Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels

Child Molestation Episode (Montgomery, 1989:pgs 81-83)
A story line that was totally unacceptable to the activists was an episode that linked
homosexuality to child molestation, a relationship that gay activists wanted to eliminate in the
media. When Ron Gold lost his temper with ABC executives, communication broke down. The
Gay Activist Alliance experienced internal disagreements. Ron Gold and some other members
split from the group to form the National Gay Task Force (NGTF), which developed as an
umbrella organization for gay rights groups around the country. NGTF turned the concern over
the episode related to child molestation to a pioneer gay media activist in Boston, Loretta
Lotman. Lotman launched a national campaign by the gay and lesbian community against the
Welby show, galvanizing the gay community.
Although unsuccessful at keeping the program off the air, it was a show of power that
served as basic training for gay activist leaders. In their campaign against Marcus Welby,
grassroots groups applied pressure on local ABC affiliates. Threats were included as strategies
for success. Gay groups had the advantage of advance knowledge of the upcoming episode.
Lotman called the Boston ABC affiliate, WCVB. She warned the management that “if
something were not done about the program, the station would be ‘hit with a protest the likes
of which you’ve never seen before’”. Advertisers were also pressured. When agents were able
to provide information about the companies that had bought advertising for the episode,
protest letters were sent to advertisers. The names of the sponsors were published in the gay
press, which was carrying stories about the Welby campaign.
The mainstream press was used to publicize their campaign and gather support from
outside the gay community. A year earlier gay activists had successfully struggled with the
American Psychiatric Association (APA) to have homosexuality removed from the list of mental
illnesses. NGTF pressured the APA to publicly condemn the offensive Marcus Welby episode.
They also succeeded in having the National Education Association release a report objecting to
the show’s negative portrayals of homosexuals as stereotypes.
In response to this aggressive campaign, ABC issued a statement defending the episode
and asserting that a psychiatrist had been consulted. However, the producers made changes to
minimize offenses. Some scenes were reshot, references to homosexuality were deleted, and
the term ‘pedophile’ became the new label for the sex offender. In spite of the changes,
seven companies withdrew their ads, leaving only one minute of air time sold. Five affiliates
withdrew the program from the air. The management at WPVI-TV, Philadelphia, explained
their reason for refusing to air the episode, saying “the author’s original premise is a false
stereotype of homosexuals as persons who pursue and sexually assault young boys.”
Over the Rainbow: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America. 2010
Dr. M. L. Coppock
28 | P a g e