Because of this, a group of people decided to band together and begin a group to change things. They were Vito Russo, Gregory Kolovakos, Darryl Rist, Allen Barnett and Jewelle Gomez. They named their group the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. At first they were more concerned with changing the way that stories about AIDS were reported to the public. As the group grew, they began to work with people in the entertainment industry to change the way that gay and lesbian people were made to look on films and on television.