Tucson TV Station Stands up to Homosexual Activist Pressure Group

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Tucson TV Station Reports on Lewd Public Behavior by Homosexuals, Subjected to Intimidation by Pressure Group GLAAD

By Dennis Durband, Editor
Feb. 9, 2007

A recent feature story aired on KGUN TV in Tucson demonstrates just how the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) organization attempts to intimidate the media to portray homosexuality in a favorable light. The president of GLAAD is Neil Giuliano, former RINO mayor of Tempe.

GLAAD raised a ruckus when KGUN reporter Jennifer Waddell did a "Channel 9 On Your Side" report about the incidence of anonymous homosexual sex in Tucson's public parks. Sparked by viewer concern, she reviewed Tucson police records for story background and observed and interviewed people in public places. Many of the public park locations are listed on Internet sites in order to let people – many of them homosexuals – know where to go for anonymous sex. This problem is not unique to Tucson.

In a news release issued Feb. 2, GLAAD complains about “a lurid teaser airing on local ABC affiliate KGUN-9 for an upcoming ‘exposé’ of men having sex with men in public parks.” Apparently, anonymous sex between men in public parks is not considered lurid by GLAAD, but teasers used to alert television viewers about a news report on it is.

Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for GLAAD, said in the news release:

“When the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) heard complaints from community members in Tucson, Ariz., about a lurid teaser airing on local ABC affiliate KGUN-9 for an upcoming “exposé” of men having sex with men in public parks, we immediately contacted the station to voice our concerns. These stories appear frequently during television “sweeps” months and consistently follow a defamatory script, relying on tabloid-style journalism and anecdotal claims to create a climate of paranoia and fear by painting gay men as a threat to local communities and public safety while reinforcing dangerous stereotypes that can lead to anti-gay discrimination and violence."

"When GLAAD reached out to the KGUN newsroom to learn more about the story and offer our services as a resource, our request was met with resistance, hostility and a blanket statement that the station would not comment on the story until it aired. Further communication with Andrew W. Stewart, Vice President and General Manager for KGUN, confirmed that nobody associated with the station was willing to have a discussion with GLAAD about the concerns raised by the community. Representatives from Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community center, also spoke with the reporter, Jennifer Waddell, who gave assurances that the story would not be about gay men or cause any concern for the LGBT community.”

"Ultimately, the segment is little more than a sweeps-month stunt that abandons basic journalistic practices and ethics in favor of lurid tabloid sensationalism."

GLAAD never identifies which journalistic practices and ethics have been “abandoned.”

The Arizona Conservative contacted KGUN to request a transcript of the report. Lena Sadiwskyj, news director for the station, provided the transcript, which appears below:

NAME: KGUN 9OYS INVESTIGATES]
     NOW TO A KGUN9 ON YOUR SIDE INVESTIGATION.
     THE INTERNET - YOU TAKE ONE WRONG TURN AND YOU'VE GONE FROM LOOKING FOR A NEW PUPPY TO STRAIGHT-UP PORNOGRAPHY INVOLVING WOMEN AND MEN.
     CONCERNED CITIZENS CONTACTED US SO WE INVESTIGATED.
     WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT SEX ON THE INTERNET IS TAKING AN ILLEGAL TURN... IN PUBLIC.
SOMETHING KINKY IS HAPPENING AT CONSTRUCTION SITES... SHADY SCREENINGS AT THE AIRPORT... AND PUBLIC PROMISCUITY IN TUCSON PARKS.
THE COMMON THREAD... THE INTERNET -- AND CRAIG'S LIST...
X-RATED PHOTOS... MEN POSTING PORN - SOME MARRIED, SOME NOT... TRYING TO SNAG A HOOK-UP WITH OTHER MEN... TRADING PHOTOS FOR DIRTY DEEDS IN THE DESERT.

[Interview subject speaking] <it's an old, well known fact -- Having sex in public is illegal. but long gone are the days of crazy kids getting busted in the backseat of dad's car. This is the stack of arrests Tucson police made last year. People are getting more daring having sex in places like this public restroom.>

THESE ADS SAY IT ALL...
KNOW A GOOD PUBLIC MEETING PLACE ON THE NW SIDE?
WHO KNOWS BOOKSTORES... FUN WITH ACTION?
AT THE AIRPORT... CONSTRUCTION HOUSES AT NOON.
THEN THERE'S PURPLE HEART PARK...
POLICE SAY IT'S ONE OF SEVERAL IN THE CITY -- MEN USE TO GET THEIR KICKS.

[Interview subject speaking]<does it make you think twice? Not me but there are a lot of children that use this park and that is not the thing I would want them to be exposed to.>
<I find it appalling actually and i've taken my daughter to the restroom at night before.>

FROM THE *EAST* SIDE.
TO THE *WEST* SIDE... SEX ACTS... ARRANGED ON-LINE... PERFORMED IN PUBLIC.

[Interview subject speaking] <there is a connection to craig's list and there's an overall connection to the internet especially for greasewood park.>

THIS IS WHAT WE SAW IN JUST 30 MINUTES AT GREASEWOOD PARK.
THE GUY ON THE BIKE APPROACHES
NOT ONE, BUT TWO VEHICLES.
THEN THESE TWO MEN MEET...
AND HEAD OFF INTO THE WOODS.
WHEN THEY SEE OUR CAMERA... THEY LEAVE.
BUT THE PARADE CONTINUES...
AS ONE MAN ARRIVES...
ANOTHER ONE LEAVES... THIS GOES ON FOR HOURS EVERY DAY.

[Interview subject speaks]<they hook it up, they want to engage in sex acts.>

JOHN IS A GAY MAN -- WORRIED ABOUT THE STIGMA THESE ACTS HAVE ON HIS COMMUNITY... BUT CONFIRMING WHAT OUR KGUN9 ON YOUR SIDE INVESTIGATION UNCOVERED. HE AGREED TO TALK WITH US IF WE CONCEALED HIS IDENTITY.

[Interview subject speaks]<there lurking in the bushes are people wanting to have sex, they're looking for the hookup.>

JOHN ADMITS HE'S BEEN THERE DONE THAT... EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH HAVING SEX IN PUBLIC.

[Interview subject speaks]<i was sitting at the table, reading a book and a guy came up and within a minute or two the cops showed up and said they had proof I was engaging in sexual acts.>

HE WAS EXONERATED... BUT MANY OTHER MEN - NOT SO LUCKY.
KGUN 9 ON YOUR SIDE OBTAINED THESE POLICE REPORTS FROM A STING OPERATION THAT NETTED MORE THAN A DOZEN OFFENDERS AT GREASEWOOD.
AND IN *MIDTOWN*... REID PARK... A FAMILY FAVORITE BUT A NOTORIOUS SITE FOR SEX -- MOSTLY IN THE BATHROOMS.. ALSO NAMED ON CRAIG'S LIST.
PEG WEBER -- TUCSON PARKS AND REC.

[Interview subject speaks]<safety of the people is most important to us b/c people come to play, so our best partners are the police.>

WITH NO OFFICIAL PARK GUARDS IN THE CITY... A 9 ON YOUR SIDE WARNING... A FAMILY TRIP FOR A GOOD TIME... COULD TURN NASTY IF YOU WALK-UP ON SOMEONE TURNING A DIRTY TRICK.
     AS YOU HEARD IN OUR STORY, MEN AND WOMEN HAVE BEEN BUSTED FOR SEX ACTS IN PUBLIC.
     AND OBVIOUSLY, NOT ALL MEN MEETING IN PARKS ARE THERE TO HAVE SEX.
     BASED ON OUR RESEARCH THROUGH CRAIG'S LIST... THE SETTING UP OF PUBLIC SEX ACTS OCCURS WITHIN THE MEN SEEKING MEN SECTION AND AS I MENTIONED, SOME OF THE MEN CLAIM TO BE MARRIED WITH CHILDREN.
     CRAIG'S LIST HAS BECOME A CLEARING HOUSE FOR PORNOGRAPHIC PERSONALS - WITH NOTHING TO BLOCK CHILDREN FROM SEEING THEM... AND KGUN 9 ON YOUR SIDE THINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT ... FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR KIDS.

[News anchor speaking with reporter]     JENNIFER, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT ISN'T CRAIG'S LIST SUPPOSED TO BE A WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE BUY AND SELL THINGS?
     ABSOLUTELY AND IT STILL IS... BUT ONCE YOU GET TO PERSONAL ADS... THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS... AND NO LIMITS ON WHAT YOU CAN POST ON A PERSONAL.
     PEOPLE ARE SETTING UP ILLEGAL SEX ACTS, POSTING PORNOGRAPHIC PICTURES AND MESSAGES.
     THERE IS A DISCLAIMER BUT IT'S JUST ONE CLICK AND YOU'RE THROUGH.

After viewing the transcript, it is obvious that KGUN based its report on police records, interviews and Internet postings. The report provided substantiation through the use of video and eyewitness accounts in public parks. The report did not make any claims that it could not substantiate.

It is not surprising that GLAAD, a homosexual activist organization and a nationally-known pressure group, is trying to protect the lifestyle of the homosexuality community that it caters to. GLAAD is trying to tell the media to back off.

GLAAD’s news release urges its supporters to write or call Waddell and executives at KGUN, “to express your concerns about the story. Ask them to remove the clip from their Web site and to work with GLAAD and Wingspan to ensure future news coverage that affects our community adheres to basic standards of fairness, accuracy and inclusion.” Wingspan is a homosexual activist organization in Tucson.

According to its website, “The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.”

GLAAD is also pressuring Snickers about a Super Bowl commercial in which two mechanics expressed revulsion at the thought of homosexuality. That commercial correctly portrayed how many people feel about homosexuality, libertine sex and promiscuity.

Furthermore, in 2005, GLAAD held more than 100 editorial board meetings, newsroom trainings and meetings with media professionals at local and regional outlets, in English and in Spanish. After meeting with the editors, the Spanish-language daily Hoy published an eight-page supplement during Gay Pride weekend -- including many of GLAAD’s proposed story ideas.

After meeting with Reuters, the international news agency agreed to make GLAAD’s contact information and Media Reference Guide available to its 15,000 reporters around the globe so they can use GLAAD as a resource “when covering LGBT issues.” GLAAD has held hundreds of similar meetings with all the major media giants and polling organizations, with similar results.

Is it any wonder that the media is largely monolithic in its “agenda reporting” on issues pertaining to sexual orientation? GLAAD has covered every base imaginable in its ongoing efforts to pressure the mass media into submission. In fact, the major media have been completely captured by the homosexual agenda. It has been hard to find any major newspapers which have endorsed state marriage amendments and which have not been sympathetic to “homosexual rights.”

Conservatives have plenty of reasons to complain about slanted journalism in the major media. However, KGUN TV deserves credit for doing a feature story on a topic most media won’t touch and for standing boldly against a climate of fear and intimidation cultivated by the well-funded pressure group GLAAD. The viewers of KGUN and the citizens of Tucson have been well served by the 9 On Your Side report on the problem with lewd acts in public places by homosexuals. Families, children and taxpayers deserve public parks where they can have confidence in experiencing good, clean, fun – without exposure to lurid, illegal acts.