Another One Bites the Dust

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column by NOW President Kim Gandy

May 31, 2006

Another one bites the dust. Another positive female role model in the media, that is.

In the middle of May "sweeps," on May 17, ABC pronounced that Elizabeth Vargas was doing a "terrific" job. And within days they dumped her from the anchor chair of "World News Tonight," allegedly because of her long-planned maternity leave in August. The explanation from network brass (that Vargas really wanted the demotion) didn't pass the sniff test.

After all, Vargas already had a toddler when she and Bob Woodruff began as an anchor team in January. Yet ABC is blaming the baby, as if having a second child would put her completely over the edge. NOW joined the Feminist Majority and the National Council of Women's Organizations in telling ABC what we thought of their decision.

And while we're talking about that network, I was disappointed at ABC's failure to renew "Commander in Chief," even after receiving your thousands of emails and calls urging them to give "Commander" -- and the concept of a strong, female role model -- a fair chance to gain an audience in a stable time spot. In case you're not a TV fan, "Commander" was the network's presidential drama in which Geena Davis portrayed the first female president.

A few of you wrote to disagree with our action. "With everything that's going on in South Dakota and Mississippi, and in Washington," you said, "why should we be worried about a TV show?"

More importantly, you asked, "Why is NOW worried about a TV show?"

And that says something about how much you count on NOW. You count on us to be out there fighting for women -- whether stopping conservatives from writing discrimination into the Constitution or being on the front lines protecting abortion clinics and reproductive justice.

We're NOW, and that's what we do: When women's rights, women's lives and women's equality are on the line, we fight back. And that's what we were doing when we asked you to write to ABC. Yes, a TV show may seem frivolous - but television is, without a doubt, a guiding force in today's society. Positive role models of women in the media (and negative ones) have an impact on women's and girls' views of themselves and each other. The absence of gender equality in the media may seem a "lesser" issue in the face of laws that will cost women their health and their lives, but we can fight them both.

Because we're NOW. And that's what we do.

This kind of media action isn't new for us -- NOW has long pressed network TV executives for realistic, positive female roles. In the 1980s, we led a successful campaign that brought "Cagney and Lacey" back on the air -- despite concerns that pairing two female police officers as partners sniffed of lesbianism. More recently, we helped retain "Judging Amy" for another season. And a few years ago, NOW Foundation published "prime time" reports comparing the broadcast lineups - based on the diversity of the characters on the networks' shows, the amount of violence and, of course, the female roles on the show.

"Commander in Chief" is just one of the shows we're losing this season that portrayed women as smart, in charge - even funny. Sydney Bristow ("Alias") is also gone from ABC, and the commanding women of the "West Wing" oval office - Allison Janney made C.J. Cregg one of my favorite characters of all time! -- are out the door. (I'm still holding out hope that the "West Wing" writers will offer to resurrect "Commander in Chief"!) Now that we've bid farewell to Grace and Karen of "Will and Grace," the future for funny, independent women on TV looks bleak.

But "sweeps" aren't just for television -- women are getting out their brooms to clean up Congress. This is the last week for the campaign in California to replace the disgraced and jailed Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham - and NOW's Political Action Committee is out in San Diego helping elect Francine Busby (who teaches women's studies!) to Cunningham's seat.

And in a district that's only 30% Democratic registration, you'd think that would be a formidable task -- but with the election next Tuesday, Busby is 7 points ahead in the polls!

And speaking of cleaning House -- the "clean money" movement is gaining steam in light of Jack Abramoff and other scandals. Striking the latest blow for clean elections is Robert Greenwald (of Outfoxed and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices fame) with his newest film The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress.

Join me in celebrating Clean Money Day on June 27 by holding a house party (just invite friends over) to watch The Big Buy and talk about how you can clean up campaigns in your state. Heck, when you order the film for just $14.95 (a $5.00 discount) you can make any day Clean Money Day!

And one final rumor on Commander in Chief - that there may be a movie in the Fall, and the series could be re-launched from that re-pilot. So do make it a point to watch the last few (now on Wednesday night) episodes of "Commander" and let ABC know what you think - especially the final episode on June 14th, which includes a plot line around the Equal Rights Amendment. Something else we need to move from the small screen to real life.

For equality,

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