Zane Blaney collection
Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff using RecordEXPRESS
GLBT Historical Society
2023
989 Market Street, Lower Level
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 777-5455
reference@glbthistory.org
http://www.glbthistory.org/
Title: Zane Blaney collection
Dates: 1977-1992
Collection Number: 2016-18
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 14 linear feet (4 cartons, 11 manuscript boxes, 1 oversized box)
Online items available
Repository:
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: Zane Blaney is a radio journalist, producer, and co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco
Bay Area (GLAAD/SFBA), a group which advocates for an end to bigotry and misinformation about LGBTQIA+ people in media. The
collection consists of organizational files related to GLAAD/SFBA, as well as a large amount of audiovisual material from
between 1982 and 1991, relating to the Gay Games, queer activism, and the national conversation on queer identity. Some of
the audiovisual material has been digitized and is available for viewing and listening in the GLBTHS reading room.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission
to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.
[Identification of item]. Zane Blaney collection. Collection Number: 2016-18. GLBT Historical Society
The collection was donated to the GLBT Historical Society by Zane Blaney in 2016, with subsequent accretions in succeeding
years.
Biography/Administrative History
Zane Blaney is a radio journalist, producer, and co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco
Bay Area (GLAAD/SFBA), a group which advocates for an end to bigotry and misinformation about LGBTQIA+ people in media. Blaney
began working in radio at the age of 15, beginning at a small-town station in Wyoming and progressing through Denver, Albuquerque,
and Sacramento to San Francisco. Beginning in the late 1970s, Blaney began recording interviews with San Francisco’s queer
leaders, which became a series of independent audio documentaries aired on PBS radio stations. In 1982, he worked with a small
independent television crew to produce recordings of the first Gay Games. As a member of GLAAD/SFBA, he served as board member
and media chair.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of organizational and subject files on GLAAD/SFBA and related topics, as well as a large amount of
audiovisual material from between 1982 and 1991, relating to the Gay Games, queer activism, and the national conversation
on queer identity. 24 Betacam tapes of Gay Games events have been digitized, as have 53 cassette tapes of the Games, community
organization meetings, and interviews with queer community leaders. The GLAAD/SFBA files contain incorporation papers; minutes
and agendas of meetings; newsletters; media committee files; records of actions against the Chronicle, Examiner, and radio
and television stations, including KQED; and recordings and complaints concerning Rush Limbaugh, Morton Downey, and local
shock jocks. Collection also contains files on KQED, PBS, and discrimination against queer comedians, as well as clippings
and subject files. Contents of cartons containing audiovisual material are listed below. GSSO linked terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000374;
http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_008529; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_008525; http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_008514
Gay men
Sports
Radio
Television