WEBVTT - Filling the Knowledge Gap 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.720 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:20.160 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody. Pre recording from the Home Bunker, Folks, 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.200 I'm very excited to welcome to the show for the 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:30.080 very first time Tony Morrison, who is the senior communications 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:34.760 director over at GLAD. He is a veteran in the 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:40.280 field of morning news and left Legacy Media so that 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:45.360 he could center the stories of LGBTQ plus people. In 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:50.360 this conversation, Tony and I discuss, you know, in a 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:57.240 lot of ways, the negativity, the negative, toxic headlines that 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:02.920 we have seen, the five hundred plus anti LGBTQ bills 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:07.520 that were released across the country, but then juxtaposed that 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.880 with the fact that acceptance for LGBTQ people are rising, 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:17.959 the fact that more people now know a trans person 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:23.760 than they did ten years ago. And I lament to 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:27.880 Tony that I remember, you know, when the number of 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.600 people who knew a trans person was in the teens. 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:37.400 And we talk about the knowledge gap and how you 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:41.240 may know somebody who is a member of the LGBTQ community, 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:45.040 but do you understand and are you educated on their 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.720 lived experiences and what folks are up against on a 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.680 regular basis, So we talk about the role of media, 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:57.200 the role of GLAD to fill that knowledge gap with 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:05.840 truth and facts and narrative to dispose of this stereotypes, 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:10.359 the fear, and the hate that the MAGA supremacists want 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:14.160 to fill that gap with. It's the reasons why they 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:17.200 get rid of the books so that you cannot learn 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:21.440 and educate yourself, so that you are a blank canvas 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:26.080 for their hate. So Tony and I get into a 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:31.200 really great conversation about what can be done. You know, 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:35.960 what are the highs and lows of this movement and 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:39.919 how do we continue to advance forward given all that 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:44.560 has been stacked against us. My conversation with Tony Morrison 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:51.400 from GLAD is coming up next, folks. I am very 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:55.079 excited to welcome to OKF Daily. I believe for the 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.640 very first time Tony Morrison, who is an Emmy and 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:04.040 GLAD Award earning journalists serving as Senior Director of Communications 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:10.880 for GLAD, the world's leading LGBTQ media advocacy organization, that 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:15.200 I've had the pleasure of working with and by and 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:20.119 being a part of the GLAD family and community for 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:25.160 over the years. So Tony start out you know with 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:30.960 me by painting the picture of kind of where LGBTQ 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:36.400 people representation in media found itself in twenty twenty three, 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:39.320 before we start looking ahead. 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:42.240 Yeah, I mean, here we are at the end of 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.080 the year. We're all looking back, right, and I think 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:48.040 we all have a tendency to look at Obviously the 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.560 major headlines, the ones that are have caught our eye 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:55.400 in terms of what has maybe been more catastrophic for 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:59.840 our communities and how we're going to move forward. But 0:03:59.880 --> 0:04:02.760 I really do want to call on a lot of 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:06.120 our own research here at GLAD that says that acceptance 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:10.320 is at an all time high. Ninety six percent of 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:16.240 Americans say that schools should be accepting and affirming of 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:21.880 all students, notwithstanding whatever backgrounds they come from. Super majorities 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:26.279 of Americans are for equality and inclusion, and I think 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.200 a lot of what we're seeing is definitely this loud 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.760 minority that seems like they're getting louder and are being 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:37.719 platformed in certain ways that might be irresponsible, I would say, 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.960 in the media platforms that we are working in and with. 