. I'm appending a DRAFT of my proposed email response here - to solicit advice from my dear friends here at Soulforce. What do you think?
It's a very good draft! 
As I said, it mixes issues and it's long. So here are my knee-jerk reactions to your first draft. I'll make them bright blue.
Here's my proposed response:
I’m submitting this response to KYTX CBS 19 before advising PFLAG members against speaking with our local CBS affiliate… and holding out the hope I won’t need to.
I wouldn't begin the letter with a threat.
Their coverage of the recent passing of the Hate Crimes bill was (reckless at best.)
Their coverage of the recent passing of the hate crimes bill was inaccurate.
In “researching”
take the quotes offtheir subject matter,
the news team focused exclusively on James Dobson’s (Focus on the Family) false notion that the bill would somehow impose “thought crime” legislation and curtail our own religious leaders from being able to preach (bible-based contempt toward gays and lesbians.)
'curtail religious leaders from being able to express critical views towards gay and lesbian people.' Troy, I would transition from here DIRECTLY into the clarification that the bill does not impose limits on free speech, and perhaps move your next sentence to another position in the letter.
Ironically, at the time of the broadcast, the legislation had already passed the House by a wide majority, after receiving overwhelming support by law enforcement agencies and the American public.
There are, in fact, no provisions in this bill that curtail free speech, though Mr. Dobson’s rhetoric successfully diverted all eyes away from any substantive issues… (and KYTX took the bait.)
Maybe leave that part out.
In fairness, East Texas’ own Louie Gohmert, favoring Dobson’s (absurd)
inaccurate and misleading remarks over an actual reading of the bill, has also made the false claim that it contains such a ridiculous provision to arrest pastors for (preaching hate.)
arrest pastors for expressing their views.
( Because of Dobson’s apparent stature, however,)
Because of widely expressed concerns that the legislation would in fact place limits on freedom of speech or expression, the following official rebuttal was prepared:
“It [the Hate Crimes Bill] does not impinge on public speech or writing in any way,'' countered Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., pointing out that the bill explicitly reaffirms First Amendment and free-speech rights. (Jim Abrams, AP)* – Unfortunately, KYTX failed to discuss the actual bill during their report.
I don't have feedback for you on your description of your interview. I'll delete that and skip to the conclusion.
I would try to find a way to express your meaning below in language less immediately accusatory towards the station.
What a tragic misuse of journalistic ethics and trust.
KYTX had an opportunity, during this newscast, to help mend issues that deeply divide our community by simply reporting the facts. This opportunity was used, instead, to follow Dobson’s “red herring” away from any factual material whatsoever. Then to make matters worse, she tried to use my interview to say the exact opposite of what I actually said. Where I was pleading for peace, she chose to make my interview into a call for violence.
(How utterly irresponsible!)
You don't need this - a fact by fact description of what happened demonstrates journalistic irresponsibility. Doesn't need an interjection with an exclamation point.
I find KYTX’s use of the airways to reinforce that hatred and violence reprehensible.
How about? KYXT's report has reinforced a false representation of the hate crimes bill.
(Shame on them!)
Ditto.
(As if the damage caused by KYTX to our community was not great enough, Ms Petralia may have actually put lives in danger by turning a call for peace into a studio-manufactured call to violence.)
I would take out anything that looks like a personal attack, especially on an individual. What about? "KYXT does a disservice to the community by failing to research the accuracy of its sources, and in this case, by giving credence to blatantly false information about the effects of the proposed legislation."
(I’m very disappointed in Annalisa, and in KYTX. As it stands now, I’m inclined to believe our community should be forewarned before speaking with this news station in the future. I will wait a few days before distributing this opinion further, however, in the hopes you may be interested in moving forward in a more positive light.)
Change this final paragraph. Take out the personal attack on the reporter and the station. Take out the threat about warning the community not to speak with the station.
You conclude with a vague reference to moving forward in a positive light. If I'm the station manager reading your letter, I have NO IDEA what you mean by that. Tell the station exactly what you want. What DO you want? If you want them to go on air with a correction, then ask them to, directly. Do you want a response? If so, what kind of response? An apology from the reporter? That last line of your letter, as it is, doesn't tell them what you want from them. Be clear and direct.
I would skip the threats about telling PFLAG not to talk to the station. First, just ask the station for whatever it is you want: a retraction, correction? Were it me, I'd want them to present an accurate description of what the hate crimes legislation really does.
Troy Carlyle
Tyler, Texas
Supporting Material:
I have provided source material and further illuminating data below.
Jim Abrams (AP) article:
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html...s/news/&page=1
Violence against the GLBT Community:
On July 1, 1999, Gary Matson and his partner of 16 years, Winfield Mowder, were found shot dead in their bed in their home. Police arrested Matthew Williams and his brother James Tyler Williams. The Williams brothers, rightwing fundamental radicals, believed that God ordered them to commit these murders, based on hate rhetoric from Christian fundamentalists. Source:
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?1999/07/12/2 and
www.soulfource.org. You can watch a video of a personal friend of the victims of this crime talk about the role hate speech played in his friends’ deaths (just before being arrested outside James Dobson’s headquarters for “trespassing”) here:
http://www.soulforce.org/article/1257
Think about the murders of Gary and Winfield as you read the following quote from “Marriage Under Fire: the State of Our Union,” on Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” website:
“Just as the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 by the Empire of Japan served to energize and mobilize the armed forces of America, it would appear that the vicious assault on marriage and the church in recent months has begun to re-invigorate people of faith. I see indications that the church is mobilizing its forces to meet the challenge. Evil has a way of overreaching, and that appears to have happened regarding the blatant, lawless attack on marriage and biblical morality.”
How many more must die because of what Dr. Dobson teaches before he stops it?
James Dobson (Focus on the Family) Hate Speech:
http://www.family.org/
(emphasis added)
“Solid, irrefutable evidence proves there are lethal consequences to engaging in the defining features of male homosexuality.” – James Dobson
“Lesbian relationships are equally unhealthy and just as life-threatening as gay male relationships.” – James Dobson
“Moms and dads… are you listening? This [homosexual] movement is the greatest threat to your children.” – James Dobson
“They want to destroy marriage and family as we know it.” – James Dobson
“Traditional marriage between one man and one woman cannot coexist with homosexual marriage. It will destroy the family.” – James Dobson
“What do we know about this [homosexual] disorder? Well, first it is a disorder, despite the denials of the American Psychiatric Association.” – James Dobson
The Facts about the Hate Crimes Bill:
For those who are interested, factual information about the Hate Crimes Bill can be found on the Human Rights Campaign website (hrc.org):
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Sect...entDisplay.cfm
Support for this legislation is overwhelming. The bill is endorsed by notable individuals and more than 210 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: President George H.W. Bush’s attorney general, Dick Thornburgh; National Sheriffs’ Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; U.S. Conference of Mayors; Presbyterian Church; Episcopal Church; and the Parent’s Network on Disabilities. Poll after poll continues to show that the American public supports hate crimes legislation inclusive of sexual orientation, including a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released in November 2001 showing 73 percent of Americans supporting hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation. Source:
http://www.hrc.org/Content/Navigatio...ention_Act.htm
* Source:
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html...s/news/&page=1