Frank J. Russo Jr.
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002

"Be Thankful. Donahue's Back," say full-page ads promoting the return of Phil Donahue to a prime-time slot on cable news channel MSNBC. Television ads promoting Phil's big comeback show him shouting: "Let's hear all sides! What's more American than that?"

I first met Donahue in 1990 at the beginning of a major "freedom of information" battle with Nassau Community College (NCC), New York's largest community college.

For 20 years, NCC had been conducting this very popular sex ed course, deceptively titled "Family Life and Human Sexuality." To earn three "easy" credits, students were asked to interview prostitutes, visit gay bars, discuss their sexual fantasies in class, study an 11-page handout on how to masturbate, and watch "educational" films on how to engage in oral sex.

Uniquely among Long Island colleges, NCC has a "health ed" requirement which results in large numbers of students taking this "fun" course, making it the most popular course on campus.

Since NCC was a public college, it was subject to New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Along with several others, I asked to see NCC's "educational" sex films. The college refused, citing "academic freedom." Having to show the public its "educational" sex films, argued the college, would have a "chilling effect" on a professor's freedom to teach. So, I filed a FOIL lawsuit against NCC, and a precedent-setting four-year legal battle began.

New York Post columnist Ray Kerrison did a series of articles on the subject, while "A Current Affair," detecting the sensationalist aspects of the forthcoming legal battle, featured the story in prime time on three separate occasions. Soon, I received invitations to "Geraldo," "Larry King Live" and numerous radio and television news programs. With this as a backdrop, I then received an invitation to appear on the Donahue program.

The show went well, from my perspective. It was interesting to see Phil become agitated when we attacked the course textbook's infatuation with being "non-judgmental."

Take, for example, its rather absurd treatment of subjects like "necrophilia," which refers to the bizarre practice of having sex with dead corpses. In the past, according to the textbook's authors, necrophilia was treated in a "judgmental" fashion as "perverse" or "deviant."

Enlightened America, according to the NCC textbook, "Our Sexuality" by Crooks and Baur, should know better, and simply view necrophilia as "uncommon" or "atypical." Any view of sex with dead people as "deviant," according to the authors, would be "judgmental."

Well, Phil lost that battle with the audience. Leaving the studio, I thought I had seen the last of Phil Donahue.

Five years later, I received another invitation to the Donahue program on the subject "Does the Christian Right Control the Republican Party?" I was invited because of my position with the American Family Association (AFA). Sen. Arlen Specter, who was running for the Republican presidential nomination, was one invited guest and Barry Lynn, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, was another. A young black gentleman, Michael Sessions, from Project 21, was the other conservative invited.

So it was two against two – Sen. Specter and Barry Lynn against two unknowns. And, of course, there was Phil, always eager to put in his two cents' worth.

I advised AFA's headquarters about the invitation and was told that Don Wildmon, AFA's president, was against my participation,because he wanted nothing to do with Donahue, who he believed hosted dozens of slimy programs, often on asinine subjects. While I agreed with Wildmon on this, I didn't agree with his strategy of refusing appearances, believing it is far better to confront the devil than ignore him, especially when the "devil" has access to millions of viewers, with or without our participation.

So I told Wildmon I would go on the program but would make it clear I was not representing the AFA. The show could not have gone better for us, nor worse for Donahue. Donahue's objective was clear from the start – to help Specter's faltering effort to secure the Republican nomination and, failing that, to depict the Republican Party as controlled by fanatical, right-wing Christians.

The show began with a bit of give-and-take, with Donahue on the losing end. He introduced me as representing the American Family Association, in spite of my forewarning the staff to make sure I was not introduced as such. So I had to clarify matters by stating that because of Don Wildmon's antipathy for the Donahue show, I was not representing the AFA.

This led Donahue into a diatribe against Wildmon and his frequent pressuring of potential sponsors. With that, I had to interrupt Phil and say that while I was in disagreement with Wildmon about appearing on the show, I was in full agreement with him regarding the sleazy character of so many of Phil's programs. Taken back, Donahue rolled his eyes in obvious discomfort.

Furthermore, I told him, his shows were generally conducted in a blatantly unfair way because he interjected so often on the side of the "neo-pagan left." Donahue again rolled his eyes in what appeared to be still greater discomfort, while the audience got a big laugh out of the whole exchange.

"I have been called many things, Mr. Russo," exclaimed a frustrated Donahue, "but 'neo-pagan' is a new one." This term clearly bothered him, as he referred to it again later in the show.

After the show, Barry Lynn and I went into the "green room," a waiting room for program guests, and we were soon joined by Phil's producer and then Phil himself. Elated as I was with the show's success, I approached Phil and thanked him for being fairer to me this time than the prior time. Then I said something that had been on my mind for some time – something I myself very much appreciate hearing from others. "Phil," I said, "I want you to know I'm praying for you."

Well, you would think I uttered the foulest four-letter words, judging from the rage of his reaction. "Don't you patronize me!" he said, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Stunned at first at the anger in his voice, I calmly replied, "Phil, I'm praying for you and Mario Cuomo. The two of you have been blessed by God with keen intellects and great communication skills. But in my view, the two of you are modern-day Fausts, selling your souls for worldly gains."

Suddenly, he veered to my right and began a fast pacing, back and forth. "Oh, " he said, " I suppose, Mr. Russo, if I weren't wealthy, you wouldn't say that?"

"No," I replied, "that's not what I meant by worldly gain. In your case, Phil, it means public notoriety, and in Mario's case, it refers to political power."

With that, his anger rose to fever pitch, and he positioned himself squarely in front of me, standing toe to toe. Phil is no taller than I, but far bulkier. For 20 to 30 seconds he stood with his nose not six inches from mine, shouting and screaming. So stunned was I that I didn't hear a word he was saying, focused instead on his incredible rage. I remember wondering if he was going to punch me.

Then suddenly, he calmed down and the storm abruptly ended. Everyone there – his producer, Barry Lynn and my guest – seemed somewhat shaken and even embarrassed at what had just happened.

A week later I decided to call Phil's producer, Paula, and ask for a tape of the program. Then I said to her, "Paula, your boss's reaction last week really surprised me. I didn't mean to upset him like that."

"Frank," she said, "I've worked for Phil for five years and I've never seen him react like that before. In fact, he was talking about the incident for days afterward."

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I got a great deal of satisfaction upon hearing that. Not that I wanted to get Phil angry, but rather to prick his conscience a bit. Down deep, I feel Phil is not fully convinced of the neo-pagan views he spouts, and I wonder if he is troubled about divorcing his first wife, a lovely woman, mother of his four sons and a devout Catholic.

I wondered if the moral principles he learned as a youth, perhaps, might still nag at him. And in some ways – and I know this is hard for conservatives to believe – I think deep down he's got some fine qualities in his basic character, although some might argue they are fairly well concealed at this point.

The program aired in October 1995. A few weeks later Sen. Specter dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Of course, the Donahue program probably had little or nothing to do with this, but I like to think that it might have. And then a few weeks later, Phil announced he would no longer be producing his daily talk shows.

In all likelihood, he was planning this departure for months. But I got a warm glow thinking that perhaps that program, which went so awry from his plans, and, more importantly, the firestorm that erupted in the "green room" afterward, just may have helped convince him not to delay any longer his well-deserved retirement from the talk show format he was so instrumental in helping establish.

Well, now he's back! I can't wait for my next invitation!

Frank J. Russo Jr. currently serves as State Director for the American Family Association in New York. He also serves on the Boards of Directors for Citizens for Educational Freedom and for Morality in Media. Since 1995, Mr. Russo has produced over 200 public access cable TV programs which air weekly throughout New York State, with access to over 5 million viewers. Prior to this, Russo served as a Division Manager for AT&T Company and for New York Telephone Company for 30 years, until his retirement in 1994. He is married, with 7 children and 15 grandchildren, and resides in Port Washington, Long Island.

Mr. Russo eventually won his precedent-setting lawsuit against NCC in a decision by the NYS Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, in a 5-0 decision rendered in October 1993 (Russo v. NCC). The college spent over $200,000 of taxpayer money in its losing battle. Russo's victory establishes in law the right of any citizen to view any materials, including films and videos, used at any public educational institution in the state of New York, from kindergarten through graduate school.

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