October 27, 1959 - November 4, 1979.
1980 - Irregular broadcasts thru the 1990's.
An in-depth exploration of Homosexuality. It is a subject that explores the questions, is it a physical or mental illness as understood at that time. Is it a moral crime, or just another product of biological and/or psychological circumstance, such as eye color or a fear of heights?
In 1967 there are millions of homosexuals in the United States and today many are demanding the right to fulfill their needs within the law.
In interviews, correspondent Mike Wallace talks with homosexual men, who remain anonymous, and members of the Mattachine Society whose chief aim is the reform of laws against homosexuals.
Those analyzing aspects of homosexuality include sociologists, psychologists, a federal judge, social critic Albert Goldman, and playwright Gore Vidal, who discusses homosexuality in the arts.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk defends the State Department's policy against hiring homosexuals' which is US policy. Others to give their personal agenda and experiences living as a homosexual include a 19-year-old offender in a public park: homosexual members of clubs and bars, and a metropolitan area frequented by homosexual prostitutes.
Also reported is a Boise, Idaho incident where a homosexual "scare" sparked a near witch-hunt in the mid 1950's.
NOTE:
CBS Reports: The Homosexuals, which aired in 1967, was the first time homosexuality was presented on a national network broadcast. "The Homosexuals" was praised for debunking negative stereotypes, but also condemned for generalizations and promoting other stereotypes. LGBT activist Wayne Beset called "The Homosexuals" "the single most destructive hour of antigay propaganda in our nation's history.
NOTE:
This CBS REPORTS:THE HOMOSEXUALS was the fourth and final broadcast Mike Wallace would report during the entire run of this iconic CBS Television probing and investigating series.
Contains some commercials.
BROADCAST HISTORY OF CBS REPORTS:
On October 27, 1959, fifteen months after the demise of Edward R. Murrow's SEEIT NOW, the CBS News Department premiered a new incisive, in-depth documentary program entitled CBS REPORTS. It was patterned after Murrow's precedent setting program and employed many of the same production staff, including Murrow's former partner, Fred Friendly. During the first two years of broadcasts which included 27 one hour documentaries, all but five telecasts had either Edward R. Murrow or Harry K. Smith as writer/correspondent.
Murrow reported on eleven programs form October 27, 1959, to March 1, 1961, and Howard K. Smith reported on eighteen programs form November 11, 1959, to February 8, 1962.
In January 1961 CBS began airing CBS REPORTS as a regular alternate-week series. For most of a full decade CBS REPORTS remained a regular series on various nights, and then shifted to irregular Specials beginning in the 1980's.