Mark your calendars, readers! On August 9th, at 9pm Eastern, Logo and Human Rights Campaign will round up the leading democratic presidential candidates – including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton – for a good old fashioned debate.
Oh, sorry, did we say “good old fashioned”? We meant: revolutionary debate. Never in the history of American politics have presidential candidates been brought together to debate “gay” issues. Pretty exciting stuff, huh?
Logo president Brian Graden certainly believes so:
We’re honored to give the presidential candidates an historic opportunity to share their views directly with the LGBT audience. This forum continues MTV Networks’ tradition of engaging vital niche audiences with voting and the electoral process.
And grab some wicked ratings, too.
Update: We just heard from John Polly, who edits the Logo-owned NewNowNext, that John Edwards will be joining Obama and Clinton for the great gay debate.
Read the entire release, after the jump:
Los Angeles, CA – July 10, 2007 – Logo, a division of Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation today announced they will co-present an historic televised forum on issues of importance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community with the leading 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, including, currently confirmed and in alphabetical order, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The one-hour event will be held on August 9th at 6:00PM PT / 9:00 PM ET in Los Angeles before a studio audience and broadcast live, without commercial interruption, exclusively on Logo’s 24/7 cable television channel as well as through live streaming video at LOGOonline.com. Logo is the nation’s leading television and broadband channel for the LGBT audience and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization.
This event, which marks the first time in history the major presidential candidates will address a live LGBT television audience, is part of MTV Networks’ award-winning pro-social efforts and dedication to engaging its audiences on the issues that are most important and relevant to them.
The event also continues the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s efforts to educate and bring awareness to issues of equality and fairness that continue to affect the lives of LGBT Americans.
Candidates currently agreed to participate in the forum and share their views with the LGBT community are, in alphabetical order, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The candidates will appear sequentially and engage in conversation with co-panelists Melissa Etheridge, performer and advocate, and Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The panelists plan to cover a range of issues including relationship recognition, marriage equality, workplace fairness, the military, hate crimes, HIV/AIDS and other important issues.
“We’re honored to give the presidential candidates an historic opportunity to share their views directly with the LGBT audience,” said Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and President, Logo. “This forum continues MTV Networks’ tradition of engaging vital niche audiences with voting and the electoral process.”
“In the 2008 presidential election, issues of concern to the LGBT community have already been at the forefront of the national conversation,” said Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “From the repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” to the recent signing of a civil unions bill in New Hampshire, there is no doubt that voters will demand answers to important questions affecting our community.”
The forum will include significant online components at LOGOonline.com and HRC.org, including online question submission. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Logo invited the leading Democratic and Republican candidates to participate in the forum.
The LGBT vote is considered a decisive electoral force and according to exit poll data make up approximately 4 percent of the voting population. Los Angeles was chosen as the site for the event because of the state’s early primary election, on February 5th, 2008. The event will take place at Studio City, CA, at HD Vision Studios and this event represents the first live event airing on Logo.
ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FOUNDATION
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRCF strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
ABOUT LOGO
Logo is the ad-supported television and broadband network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) viewers, launched by MTV Networks. The network launched June 30, 2005 with more than one thousand hours of content and has approximately 27 million subscribers across the United States. Logo provides LGBT audiences with a place where they can see themselves and be themselves through a mix of original and acquired entertainment programming that is authentic, smart and inclusive. Logo joins Viacom’s roster of popular and highly targeted cable networks which includes MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Spike TV.
ABOUT MTV NETWORKS
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with 137 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.
HL
Going for the obvious;
About goddamn time.
Leland Frances
Talk about a “mixed blessing,” or is it more a “double-edged sword?” The first such forum [BRAVO!] simultaneously reinforcing the growing loss of independent LGBT voices in the increasing conglomerization of LGBT media [BOO!!!!] while reinforcing the Human Rights Champagne fund and its self-proclaimed patent on the gay movement. [BOO to the tenth power!!!] Would it have been gotten Joe Solmonese’s yellow and blue panties too much in a bunch to have included NGLTF and Lambda Legal and PFLAG as cosponsors? After all, the last good idea his predecessor Elizabeth Let’s Turn HRC Into A Money Machine Birch had was merging HRC and NGLTF.
Will there be “sponsor” messages featuring Reichen wearing nothing but jewelry from his FLY NAKED WITH REICHEN line; a cock ring perhaps? Ooops, this is LOGO. Gay men aren’t allowed to be anatomically correct on LOGO. Little Reichen ain’t got that much “anatomy” anyway.
We hope the Rev. Obama is preparing by entering “Don’t Do ‘I’m Not A Fag’ Jokes” rehab and Bill Richardson is busy writing, “‘Maricon’ does not mean, ‘I luv the gays’,” on the blackboard a thousand times.
You’ve probably already written about this, but it bears repeating. YouTube and CNN are soliciting video question submissions for the July 23rd Democratic debate [deadline is July 22nd] and their September Repug debate.
http://youtube.com/debates
and a site where you can sort the topics so far:
http://www.communitycounts.us/
As CNN will choose which ones to use and, thanks to the failure of HRC, our rights remain pretty much an afterthought in mainstream media [except as an issue of conflict], it’s unlikely more than one, if any, serious gay equality-related questions will make the cut, but that shouldn’t prevent those with the equipment to do it from trying.
BillieXX
Leland,
No comment about Melissa Etheridge asking questions? What pray tell is she bringing to the table? Was Rosie busy that night?
Leland Frances
The participation of Melissa, whom j’adore in many other ways, IS absurd, but I chalk it up to 1. what I said above about the Queen of HRC wanting to be the only “professional gay activist” on stage, and 2. that LOGO and MTV Networks is so celebrity driven. Just thank your god that they didn’t ask Reichen, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him added to the panel [you know, as stated, since he can’t do what he does best—take his clothes off].
WWH
This will just be some cheesy love in by several candidates who will sell us down the river later.
nycstudman
sounds like a total yawnfest, full or making nice-nice for the fairies. I’ll pass. Wake me up when the actual campaigning starts, sometime around the Iowa Caucuses.
ProfessorVP
Riddle me this: how, HOW, I ask, can Hillary, Obama, and every other Democrat except Kucinich and Gravel (who have no chance) say, in a nice PC way, “I will never say I am in favor of full same-sex marriage equality- although I really am- because that would mean instant death for me politically, because Democrats have to make nice-nice to the red states.” How?
jerrypritikin
Anyway you look at it…it’s progress. Openly gay Jim Foster addressed the 1972 Democratic Convention. My first question would be…did you have any gay friends in high school or college? I
happen to supporting Hillary. This debate is important to gay youth and gay seniors and those in between. It’s the 21st century and it’s time to kick the far right OUT of politics. Their recordfor the past 7 years of hate and division must end. Don’t sit on the side-lines! Human Rights for Once and For All!