Stop the Church: Issues and Outrage

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Program
Stop the Church: Issues and Outrage
Producing Organization
KCET (Television station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-8k74t6g61f
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Description
Program Description
"On Friday, September 6, 1991, KCET aired the controversial 23 minute documentary, 'Stop the Church' within the context of a 90-minute special. Culminating three weeks of intense, 'fish-bowl' journalism, the program explored the issues and outrage generated when PBS's P.O.V. series first scheduled, then withdrew STC...an independently produced video that chronicles a 1989 demonstration by ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition Unleash Power) and WHAM (Women's Health Action Mobilization) against Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York city. "Amidst Picketing at KCET, threatened boycotts of the station and the proposed 90 minute special by all interested parties (ie: The Catholic Church and the gay & lesbian community), substantial air/ no-air debate in the print media and on radio call-in programs, Reporter/host Jeffrey Kaye Producers Martin Burns and Joseph Angier, and Executive Producer Jim Kennedy attempted to create the elements for a program that would satisfy the mandates and directions of senior station management... and the dictates of responsible journalism. Once KCET management decisions became a substantial part of the story, the in-house security was almost as intense as that from outside the institution. "We believe the resulting program (which was also aired by WNET in New York) merits consideration because it exemplifies KCET's continuing commitment to ..."--1991 Peabody Awards entry form excerpt. KCET President Bill Kobin introduces the film 'Stop the Church' and describes the controversy around its airing. Reporter Jeffrey Kaye narrates footage of protests by both Catholic church representatives and gay rights activists then also introduces the program, preceded by excerpts from two press conferences about the 'Stop the Church' film, one by Los Angeles archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony condemning the film and one held by Kobin supporting its airing. The film itself opens with man-on-the-street and then ACT-UP activists speaking about what the Catholic church and then includes footage of the demonstration. After the program, Kaye speaks further about the controversy behind its broadcast and introduces the press conference in response to the program by Cardinal Mahony. In the studio, Kaye hosts discussions about the film, the demonstration, and response with president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Paul Freese, Jesuit priest Reverend William Wood, Lee Klosinski of AIDS Project Los Angeles, and the Reverend Steve Pieters from the Metropolitan Community Churches. The full press conference by Kobin in support of airing the film is shown. Kaye then leads a discussion on the choice to air the program with Tracy Westen, professor of media law at the USC Annenberg School of Communications, and Van Gordon Sauter of UC Berkeley and former president of CBS News.
Broadcast Date
1991-09-06
Asset type
Program
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
01:28:55.914
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: KCET (Television station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-16d22157c10 (Filename)
Format: VHS
Duration: 00:23:00
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Citations
Chicago: “Stop the Church: Issues and Outrage,” 1991-09-06, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 30, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-8k74t6g61f.
MLA: “Stop the Church: Issues and Outrage.” 1991-09-06. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 30, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-8k74t6g61f>.
APA: Stop the Church: Issues and Outrage. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-8k74t6g61f