Reporters Should Shape Opinions

In his editorial entitled "Covering Homophobia" (Feb. 23, 1994), Timothy P. You calls for greater "Objectivity" in the coverage to gay related civil rights issues and he attacks what he perceives as unacceptable pro-gay "bias" on the part of the national media.

Welcome to the real world and thanks god that it's changing! What You calls "bias" and condemns as something which can and should be rooted out, I call "perspective," something which is an unavoidable by-product of human beings writing about human situations.

Newspapers have open editorial views and the "perspectives" of their reports are inevitably reflected in the stories they choose to cover and the manner in which they decide to present them.

If a clear-cut liberal perspective on the legitimacy of the civil rights of gays and lesbians seems like unacceptable "bias' then may be he should stop reading The New York Times and try The Boston Herald, instead.

You objects to what he calls the media's "condescending," "insulting" portrayals of those who are opposed to equal rights for gays and lesbians.

If he were genuinely concerned with "neutrality" and "objectivity," Mr. Yu would have given equal time in his editorial to medial images (or should I say distortions?) of gay and lesbian reality which can be variously described as factually inaccurate, negative, slanderous, voyeuristic, sensationalist or non-existent.

Yu wants the media to remain "neutral" in the debate over gay rights. On the contrary, I believe that he media, in addition to the political and judicial arenas, are precisely where this question must be fought out and ultimately resolved. As with any other controversial issue, the media rightfully do more than simply reflect the general opinion of the general public generally. They do and should play a leading role in shaping public opinion.

Given that perfect objectivity is impossible (and not necessarily all that desirable), I expect no more and accept no less than factual accuracy, moral purposefulness and intellectual honesty from reporters.

Perhaps Yu Should drop his veil of "objectivity" and honestly consider what political biases of his own make it so hard for him to accept that it really is an issue of "good against evil" when ordinary citizens are harassed with death threats and dead dogs doubly inauspicious in this Year of the Dog because of their sexuality. Carsey Yee   Graduate Student, History and East Asian Languages