TODAY'S SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, AUG. 23

Breakfast
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
11:00AM-12:15AM

Lunch Plenary
12:30PM-2:00PM

Breakout Sessions
2:15PM-3:30PM

Closing Session
3:45PM-5:15PM

Authors' Café
3:45PM-5:45PM

Not-So-Silent Auction
6:45PM-8:45PM

View the full schedule here

TODAY'S WEATHER

WHAT IS NLGJA?

Find out more about NLGJA at the official website.

MENTORS

A big thanks to our mentors:

Brett Zongker
The Associated Press

Caroline K. Hauser
The Washington Post

Mark S. Luckie
Entertainment Weekly

Larry M. Shaw
ABC

Dennis M. Powell
ABC

Doug Mitchell
NPR

Panel challenges prayer-based healing theory

by Oscar Raymundo

Outgoing NLGJA President Eric Hegedus made sure to acknowledge the question mark at the end of the title of the NLGJA breakout session "Pray Away the Gay?" while moderating Friday's discussion on the "ex-gay" movement.

The question mark is crucial, Hegedus said, because there is nothing definitive about the science behind the claims of the many men and women who have denounced their homosexual tendencies as a form of spiritual realigning.

Panelists were David Foucher, publisher of Edge; Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out; and Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst working in New York City and a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

"The religious right wishes to be modern and enter the scientific debate," Drescher said. "But they constantly dismiss certain science that contradicts their theories."

The ex-gay movement shines a spotlight on the few individuals who claim to have changed a sexual preference to establish that homosexuality is not immutable.

The problem is that there is absolutely no science backing any therapeutic techniques, Drescher said, but the message still reaches millions of Americans across the country thanks largely in part to the media's approach to covering opposing sides of an issue.

"When I speak against the ex-gay movement, I speak for 450,000 psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers," Drescher said. "The other side is representing about 15,000. The media does not cover that there's an enormous disparity between the two positions."

In July 2007, Foucher wrote the four-part series, "My Ex-Gay Life," for Edge publications and found it difficult to report on the topic accurately without coming off as biased.

"I'm a journalist first and gay second," he said. "I admit it's challenging to be objective, but it's my job."

Another reason why ex-gays are gaining traction in the mainstream is because of the media's showbiz model - a fascination with the sensational story and higher ratings.

"Find me real-life people who have gone successfully through this, not someone who aspires to be on Ricki Lake or Jerry Springer," Besen said. "It's all about marketing and media programming."

Drescher said that the movement's marketing is also duplicitous in nature. "They tailored their talk to specific audiences," he said.

The panelists agreed that it is up to the reporters to dissipate the smoke screen and get to the nuances of the actual story, the "nitty gritty details, not just the short sound byte," Hegedus said.

One important detail often left out is the low success and retention rate of the therapy. Another story often untold is that of the ex-gay survivors, the men and women who have gone through the therapy and suffered side effects such as depression and anxiety after treatment.

"In the medical model, you can select which patients are ideal for therapy, but in the faith model God doesn't turn anyone away," Drescher said. "So when it doesn't work, they experience a crisis of faith and often blame themselves. There is harm in trying."

Ann Craig of the Religion, Faith & Values office of GLAAD pointed out that to be objective while reporting on this subject, the media has to realize that it's not just one religion's perspective versus science.

"There are other religions and other voices, and they all don't have the same stance on this issue," Craig said.

But other religious views drown under the loud voices of the religious right, she said.

Hegedus acknowledged that the panel was one-sided but did talk about his various attempts at trying to get members of the ex-gay movement to participate. One wanted travel expenses covered, another confirmed but backed out after learning about a fellow panelist's participation and a third never responded to Hegedus' queries.