Mon., June 27
GLAAD and Jarrett Barrios

Jarrett Barrios and GLAAD

Last week Jarrett Barrios stepped down from his position as president of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation amid much controversy. Jarrett Barrios, a former Mass. State Senator, sent a letter to the FCC on behalf of GLAAD, endorsing a proposed merger of telcom giants AT&T and T-Mobile, a move that many considered mystifying because the merger has little to do with gay rights. Once it came out that AT&T had also donated $50,000 to GLAAD, and that a former AT&T executive now sits on GLAAD's board, Barrios, along with six other board members, tendered their official resignations.

GLAAD has long been a champion of gay rights and a media watchdog with many past successes in defending the image of gays and lesbians in the media, but now the entire organization has come under close scrutiny in the wake of the fall-out from the AT&T debacle. It's up to GLAAD's allies and supporters to make sense of the perhaps too-cozy relationships that the group (and many special interest groups like it) have with corporations.

Guests:
Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus.
Jeff Epperly, former editor of Bay Windows.
Tom Lang, founder of Know Thy Neighbor.