GLADD report favorable to ABC

NEW YORK, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- ABC has the most extensive portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters of the U.S. networks, a national study showed.

Fox network offers the least the least, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's inaugural "GLAAD Network Responsibility Index," a report of how the broadcast Webs and cable handle the sensitive issue of depicting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals on TV, Variety reported.

"We continue to be incredibly underrepresented on the networks," Neil Giuliano, GLAAD president said. "The announced 2007 fall schedule does nothing to allay these concerns. The bright spot, however, is that the quality of (such) images seems to be improving."

GLAAD monitored ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW from June 1, 2006, through May 31 and tallied the "quantity, quality and diversity of images" from all 4,693 hours of programming. All lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender portrayals were included. The organization then assigned grades, such as excellent, good, fair or failing.

ABC received a rating of "good," with about 15 percent of the network's programming including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender impressions. Only 6 percent of Fox's fare included anything related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender portrayals, leading to a failing rating.