The creators of "Ellen," members of Utah's gay community and a conservative media watchdog group are divided on the significance of Wednesday's "coming out" episode on TV.
While producers had billed the episode as an honest depiction of an acceptable lifestyle, the president of a conservative media watch-dog group called it dishonest propaganda aimed at youths.And while members of the gay community said the episode was groundbreaking and inspirational, others in the community said they simply didn't care.
"I see it as part of a decades-old effort to change the public perception of homosexuality," said Robert W. Peters, Morality in Media president.
Peters, who was in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, told the Deseret News that well-organized and funded gay groups have strategically promoted public acceptance of homosexuality by downplaying the imagery of sex, reducing the issue to one of lifestyle and making anti-discrimination its theme.
But the gay community sees the character's "coming out" as an inspiration and historic moment in network TV joining the ranks of the first broadcast inter-racial kiss. Ellen, played by comedian Ellen DeGeneres, is the first TV title character to be openly gay. The actress also recently publicly announced she is homosexual.
"I feel like it's a holiday - almost like a pride day," Kathy Worthington, 46, a gay mother of two, said Wednesday. "There must be women out there in America who have been totally closeted who are at least thinking about (coming out) tonight."
Some locals felt soaked by pre-episode hype, and many wondered if ABC had an eye on ratings in airing the program.
"I think it's her personal life and if she wants to share it with the world, go for it," said 20-year-old Daye Mariner, who works in a downtown salon. "I really don't care. It's not going to be a big thing in my life."
But Peters had hoped no one would tune in. "I hope the program will die for lack of an audience. The simplest answer is for people not to watch it."
David Nelson, member of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund board of directors, hails the episode as a giant step for the gay community. The Washington-based political action committee hosted an "Ellen" party at Cafe Med in Salt Lake City.
Gay characters on TV historically have been secondary or incidental characters, often stereo-typed as distraught and self-destructive, he said.
Peters, too, decries the entertainment industry's "old way" of portraying gays as vile or ridiculous people - depictions he says have subjected homosexuals to public hatred and physical attacks.
But he says the industry now has gone to the other extreme, portraying gays "as American as apple pie . . . "That's not an American value."
Terri Engebritson, a Salt Lake mother of four, was shopping downtown during the broadcast. Still, Engebritson, who isn't gay, says the episode portrays a part of life that she wants her children to understand.
"(Gay people) have had a lot more problems in their lives because people don't understand," Engebritson said.
But 36-year-old mother Melinda Crandall said that when she heard of the "coming out," her family turned off "Ellen" for good. She laments the actions of DeGeneres, who she called a talented comedian but stands firm that the show now would send the wrong message to her children.
"As parents, we're striving to set standards for our children," Crandall said. "We believe you walk one way and you talk one way."
According to the Associated Press, the "Ellen" coming-out episode scored more than twice its usual audience in the ratings of major media outlets nationwide, a big win for the May sweeps.
The program had a 26.5 rating and 37 share in the Nielsen Media Research overnight measurements. For the season, the show has averaged a 9.6 rating and 16 share, the Nielsen organization told the AP.
Locally, ABC affiliate KTVX reported a 19 rating and 30 share for the hourlong show, beating the competing CBS and NBC offerings put together.
"Obviously, there was enormous interest in the program," said KTVX vice president and general manager Peter Mathis.
"Ellen" did better nationally and in some other Western markets than in it did in Salt Lake City, but Mathis said the local numbers were impressive nonetheless. "It's considered a very big rating."
A rating point in the 37 major media markets represents about 560,000 households. Share is the percentage of those televisions tuned to a given show during a specified time period. These ratings measure about 58 percent of the nation's estimated 97 million TV homes.