ACT UP Slams NY Times AIDS Reporting Demo at Sulzberger's Charges Anti-Les/Gay Bias
NEW YORK [August 7, 1989] — Nearly 150 ACT UP members gathered in 90-degree heat on Tuesday, July 26 [1989], in front of the home of New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, to protest what ACT UP calls "ineffective and morally reprehensible" reporting of the AIDS epidemic in that paper. The protest began at 83rd Street and Fifth Avenue, and grew to nearly 200 people by the time it ended in front of the New York Times office building on West 43rd Street two and a half hours later. It included a march down Fifth Avenue and the burning of a pile of New York Times in the street.
There were no arrests, but activists reported numerous run-ins with police, who nearly equalled the protestors in number. Some are claiming the lack of mainstream media coverage of the well-publicized event is evidence of collusion on the part of straight media.
Eric Sawyer, one of the organizers of the protest, accused the New York Times of "irresponsible journalism" for not addressing the government's inadequate attention to AIDS research, patient care, vaccine developmnt, or housing. He also said the Times is not aggressive enough in its reporting on new drug treatments. "They have consistently published editorials that try to downplay the significance of the AIDS crisis [...] while every major medical authority or public health authority is saying that this is absolutely the most horrendous health crisis of the century."
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The protest outside Sulzberger's home actually began on Sunday night, July 23 [1989], when several individuals spraypainted "New York Times: All the news that's fit to kill," along with outlines of bodies on the pavement near Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street. But the anger and frustration of ACT UP and the AIDS activist community became even more visible when protestors gathered in sweltering heat at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, carrying signs and chanting, "New York Times lying still. All the news that's fit to kill."
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After approximately one hour, protesters moved into the middle of Fifth Avenue, where aoout 25 people staged a "die-in" by lying down in the street, surrounded by the rest of the group. The police threatened to arrest those lying down, but the participants got up by themselves after a few minutes.
At 6:15 pm, the protesters began moving south on Fifth Avenue. Police officers rushed at the protesters when they began marching in the streets and physically pushed some onto the sidewalk. Some protesters were shoved to the ground.
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Despite attempts to intervene by the police, the protesters eventually arrived at Broadway and West 43rd Street near the Times office. Marchers found a blockade made up of police vehicles and several officers, closing off 43rd Street, backed up by an estimated 150 police officers. Chants of "Free assembly!" and "We won't move 'til you do!" rose from the crowd as several people tried to wriggle through the blockade between the vehicles and on the sidewalk. They were met by a fast-moving wall of police that once again physically pushed protestors back. Protestors called out "No violence!" and followed with chants of the badge number of one officer who was particularly rough in trying to remove a demonstrator from 43rd Street. That officer soon disappeared from the front of the line-up of police.
Protesters were eventually allowed to assemble in front of the building itself, where several copies of the New York Times were tossed into a pile and set on fire. The crowd dispersed soon after 7:30 pm.
While most activists seemed pleased with the outcome of the protest, some were disturbed that there was an obvious lack of mainstream media reporting the event. "We have never had a demonstration this big where we weren't covered," said ACT UP's Jim Eigo. "It's almost as if the old boys decided to protect one another." Press releases had been mailed out several days before and phone calls were made the day of the demonstration to mainstream media, according to Eigo.
[Andy*] Velez [of ACT UP] was optimistic that the New York Times will change its outlook because of ACT UP's actions. But he pointed out it won't happen overnight. "[The New York Times] is like the British Empire," he told OutWeek, "it collapsed very slowly."
— Mark Chesnut, OutWeek Magazine No. 7, August 7, 1989, p. 10.
* The first reference to Velez is missing, but I’m almost certain it’s founding ACT UP member Andy.