Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
LGBT
Related: About this forumHow Do You Turn Walter Cronkite Into a Friend of Gay Rights? Zap Him.
Last edited Mon Dec 12, 2016, 01:39 PM - Edit history (2)
I'm going through old newspapers. That was the print title of this article from 2009.
Edward Alwood -- Walter Cronkite and the Gay Rights Movement
By Edward Alwood
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Walter Cronkite's illustrious career is remembered for the historic events he covered, from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to the moon landing and the Vietnam War. But Cronkite also reported on burgeoning social movements, including the struggle for gay liberation. After becoming a target of that movement, Cronkite would become a behind-the-scenes ally.
Following the Stonewall riots in 1969, as the nascent gay rights movement became increasingly combative, a gay Philadelphia teenager initiated his own guerrilla war aimed at television, including the "CBS Evening News." Nineteen-year-old Mark Segal became angry when he and a male friend were thrown out of a television dance program one August afternoon in 1972 after the program's host saw them dancing together. In retaliation, Segal barged into the studio of Philadelphia's WPVI a few days later during its evening newscast. Startled studio personnel wrestled him to the floor, tied his hands with a microphone cable and called the police.
....
Nevertheless, Segal's tactics paid off. Cronkite arranged meetings at CBS where Segal could voice his complaints to the top management. On May 6, 1974, Cronkite's newscast featured a segment on gay rights. ... "Part of the new morality of the '60s and '70s is a new attitude toward homosexuality," Cronkite told his audience. "The homosexual men and women have organized to fight for acceptance and respectability. They've succeeded in winning equal rights under the law in many communities. But in the nation's biggest city, the fight goes on, with the city council due to vote on the matter again this week."
Reports on the status of gay rights in various cities followed, with one CBS correspondent pointing out 10 cities that had passed legal protections for gays and reporting that similar laws were under consideration in at least four others. At a New York luncheon 34 years later, I asked Cronkite about the zapping incident. "Oh, yes," he said with a smile and twinkle in his eye. "I remember that."
....
quprof@yahoo.com
Edward Alwood, a former CNN correspondent and journalism professor at Quinnipiac University, is the author of "Straight News: Gays, Lesbians, and the News Media."
By Edward Alwood
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Walter Cronkite's illustrious career is remembered for the historic events he covered, from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to the moon landing and the Vietnam War. But Cronkite also reported on burgeoning social movements, including the struggle for gay liberation. After becoming a target of that movement, Cronkite would become a behind-the-scenes ally.
Following the Stonewall riots in 1969, as the nascent gay rights movement became increasingly combative, a gay Philadelphia teenager initiated his own guerrilla war aimed at television, including the "CBS Evening News." Nineteen-year-old Mark Segal became angry when he and a male friend were thrown out of a television dance program one August afternoon in 1972 after the program's host saw them dancing together. In retaliation, Segal barged into the studio of Philadelphia's WPVI a few days later during its evening newscast. Startled studio personnel wrestled him to the floor, tied his hands with a microphone cable and called the police.
....
Nevertheless, Segal's tactics paid off. Cronkite arranged meetings at CBS where Segal could voice his complaints to the top management. On May 6, 1974, Cronkite's newscast featured a segment on gay rights. ... "Part of the new morality of the '60s and '70s is a new attitude toward homosexuality," Cronkite told his audience. "The homosexual men and women have organized to fight for acceptance and respectability. They've succeeded in winning equal rights under the law in many communities. But in the nation's biggest city, the fight goes on, with the city council due to vote on the matter again this week."
Reports on the status of gay rights in various cities followed, with one CBS correspondent pointing out 10 cities that had passed legal protections for gays and reporting that similar laws were under consideration in at least four others. At a New York luncheon 34 years later, I asked Cronkite about the zapping incident. "Oh, yes," he said with a smile and twinkle in his eye. "I remember that."
....
Edward Alwood, a former CNN correspondent
A Google search shows that Edward Alwood's current email address is edward.alwood@yahoo.com.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 2138 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How Do You Turn Walter Cronkite Into a Friend of Gay Rights? Zap Him. (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Dec 2016
OP
RKP5637
(67,086 posts)1. One of the good guys in life and far too few! n/t
hunter
(38,302 posts)2. Walter Cronkite was an agent of progress.
He did not celebrate the ugliest aspects of 'fifties U.S. culture as many modern Republicans do.
burrowowl
(17,632 posts)3. A good Man, Walter!
Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed