The Death of Matthew Shepard: TEN YEARS LATER: A FORUM ON GAY JOURNALISM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008 6:00 P.M. The Commonwealth Club of California 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / — Ten years ago, October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten on a road outside Laramie, Wyoming. Five days later he died. For a generation it is among the most important and unforgettable of tragic events.

The same day, the CBS Evening News featured the headline of the Bay Area Reporter, a gay community newspaper, which declared “No Obits,” their first issue in 17 years where no obituaries appeared.

“Matthew Shepard and ‘No Obits;’ Ten Years Later, A Forum on Gay Journalism,” is a program which examines how journalists and newsmakers experienced these events, reasons why the story of Shepard had such impact and why he continues to be remembered. The program is presented Monday, October 6, 2008, 6:00 pm, following a 5:15 pm reception at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco.

Moderator for the forum is David Lamble, a pioneer of gay broadcasting. Participants include David Kligman, Associated Presswriter who gave exposure to the “No Obits” headline; Cynthia Laird, Bay Area Reporter Editor; Ed Walsh, ABC 7, weekend assignment editor; Tommi Avicolli Mecca, local activist, formerly a Philadelphia Gay News reporter; Rev. Jim Mitulski, former Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco; Tony Russomanno, award winning reporter for ABC 7 and CBS 5, and Jeff Sheehy, Equal Rights Ordinance author and a spokesperson for UCSF Medical Center.

After 17 years, AIDS transformed coverage of a community. Yet, when President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) it validated many who chose lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered people as fair game for violence.

Fair game until America heard the story of Matthew Shepard.

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum, with the Northern California Chapter of the National Lesbian, Gay Journalists Association, they are co-sponsors of this event.

Cost for students is $7.00, for non-Commonwealth Club members $15. Members are free. To order tickets online and further information is available at: http://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=2