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:45.400 But acceptance is at an all time high, and when 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:49.159 it comes to represent representation and visibility in media, which 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:56.279 is glad's primary focus, is that the studios and film 0:04:56.320 --> 0:05:01.120 studios and television networks and our journal across the country 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:06.640 are hungry and wanting to tell queer stories and intersectional 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:12.000 stories accurately and fairly. The want is there. Obviously, it's 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:16.479 very nuanced once you get into the corporate allyship conversation, 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:20.359 the Pride month of it all. But for the most part, 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.600 I do just want to call on first here that 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.039 acceptance is at an all time high. And even just 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.200 to name check Pride real quick, this year we saw 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:33.760 a huge amount of small town prides pop up for 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:34.320 the first time. 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.640 Yes, yes, everywhere. 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.239 So communities are coming together. So when you talk about grassroots, 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:45.880 grassroot action and advocacy, that's really something that starts at home, 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.800 and that's something that we are seeing, and especially going 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:53.000 into this election cycle, it is something encouraging that we're seeing. 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:57.440 But we have to encourage our communities and our allies 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:01.719 to be able to be equipped to carry these conversations 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.040 in a correct and viable means. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.760 I'm really glad that you started out with the positive 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:11.480 right because I think that it is really, you know, 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:15.080 easy for us to get marred and bogged down by 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.400 all of the negative news and headlines. When we see 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:22.600 books being banned because they showcase gay penguins, when we 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:26.800 see you know, GSA stickers being ripped off of classrooms, 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:30.039 when we hear about people being fired for using a 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:34.320 child's you know, preferred pronouns. And so when you say 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:39.520 that acceptance is up, when you talk about the fact 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.680 that there were a lot of small town prides and 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.919 not just big ones, you know, and that acceptance in 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:50.640 Hollywood is also up, you know, how do we how 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:54.640 do you break through? I guess with the good right 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:59.320 in order to make it very clear case that this 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:04.800 is a lie squeaky minority, but that they don't represent 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:06.159 the majority of us. 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.480 I mean, for me, I just think you have to 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:16.520 go back to how just even ten years ago. Let's 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.239 just go back ten years even in our own lives, 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:23.120 our level of understanding of whatever community is that we 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:27.000 are saying we ourselves are allies of now obviously I'm 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:33.440 here to to create more representation and shift culture for 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.720 LGBTQ people. Very interesting space because the LGBTQ community is 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:43.040 an intersexual, intersectional one of all communities, right, But you know, 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:47.000 just ten years ago, like only eight percent of Americans 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.040 knew of a transgender person in their lives. Ye, and 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.240 while today we're finding that that number is up to 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:59.800 thirty percent, in that ten year span, more Americans still 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:04.200 to feel like they've seen a ghost upwards of forty percent, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.240 then feel that they have met a transgender person thirty percent. 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.160 So while the progress and you just mentioned this a 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.640 bit ago, the progress is not perfect. Progress works in 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.520 this way, especially in the culture shifting space right in 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:24.480 the heart and mind changing space that we work in. 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.080 But I just have to call out too. I mean, 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:31.120 it's having these one on one conversations within our own 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:35.560 community and being able to be part of the solution 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:40.520 rather than looking for solutions. And while acceptance is high, 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:44.800 the knowledge gap is low. So we have a huge 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.280 amount of people who want to do good and do 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.880 right by their communities, their neighbors, their family members. But 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:55.680 the underlying issue, I feel, the undercurrent here is a 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.800 lot of individuals don't feel equipped to have these conversations. 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.320 We have our homework in the advocacy space. I just 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:08.240 saw some numbers quite recently about fifty percent of Americans 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.880 feel but half Americans feel that they're knowledgeable about trans 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.040 and non binary people. My question is where are the 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:20.280 other half of Americans learning about these communities from. Yep, 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.520 it's through the media obviously, yeah, and the content we consume. 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:28.040 But who's flooding the airwaves right now. It's it's polarizing politicians, 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.080 it's misinformation. So that's where we come in to be 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:36.520 able to equip our partners and our journalists and people 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.920 who want to do that good in society to do 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.320 it right and accurately and tell our stories fairly. You know. 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:46.920 I think that that is so important that when we 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:51.200 talk about the knowledge gap, right, and that people may 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:55.080 know someone, but they may not understand their lives right 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:59.439 and their lived experience or the challenges right that they 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.240 are facing. And I think that that is incredibly important. 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:06.440 I'm so happy to hear that the number has risen 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:09.800 over the last ten years of people who know a 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:12.680 trans or non binary person, because I remember when that 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:17.280 number was in the teens, right, And you know, most recently, 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.000 I can attest with my own personal story that I 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:24.760 had a conversation, you know, with my parents recently, with 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:27.640 them saying, you know, I don't know the right things 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.720 to say, but I'm trying to understand the trans community, 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.200 like what is right? What can I ask? You know? 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.680 But they wanted to have the conversation, but they also 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:42.280 wanted to they wanted to have it in a safe 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:46.000 space where they could make mistakes. And so what does 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:52.239 it look like for those people that want to engage 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:55.240 but are fearful so they say nothing? 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:56.360 Do you know what I'm saying? 0:10:56.400 --> 0:11:00.440 So what what advice can we provide for those people 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.120 that can create this safe space for them to say, 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:08.520 you know what, I am struggling, right, because all people 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.920 struggle with change, but like I want to be better. 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:19.160 Yeah, and this might be a controversial answer coming from 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:20.920 me and my seat it glad, I'm going to call 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:24.560 it a bit of a nontroversial answer. But this work 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:29.079 is really not that hard. It's really just unpinning exactly 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:32.200 that question and turning it on yourself and just having 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:36.439 the conversation, overcoming that fear and that shame and maybe 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.040 that rejection or fear of rejection, or fear from getting 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.840 things wrong, or fear of cancel culture. It's the fear 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.080 of not having the fear of having the question is 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:49.280 what is setting us back? Or the fear of not 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.360 asking the question is what's setting us back, because that 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:57.200 withholds the conversation and the answers and the solutions for 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:00.160 a lot of this. If we are just able to 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:06.440 overcome this fear within ourselves and just ask the questions 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:11.000 that we are afraid to ask, I think we will 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.000 find a lot of peace. I'm going to use the 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:17.000 word piece there, because a lot of what we have 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.840 is this unrest whatever however that resonates with people that 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:26.600 unrest within themselves, it's unrest with understanding an experience unlike 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.840 their own. It's okay to ask questions. We have to 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.360 ask the questions, and we have to be able to 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:37.719 say and to really say in a full scale i 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.320 am not asking this correctly, but will you allow me 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:44.000 to ask it and help me through the right way 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:44.560 to ask it. 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.880 That is what drew me from politics and policy work 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:59.320 to media was this idea of how do we use 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:05.040 store storries to be able to present models on how 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:09.160 we have conversations? Yeah, because what I've come to understand, Tony, 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:11.960 and you tell me your experience, but what I've noticed 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:16.280 over in my last decade plus doing this work is 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:20.680 that what the right, what the opposition wants is a 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.000 lack of conversation so that they can instill fear in 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.240 that place, that knowledge gap that you're talking about. In 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:31.360 that gap goes sphere right in that gap go yes, 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.720 and they feed off of that gap. And so when 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.400 I look at the importance in the role of media, 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.280 it is to fill in in the place where there 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:44.360 are holes. But when you have a media that is 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:50.440 now so interested and invested in creating the gap, right, 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:56.839 making the work even harder. What do places like GLAD do, right? 0:13:56.920 --> 0:14:02.480 Because the media is very much as responsible for where 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:06.200 we are currently in this country as the politicians that 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:06.920 put us there. 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.880 No, totally, And I love that you mentioned your your 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.440 own culture shift, your career shift, right because you know, 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:18.480 I was a morning news producer for ten years before GLAD, 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:23.440 and as I was doing more advocacy journalism, that alone 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:27.720 has a ceiling in network and legacy media, right, Like, 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.720 of course I can tell our stories, but you can't 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.360 do that full time. So a lot of what I 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:38.760 was doing in the network, in the network news space 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.800 was a creating a space for career journalists to be 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:47.479 of resource to one of one another and to create community. 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.720 And what we found was in this kind of legacy 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:57.840 journal Then this legacy journalist space was a really i 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:01.120 will say antiquated and you'll at this it's like, you know, 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:06.720 journalists can't have opinions, tell both sides right down the middle, 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:11.080 all of these all of these things which does make sense, right, 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.600 But in the world we are living in, we're not. 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:17.600 The question is no longer do we hold people accountable? 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:21.200 It's how do we hold people accountable? And that threads 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:25.680 out to outdated laws, outdated legislation, outdated ideas. And then 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.960 the closest journalist space And what I'm kind of getting 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.440 to here is for me, when I met my ceiling 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.520 in terms of I wanted to tell these stories, our 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.080 stories full time and go over to come over to glad. 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:43.120 Part of that in my former space was encouraging network 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:49.720 leadership to allow journalists and reporters to infuse their experiences 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:55.000 in the storytelling. And that's not biased, that's not opinion, 0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:59.240 that my own lived experience can tell the story in 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.440 a way that connect with an audience, connects with people, 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.880 connects with the stories that we need answers to in 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:11.440 an explosively expanded way than just telling a script, rereading 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:15.040 a script, write quote, unquote down the middle. So a 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.240 lot of the work we're doing at GLAD is not 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:23.000 you know, grading inclusivity the quality of inclusivity of content 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:28.120 per se, but we're we're really after the visceral experience 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:33.160 of the content. Can this content shift culture by affecting policy? 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:38.920 Can this story or piece do that? And of course 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.680 including does it emote emotion and is it thought provoking? 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.040 So GLAD deals with all of that space also, but 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:50.440 especially the training and advocacy piece from activists across the 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:55.480 country and being able to take those people in want 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:58.960 who are hungry to do more, who are already set 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.160 advocates and activists in their own communities, and being able 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:05.240 to do everything for media, train them, to counsel them, 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.040 to connect them with medium, the right and the right 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.919 folks in their communities to tell their stories and apply 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:15.080 their lived experiences to quote unquote issues because at the 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.399 end of the day, LGBTQ people are not issues, they 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:19.159 are people. 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:25.080 Yeah, And the idea of neutrality is a fallacy, right, 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:28.080 like it is it is looking at the world through 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:32.640 the prism of white cis hetero men, right, And that 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:39.640 is a long you know, long ago time, far off 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:43.120 time when we had four channels that we were all watching, 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.680 and you know, the two news men that we were 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.600 all following, and they were dictating to us how the 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:54.120 world should look and be right through a white supremacist 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:58.719 patriot regulars you know. So yeah, so it's it's just 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:01.120 like for me, you know, I get this. I get 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.720 this question a lot when I when I do storytelling trainings, 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.040 when I work with different folks and they're just like, well, 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.359 you know, isn't it the job? Or when I speak 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.639 to journalism students, isn't it the job of us to 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:14.840 be neutral? And I said, your job is to tell 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.080 the truth And I don't know how you tell the 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:21.919 truth with excluding your own lived experience from what it 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.240 is that you're covering, right, Like, that isn't an opinion 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:29.760 to your point, It is providing color and context, right. 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.440 And what I what I feel like we miss out 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:37.240 too by doing that is treating the audience as adults, 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:42.199 right that can handle nuance. And so I when you 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.439 talk about you know, LGBTQ people being people and not 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:50.639 just numbers or statistics or problems to be solved, I 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.560 think what is missing to in media is that nuance. 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.280 And when we're talking beyond because you were in you know, 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:01.440 in the news business. You know we're talking about clips, right, 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:04.159 like we need the clip, we need the two minute clip. 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.359 But when we're going beyond that and you actually have 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:11.760 the ability to tell stories in documentaries, in series, in 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:15.760 you know, in in film, what do you think is missing? 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:21.320 You know, Tony, that need that we need to expand on, that, 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:24.600 we need to work on that. It isn't just about 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:28.960 the numbers of LGBTQ people that are present in front 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.719 or behind the camera, because I think both are important, 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.240 But what else do you think is missing? To really 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:37.000 expand on the nuance? 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:41.920 I really out the gate as a storyteller myself, who 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:46.159 has had threats for stories in the past, not going 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.480 to name names or networks like threatened some stories to 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.280 go away because I pushed a little too hard, uh 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:57.240 first for that truth, right. I think what's really missing 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.080 across the board, as a broad stroke is having the 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:06.520 courage to tell things the way they are and call 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.000 things out for the way they are, to say this 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:16.600 person or idea is transphobic, XYZ is racist. We have 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:20.040 to get to a place all of our storytellers out there, 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.040 content creators, we have to have the courage to call 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:27.640 things as they are, period, and that is actually journalism. 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.879 Being neutral is not journalism. That's irresponsible journalism to me, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.880 but being able to call things out for what and 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:38.679 who they are and what those things stand for and 0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:42.919 the realities for what is at stake. I am not 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:45.960 you know, I'm not a I'm not a policy gay 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:50.280 by any means. And I know i've again, I just 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.240 I call on, I've been name checking legacy, legacy, legacy, 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:57.400 but at these legacy networks, I say, I still say. 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:00.800 We also we love our polls, and I'm like, I'm sorry, 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:04.000 but I've never answered any of these phone calls ever 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.200 in my life. I don't even know anybody who has ever. 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.880 So I'm like, who are these people? Number one? And 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:16.000 who really does this poll represent? And they're so calculated, 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:21.640 in formulaic and careful, you know, and how they portray 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:26.040 certain numbers on the air. I get that, but I 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:28.560 think we rely a lot on polling numbers, and I 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:30.440 have to just call this out as we go into 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.560 an election year, we rely so much, not on just 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:37.160 the direction of a campaign, but we let polling dictate 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:42.480 our storytelling now yes, versus going out and talking to 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:46.840 the people or leaning on lived experience to actually dictate 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:51.399 the facts and what is actually at stake versus really 0:21:51.440 --> 0:22:00.239 a narrative made up by numbers, you know. 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.200 And I'm glad that you made the pivot to the 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:05.040 election because you know, that is obviously top of mind 0:22:05.080 --> 0:22:09.120 for me and top of mind for the listeners as 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:13.240 we you know, head you know, headfirst into twenty twenty 0:22:13.320 --> 0:22:18.119 four and so what you know, how what is Glad's role, 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:22.320 you know, as we head into what is you know? 0:22:22.359 --> 0:22:24.560 And I know I say it ad nauseum, the most 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:27.320 consequential election of our time, the one that is going 0:22:27.359 --> 0:22:33.640 to decide whether America remains a project of democracy or 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:37.760 you know, a tool of fascism. So what what is 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:42.280 Glad's role and what are you all preparing for as 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:44.479 we head into an election cycle? 0:22:45.200 --> 0:22:48.320 Yeah? I mean for us, it's really humanizing the queer experience. 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:52.560 It's going out there and telling real people's stories. It's 0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:56.159 getting out of the coastal cities and really meeting people 0:22:56.240 --> 0:22:58.760 for who and what they are and what they're going through. 0:22:59.280 --> 0:23:02.480 It's walking you through the stories of thousands, I want 0:23:02.480 --> 0:23:05.600 to say, millions of Americans and families who are leaving 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:14.320 states over you know, laws on immigration, bodily autonomy, athletes 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.280 and bathrooms, you name it. It's just like, are are 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:21.359 we so bored? Like that? Those are the issues at stake, 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:25.679 Like like what people are trying to put food on 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:28.119 the table and we are stuck on a less than 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:32.679 one percent of a community that needs to be legislated again, 0:23:32.760 --> 0:23:36.440 so like so that's my aside personally, but humanizing the 0:23:36.520 --> 0:23:39.360 queer experience is number one for us. And I think 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:43.480 all of the queer organizations are really having a coming 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:47.000 together and I feel like at times there's there's a 0:23:47.000 --> 0:23:49.720 little bit of a I'm gonna say turf wars, and 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:52.520 I know many will hear this, but there's the idea 0:23:52.640 --> 0:23:54.359 that all the orgs have their own lane and we 0:23:54.440 --> 0:23:56.240 do our own thing. We don't talk to each other. 0:23:56.600 --> 0:23:58.840 But what's going to really come to a head here 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:03.879 is having unified message and being able to come together 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:06.239 and bring all our resources together. You know you have 0:24:06.600 --> 0:24:09.960 Human Rights Campaign who you know they do policy prevor 0:24:10.040 --> 0:24:15.320 Project is mental health. GLAD creates content, representation and experiences 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:18.240 around policy and mental health and all those things. Right, 0:24:18.280 --> 0:24:21.639 so when we come together, we are an unstoppable force. 0:24:22.560 --> 0:24:25.320 But as you mentioned before, there are people who are 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:30.080 pouring millions of dollars into that knowledge gap. That's their 0:24:30.280 --> 0:24:33.760 mo You have your groups like Moms for Liberty, your 0:24:33.760 --> 0:24:41.119 Alliance Defending Freedom, who are getting these insane cases into 0:24:41.160 --> 0:24:45.760 the Supreme Court. So there's millions of dollars coming up 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.960 to bat against us. But I think also what you're 0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:52.440 seeing is you know we're going after Moms for Liberty 0:24:52.600 --> 0:24:55.280 like you will be exposed. We know who you are 0:24:55.760 --> 0:25:01.119 and we're coming for you. And it's so unfair to 0:25:01.280 --> 0:25:04.680 see how much a lot of these groups have been platformed. 0:25:05.080 --> 0:25:08.760 But I'm really encouraged by gen Z and Jen Alpha, 0:25:09.080 --> 0:25:13.200 just to name two generations. We just had a couple 0:25:13.240 --> 0:25:17.320 of weeks ago here Xander Morricks in South Florida, who 0:25:17.600 --> 0:25:23.119 is a GLAD twenty under twenty alumnus, just said some powerful, 0:25:23.240 --> 0:25:29.159 powerful stuff to one of the Moms for Liberty. Uh yeh, scandals. 0:25:31.359 --> 0:25:34.040 I mean, these are things. I'm like, I could not 0:25:34.119 --> 0:25:37.880 come up with this stuff, but these are these are 0:25:38.000 --> 0:25:41.359 people who are empowered to make change in a way 0:25:41.400 --> 0:25:44.320 that I haven't seen in my lifetime. And we all 0:25:44.320 --> 0:25:46.680 get into this space and advocacy for our own reasons 0:25:46.680 --> 0:25:50.560 and experiences, but to see the kind of drive and 0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:56.040 the kind of ways they are utilizing media as a 0:25:56.160 --> 0:25:59.760 vehicle for change by using their experience, their voice, their 0:25:59.760 --> 0:26:05.440 story is really something that blows me away. And within 0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:09.480 Glad's plan of action is really being able to support 0:26:09.880 --> 0:26:12.919 those people and those voices and instead of doing it 0:26:12.960 --> 0:26:14.840 on our own. I think a lot of times, you know, 0:26:15.119 --> 0:26:18.359 I always say acceptances on all of us, and acceptance 0:26:18.440 --> 0:26:21.680 is really not that hard. I tell my team here 0:26:21.720 --> 0:26:24.240 all the time. We can do everything, but we can 0:26:24.359 --> 0:26:28.240 empower people and guide them to do and be their 0:26:28.280 --> 0:26:31.080 best and to equip them to go out into the 0:26:31.080 --> 0:26:34.200 world and be the change they want to see. I 0:26:34.240 --> 0:26:36.480 think for us, it's going to be humanizing the queer 0:26:36.560 --> 0:26:40.920 experience and equipping our community to really go the distance 0:26:41.480 --> 0:26:44.720 and connect with people in ways that people might be afraid, 0:26:45.119 --> 0:26:46.600 might have been afraid to in the past. 0:26:47.920 --> 0:26:53.240 Amazing, Well Tony WELLKF Daily is here for you and 0:26:53.400 --> 0:26:57.000 here for Glad in all the ways that we can 0:26:57.040 --> 0:27:02.240