Mustn't--see TV? MSNBC takes a turn to the far right with its newest commentator, antigay talk-show host Michael Savage. (Media).

Its foremost pundit declared AIDS "God's punishment." Another proclaimed that "Hitler and his supporters were Satanists and homosexuals." Still another called openly gay U.S. representative Barney Frank "Barney Fag." And its newest addition has repeatedly referred to gays and lesbians as "perverts."

Is this the Christian Coalition? Congressional right-wingers?

No, it's the lineup of talking heads at MSNBC, the generally mainstream cable network backed by corporate titans Microsoft, General Electric, and NBC. Its lineup has included shows hosted by far-right politicians such as failed presidential candidates Pat Buchanan and Alan Keyes and former House majority leader Dick Armey.

And since March 8 the network has been home to The Savage Nation, a talk show hosted by San Francisco radio personality Michael Savage. Known for his attacks on women, people of color, immigrants, and gay men and lesbians, Savage has said that the United States has been taken over by "degenerates on the left who want to sell Americans on the idea that homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality, even sex with animals is normal."

Now the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a group that just a few years ago helped to derail a syndicated TV talk show hosted by the notoriously antigay Dr. Laura Schlessinger, is taking aim at MSNBC and Savage.

"Savage's hiring is just the latest blow to fairness and balance at MSNBC," says Cathy Renna, GLAAD's director of news media. "We think MSNBC should reconsider giving Savage a platform. At the very least, it should institute a zero-tolerance policy for his attacks on gays, women, and minorities."

Even before Savage's first show aired, GLAAD launched a formal campaign to persuade the network to yank it. The effort proved its effectiveness when several major companies agreed not to advertise with the show. Saying that Savage's viewpoints do not reflect their own, Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, General Mills, IdeaVillage, Dell Computer, Sharper Image, and Casual Male Big and Tall promised to avoid the program.

A spokesman for MSNBC, Alan Winnikoff, did not return several calls from The Advocate seeking comment. But Savage responded to GLAAD's campaign with a diatribe during his February 27 radio program: "You rats! You stinking rats who hide in the sewers! You think you can go after my income? You think you can kill my advertisers? You think I'm Dr. Laura? You think I'm gonna roll over like a pussy? You're wrong. I'm going to find out where you get your money from. You live by handouts, all of you. You live off grants, all of you. You're a bunch of beggars."

Those anticipating similar fireworks on his TV show, however, came away disappointed. The shock jock, who stared blankly into the television camera from behind a prop microphone, looked uncomfortable in the new medium and made only passing references to gay rights and other hot-button issues that are his radio stock-in-trade and that catapulted his book, The Savage Nation: Saving America From the Liberal Assault on Our Borders, Language, and Culture, onto The New York Times best-seller list.

Media watchers caution that regardless of the outcome of its campaign against Savage, GLAAD could be fighting a losing battle when it comes to MSNBC. Seeking to duplicate the ratings success Fox News has had with such conservative firebrands as Bill O'Reilly, MSNBC and other media outlets have intensified efforts to bring in right-wing commentators and hosts. To that end, MSNBC recently hired Armey, who was a longtime gay rights foe when he was in Congress.

"There is a huge market for conservative opinions," says Eric Alterman, author of What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News. "No one knows for sure whether there even is a liberal version of that market. In this environment it's a hard time to get the views of gay activists or black feminists or any minority point of view on the air."

Another example of MSNBC's apparent turn to the far right is its decision in February to cancel a show hosted by liberal legend Phil Donahue. Although the seven-month-old show was among MSNBC's most watched, it fell short of expectations, network officials said.

Renna says that MSNBC did not give Donahue, who declined an Advocate interview request, a chance to flourish. "The show wasn't structured correctly at first," she says. "Phil is best in front of a live audience, and it took them a while before they put him in front of one."

Despite Donahue's exit, MSNBC's lineup still includes some liberal pundits, such as Chris Matthews, Jesse Ventura, and Keith Olbermann. But Alterman, who has appeared on MSNBC as a commentator himself, says the network could be more creative in its hiring. "It's true that there seems to be a dearth of liberal talent at the moment," he says. "The liberal point of view is often harder to get across because it's more complicated. But the networks need to do a better job searching for alternatives. Someone like [columnist] Molly Ivins would be great. Or entertainers like Al Franken and Jon Stewart."

But it's sometimes more difficult to promote pro-gay voices than it is to target antigay ones. And as GLAAD continues its campaign against Savage, some media experts say the group should to be careful that it doesn't gain a reputation for trying to limit freedom of expression.

"This is one of the biggest challenges GLAAD faces--becoming what it used to criticize," says Edward Alwood, author of Straight News: Gays, Lesbians, and the News Media. "The group used to fight for the right to be heard; now it risks coming across as the thought police. The gay community fought for its First Amendment rights; now it sometimes seems that all it says is, `Shut up.'"

But Renna insists that her group is seeking only journalistic standards. "We're always getting questions about censorship and free speech," she says. "Of course we value speech of all forms. This is about responsibility and journalistic integrity. We are essentially looking for the network to apply the same standards to Michael Savage it does to Tom Brokaw. This is a shock jock whose opinions are at odds with a media brand that prides itself on diversity."