GLAAD: ABC, FX Best For Queers

For the second year running, GLAAD has named ABC as the major television network which has best presented the lives of LGBT people. Among cable channels surveyed, FX was named as best.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today released its second annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index, a report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television. Once again, primetime programming on the five broadcast networks was evaluated and, for the first time, original primetime programming on 10 of the highest-rated cable networks was examined as well.

ABC, with shows like Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty, again received the highest ranking of the five broadcast networks; NBC and Fox remained the two lowest-scoring networks, with their LGBT-inclusive hours dropping slightly from the previous season. Among the sampling of cable networks evaluated, FX featured the largest number of LGBT-inclusive hours of original programming, while TNT offered the fewest.

"Time and again we see that what people watch on TV shapes how they view and treat the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around them," says GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "ABC and FX are leading the way when it comes to telling our stories, showing other networks that including images of our community can go hand in hand with critical and commercial success. This year's GLAAD Network Responsibility Index offers an in-depth examination of where networks excelled and how they can improve, particularly in conveying the diversity of our lives."

The GLAAD Network Responsibility Index is scoring system used to review over 6000 hours of programming. "Each hour was reviewed for any on-screen major or minor LGBT representations. Based on the quantity, overall quality and diversity of these representations, a grade was assigned to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing."