how the gays of San
Francisco are using the political process to further their own special interest, just like every other minority
272:
The NNC met on
September 18, 1980 to consider Alfred's allegations. After dismissing many of them as without merit, The NNC found by a vote of 9–2 that CBS had unfairly misrepresented a number of sexual issues, including in the BDSM scenes. "By concentrating on certain flamboyant examples of
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gay rights ordinance, used an image from the program along with the slogan "Don't Let It Spread!" on billboards. In 1985, a
Houston group opposed to a proposed LGBT rights ordinance for the city used clips from the program in its commercials and voters overwhelmingly rejected the ordinance.
148:. For this new program, he intended to focus on the 1979 San Francisco mayoral election and the political strength of the gay voting bloc in the city, which the several candidates were courting. He brought Grace Diekhaus in to co-produce with him and secured approval from CBS.
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in San
Francisco? And if so, will this challenge to traditional values provoke far more hostility and controversy when it is put to the test elsewhere? It is no longer a matter of whether homosexuals will achieve political power, but what they will attempt to do with it.
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indicated the applause out of its actual time sequence and therefore misled our viewers. This, then, constitutes an acknowledgment of error and an apology for a breach of our own journalistic standards." Regarding the program as a whole, Chandler denied any bias.
368:"Gay Power, Gay Politics" continued to be a target of criticism by LGBT community leaders and authors, although some have acknowledged that the program included "more than a few kernels of truth". Former National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director
211:, asking Cleve Jones, "Isn't it a sign of decadence when you have so many gays emerging, breaking apart all the values of a society?" Crile also included footage of Feinstein, in the midst of a run-off election to retain her mayorship, appearing before the
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While echoing criticism about the exclusion of lesbian concerns and the distortions contained in the broadcast, Browning went on to note that sexual freedom has always been part of the gay male agenda and that it would be absurd to pretend otherwise.
83:
and took as his focus the 1979 San
Francisco mayoral election. After intermittent shooting over several months in 1979 with the cooperation of prominent members of the city's LGBT community, CBS aired "Gay Power, Gay Politics" on April 26, 1980.
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comments, which Crile had described as Feinstein's "groveling to atone". The applause had in fact come after her condemnation of anti-gay violence and a promise to appoint a gay or lesbian member of the police commission.
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Filming began in the summer of 1979 and continued periodically through November, with the production team shooting in several intervals for a few days each. A number of prominent gay activists, including
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As a credentialed, respectable, middle-class professional—an ordinary person who reports, writes and speaks through the airwaves about conventional social issues of family, economy, health, and politics
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the pair acknowledged that the material for the show was selected for its likelihood to be shocking. Two months after Alfred's complaint to the NNC, CBS defended its people. Network vice-president
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377:, while agreeing with the criticism of the tone of the documentary, nonetheless found the dudgeon that many in the community expressed to be "layered with disingenuousness". Browning wrote:
340:
360:, has used the 10% homicide figure to support his views on homosexuality, views which have been repudiated by a number of professional psychological and sociological associations.
212:
111:, a media watchdog organization, found that CBS had violated journalistic standards through misrepresentation purposely to reinforce stereotypes and through deceptive editing.
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mirrored the state of gay leadership at the time) and noted her belief that anti-gay attack videos produced in the 1990s were modeled on this broadcast. Gay cultural critic
409:
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filmed for the documentary was shot at a location called The Chateau, which had a heterosexual customer base. Reporter Crile interviewed San Francisco coroner Dr.
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misrepresentations within the broadcast. By July 10 he had prepared a 20-page complaint outlining 44 alleged instances of misrepresentation which he filed with the
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In response to complaints before the episode even aired, CBS had flown the producers to San Francisco, where in an interview with local CBS affiliate
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302:, Terrence O'Flaherty labeled the documentary "a dreadful little program... deadly for everyone it touches". Nationally, a spokesperson for the
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who pursues the limits of lust in parks and sex clubs—I continue to wonder whether CBS was really incorrect in its characterization of gay men.
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Armistead Maupin, who had worked closely with the production team, repudiated the program, saying "I had no idea they were doing a hit piece."
144:
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Following footage of Jones at a candlelight vigil for Harvey Milk and additional footage from the March on Washington, Reasoner closed with:
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Crile's report, rather than exploring the thesis laid out by Reasoner, instead focused in large measure on sexual activity, including men
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condemned the documentary for its premise of gays wanting political power for purposes of having sex in public, for ignoring
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Anchor Harry Reasoner opened the hour with the following narration, over shots of the 1979 March on Washington:
107:. The documentary sparked outrage in the city and CBS was roundly criticized for its journalistic tactics. The
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wrote, "It's shocking that CBS News, home of Walter Cronkite, would partake of such bigotry." Writing for the
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organization. The program as aired showed Feinstein apologizing for remarks she had made in an earlier
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politics, "Gay Power, Gay Politics" focused largely on the supposed sexual practices of the
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homosexual behavior the program tended to reinforce stereotypes... The program exaggerated
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George Crile became interested in making "Gay Power, Gay Politics" after learning of the
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The Other Side of Silence – Men's Lives and Gay Identities: A Twentieth-Century History
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322:"Gay Power, Gay Politics" has also been criticized for its negative portrayal of the
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122:. LGBT writers and theorists have continued to criticize the documentary.
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LGBT community had received an apology from a major news organization.
