Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: Will this band get any airtime?
, contributing editor, 365Gay Blog 01.20.2009 9:31am EST
In terms of symbolism, it’s been a lousy inauguration for gays and lesbians. From Rev. Rick Warren (some would also include Rev. Joseph Lowery, but his support of gay rights puts him in a different category) to the blackout of Bishop Eugene Robinson’s Saturday invocation. Hopefully this band will get some airtime today, but there will probably be some technical error.
C-span had complete coverage in cluding Michelle cheering and waving really hard at the band. Fox showed them and CNN showed them. ABC may have bumped them off but I wasn’t watching them. I specifically changed to a bunch of channels and thought they were going to bump them and they paused and let the band march on.
I found coverage of the bands and other parade participants generally to be atrocious. The talking heads were more interested in glorifying themselves than to show all the entrants, or even name them all. Many of these are high-school kids who had to scrape up funds to travel for their chance to be there, and they were completely dissed by the media (and many of the people in the viewing stand, who apparently had to go party instead). Of course ABC’s abrupt cutoff as soon as the LGBA banner came on screen was also particularly galling. It seems when it comes to inaugural firsts, nobody wants to see LGBTs. Still, my congratulations goes to the LGBA for presumably putting in a good performance, even though I was unable to see it on any of the hundreds of satellite channels I have. I do hope it will become available on YouTube somehow.
They did on CNN. Wolf Blitzer even made note of the fact it’s the first time that a gay/lesbian band had performed for an inauguration.
Guess Not! The LGBA band was right after the Howard band and ABC decided to cut away right after Howard University. Also, CNN conveniently did a recap of the days events right after Howard University – so the LGBA band got shafted from being aired…figures. If this isn’t an eye opener, I don’t know what is. First Bishop Robinson being conveniently overlooked and then TV stations cutting out right before the LGBA band……whatever!