On Channel 11 News
It was a surprise to me: around 10:30 or so this morning I got a call at work, on my direct line, from someone identifying himself as a reporter. I’m not entirely unused to getting calls from reporters — faculty in my department are often asked to comment on this or that issue in the news — but those calls usually come to our main office line, not to my direct extension.
Turns out it was Corey Allen-Young of KTVA Channel 11 News. With the introduction in the Anchorage Assembly last night of an ordinance which would prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, etc. on the basis of sexual orientation, Channel 11 was interested in talking with people who had actually experienced discrimination. Mr. Allen-Young had seen a comment I made on the blog of Assemblymember Patrick Flynn yesterday, in which I had made reference to having experienced discrimination for being a lesbian. Though I signed myself there as “Mel Green” rather than by my full name, with a little detective work Mr. Allen-Young had managed to track me down at my workplace a the university. Although my instance of discrimination had taken place quite awhile ago — in 1984, 25 years go — Mr. Allen-Young was still interested in talking with me.
So it is that I came to be on Channel 11 News tonight — the first time I’ve ever been interviewed for TV news. So pardon me if I go on about it a little (later) — it’s a new experience for me.
Here’s the interview, from KTVA’s website:
Tip o’ the nib to Katie, who found it online first.
More to say later. Meanwhile, consider making a donation to Equality Works, which is working to end discrimination in Anchorage on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
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2 Comments
So – I’m curious as to how extensive the spoken interview actually was — they cut it down to quite a wee nubbin of a sound bite. This being said – I’m proud of you for being willing to stand up as a singular person before your community and to give testimony to the unfairness. Big Cahones!! (or whatever chicks have). You appeared very composed and reasonable. Extra points for serving as counterpoint to the Prevoid. You Rock!!
haha thanks Chris! Yeah, it was plenty more extensive than what they could fit into the little bits that aired — much more extensive rundown of the job discrimination I suffered in ‘84, & some discussion of Identity Reports, & so on. I did a pretty good top-of-my-head spiel about nondiscrimination in apartment rentals — if you rented an apt. to someone of a different religion, f’r interest Mormon or Catholic or Anchorage Baptist Temple or… well, you couldn’t evict them, no matter how much you didn’t like their church.
Corey was pretty nice. The cameraman, whose name was Scott Favorite, wanted to get some shots of us just walking & talking (right by the Alaskana section on the 2nd floor of the Consortium Library), & it made me laugh thinking of some of the famous interview shots of some famous governor or another walking along w/ Katie Couric or other interviewers. So I said, “this reminds me of Gov. Palin walking along Greta van Sus–” & before I could quite complete the sentence he said, “I’d rather not be compared to Greta van Susteren.” I laughed — “good point, I’d rather not be compared to Sarah Palin either.”
Having never been interviewed for a TV news program before — interesting experience.
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[...] add here that I once was, in fact, fired for being a lesbian. Part of my story was aired when took my own turn being interviewed by KTVA last May, after the Anchorage equal rights ordinance AO 2009-64 was introduced in the Anchorage Assembly; I [...]