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Displacing Homophobia: Gay Male Perspectives in Literature and Culture
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Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian Liberation
907:
Out For Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America
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scheduled for October 1979. Crile had earlier produced a piece on
61:" is a 1980 episode of the American documentary television series
951:
Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America
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The Culture of Desire: Paradox and Perversity in Gay Lives Today
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Representation of the gay community and journalistic standards
618:"Media Bites Back: It's not all applause for watchdog agency"
323:
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203:
104:
92:
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Butters, Ronald R., John M. Clum and Michael Moon (1989).
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79:. He conceived the show after becoming aware of the 1979
887:. New York, Vintage Books, a division of Random House.
412:. Sexual Orientation Issues in the News. Archived from
177:?" Feinstein threw him and his crew out of her office.
132:
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
81:
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
966:
Encyclopedia of lesbian and gay histories and cultures
870:
Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America
281:
Many in the city were angered by the broadcast. The
114:"Gay Power, Gay Politics" was used as a tool of the
75:. Crile also produced the episode with co-producer
789:. University of California – Davis. Archived from
964:Haggerty, George E. and Bonnie Zimmerman (2000).
207:sew people up." He compared San Francisco to the
1058:
173:by asking "How does it feel to be the mayor of
641:Feinstein, quoted in Clendinen, et al., p. 449
602:
600:
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120:block or repeal anti-discrimination ordinances
905:Cleninden, Dudley and Adam Nagourney (1999).
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225:interview, followed immediately by applause.
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91:as a report on the growing influence of the
764:. Family Research Institute. Archived from
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1092:LGBTQ-related controversies in television
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347:, in its successful campaign to repeal a
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872:. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
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339:Following the airing of the report, the
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1009:Martin, Del and Phyllis Lyon (1991).
922:Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men
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310:and for failing to address issues of
998:. New York, Henry Holt and Company.
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1082:LGBTQ politics in the United States
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502:Reasoner, quoted in Browning, p. 96
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909:. New York, Simon & Schuster.
580:Chandler, quoted in Alwood, p. 188
484:Gearhart, quoted in Alwood, p. 183
407:
283:San Francisco Board of Supervisors
14:
1103:
1077:1980 American television episodes
787:"Paul Cameron Bio and Fact Sheet"
341:Community United Against Violence
1087:Documentaries about LGBTQ topics
550:Alfred, quoted in Alwood, p. 185
532:Reasoner, quoted in Gross, p. 54
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983:. New York, Houghton Mifflin.
868:Andriote, John-Manuel (1999).
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356:, on behalf of the right wing
202:and interviews with so-called
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953:. Columbia University Press.
924:. Columbia University Press.
920:Comstock, Gary David (1992).
857:. Columbia University Press.
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624:. Knight-Ridder. p. 12-B
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981:The Gay Metropolis 1940–1996
762:"Violence and Homosexuality"
616:Harris, Harry (1980-12-01).
410:"SOIN - Gay Events Timeline"
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7:
935:Escoffier, Jeffrey (2003).
656:"Media Notes From All Over"
654:Unger, Craig (1980-05-12).
352:Controversial psychologist
213:Harvey Milk Democratic Club
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103:male community, especially
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1043:. New York, Anchor Books.
622:St. Petersburg Independent
293:The San Francisco Examiner
939:. Thunder's Mouth Press.
750:Clendinen, et al., p. 449
475:Martin & Lyon, p. 345
358:Family Research Institute
138:San Francisco Supervisor
40:
30:
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1024:Rutledge, Leigh (1992).
979:Kaiser, Charles (1997).
968:. Taylor & Francis.
949:Gross, Larry P. (2001).
902:. Duke University Press.
883:Browning, Frank (1993).
442:Haggerty, et al., p. 759
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142:that ran on the program
44:April 26, 1980
994:Loughery, John (1998).
853:Alwood, Edward (1998).
312:anti-gay discrimination
304:National Gay Task Force
299:San Francisco Chronicle
59:Gay Power, Gay Politics
24:Gay Power, Gay Politics
1039:Vaid, Urvashi (1995).
760:Cameron, Paul (1993).
729:Butters, et al., p. 36
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318:Representation of BDSM
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87:Although described by
16:Episode of CBS Reports
1028:. New York, Penguin.
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275:political concessions
250:National News Council
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109:National News Council
67:. It was anchored by
768:on February 22, 2008
349:San Jose, California
254:Ladies' Home Journal
222:Ladies' Home Journal
364:Continued criticism
335:Anti-LGBT backlash
175:Sodom and Gomorrah
71:with reportage by
1013:. Volcano Press.
937:Sexual Revolution
711:Escoffier, p. 275
693:Escoffier, p. 274
660:New York Magazine
559:Alwood, pp. 186–7
541:Kaiser, pp. 271–2
463:Alwood, pp. 182–3
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1067:CBS Reports
288:Jeff Jarvis
158:Cleve Jones
140:Harvey Milk
64:CBS Reports
33:CBS Reports
1061:Categories
848:References
797:2008-12-04
772:2008-12-01
666:2008-12-17
628:2008-12-01
420:2008-12-01
215:, an LGBT
166:Del Martin
126:Production
48:1980-04-26
238:Criticism
308:lesbians
217:Democrat
196:cruising
181:Overview
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1000:ISBN
985:ISBN
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101:gay
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