Koppel "A Matter of Choice?" on Nightline May 20-24

[Barry]

"A Matter of Choice?"

This series will take an in-depth look at the complexities of the gay and lesbian experience in America, from senior citizens facing unique challenges to teenagers grappling with issues of sexual identity.The series will conclude with a live 90-minute town meeting in Roanoke, VA, where the murder of a gay man two years ago galvanized a once fearful gay community to take a visible and vocal stand against violence.

The series will run May 20-24, every night at 11:35 PM EST, on the ABC Television Network. • Letters to the Editor

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Nightline/

 

Barry :-)

[Guest RushNY]

You can tell we're in a sweeps month :-)

[Guest JustANametoPlay]

Rush that may be true howver the series was actually supposed to run about a month ago but they postponed it due to the issues that were happneing in the Middle East

[Guest Spunk]

RE: Koppel

 

It's a sad comment about our culture when Gay people are exploited for television ratings.

[Will]

RE: Koppel

 

Thanks, Barry, for alerting us to this program. I'm almost certain to have missed it otherwise and can now be sure to tape it. (11:45 p.m. is just too late for me!)

 

With the possible exception of Bill Moyers, I can't think of another television journalist I'd rather see tackle this issue than Ted Koppel. He is a very, very smart man; he takes his work with the greatest seriousness; and whatever one may think of the series after it's done, nobody will be able to call it inflammatory.

 

My mother was born and reared in Roanoke, Virginia, and I know the city and its people rather well. To call it "conservative" would be to misconstrue both the city's ethos as well as the term itself. A "conservative" in Virginia is not the same as a "conservative" in California. I can say that if any consensus of tolerance, acceptance, or even outrage at the murder itself comes out of the town meeting, I'll be surprised.

 

Far from exploiting gay people for the sake of ratings, it seems to me that putting the show in ratings week is a good way to attract an audience. I don't see anything exploitative at all about a series of programs organized and directed by Ted Koppel. After all, we're not talking about Geraldo Rivera.

[guyinsf]

RE: Koppel

 

I hope the series includes a segment on "Heterosexuality: A Matter of Choice?"

 

The title alone suggests that very familiar cultural bias that heterosexuality is "normal" and that one has to wonder why someone would "choose" to go through everything a homophobic culture puts on the gay community. For once maybe they could start reporting on why the dominant culture chooses to victimize people who fall into the "other" category, of which there are many.

 

I don't know Ted Koppel's work very well, as I have only seen his show a few times. Perhaps, as some of you believe, this will be a gay positive show. The title, however, does seem to be an attempt to lure viewers in by postulating an offensive and ridiculous question. Gay people will want to tune in to see if it's gay positive; homophobes will want to tune in either to flan their flames (if it's gay positive) or affirm their beliefs (whatever the show includes that promotes homophobia).

 

I know that Ted Koppel is not Larry King, but I was appalled when a friend told me about a recent King show about "Queer As Folk." In addition to King obsessing about how a straight man or woman could actually kiss someone of the same gender (ewww!), but he also chose to give some time to a homophobe to give a "balanced" perspective. I assume that when Larry King decides to do a show about African-Americans during Black History Month that he will give a balanced perspective by inviting a KKK member to speak.

 

(Whew! I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!)

[ManHoleNC]

RE: Koppel

 

I am from Roanoke and now live in Charlotte NC. Having lived in Philly, Richmond and Baltimore I think I have experienced a variety of cultures. Little ol' Roanoke just may surprise you. True it is conservative, but the shootings did shock the town and increased awareness on gay issues. I think you will be surprised by the outpouring of support and understanding towards the gay community.

 

Oddly enough, I had just come out to my folks about 4 weeks before this shooting. It galvanized in their hearts the amount of pain endured by gay men and women. I think the shootings forced the town to analyze homosexuality in real terms and not from just in front of a pulpit.

 

Odd town. Great family community...that I think is struggling to expand the term to include gays. Continued to elect by overwhelming majority a black Republican mayor who was a wounderful leader. It is nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains and holds firmly to its small town roots, but I hope the show will show the progressive side of the city and the progress that many people have made. The shooting forced families and workplace communities to come to grips with the human side of the issue.

 

I plan to watch.

[Will]

RE: Koppel

 

I plan to watch, too.

 

What could be a better come-on that the rhetorical question "A matter of choice?" It's ironic, and I can't imagine that Ted Koppel would put a question mark after the statement if he didn't intend it to be so.