The moment it was announced, there was immediate talk of the irony that ABC's Good Morning, America's Robin Roberts got the big Obama interview on same-sex marriage because she was allegedly a lesbian. I knew there was gossip about Roberts, but there was little...
ethics
Poynter Questions the GLAAD Commentator Project
It's difficult for some journalists, especially LGBT journalists, to figure out how they feel about the GLAAD Commentator Accountability Project. While it has been praised by some, it has raised concerns from others. Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute--who...
Sex Sting, Mug Shots Included
In the bad old days of covering the gay community, covering bar arrests and sex stings was de rigeur. Pictures of men being hauled from bar for being in "homosexual establishments" have been iconic symbols of pre- and post-Stonewall America. If you think the days of...
Is It Unethical NOT to Report That Apple’s CEO is Gay?
Since our last post on how journalists should deal with the sexuality of new Apple CEO Tim Cook, an interesting debate has emerged over the ethics of "outing" Cook. Felix Salmon, a Reuters blogger, kicked things off by saying: Tim Cook is now the most powerful gay man...
Is Apple’s New CEO Gay?
As NLGJA's annual convention begins today in Philadelphia, the national news provides one of the enduring ethical questions when covering LGBT folks: when do we say someone is gay (or lesbian or bisexual or transgender)? From our very first convention where Andrew...
Admitting Mistakes
One of the sessions at the upcoming NLGJA Convention in Philadelphia, which starts next week, is a session titled Reputation on the Line: Building & Maintaining Credibility featuring Bil Browning and Jillian Weiss from Bilerico Project and David Hauslib, who...
Deggans, CNN, and Anti-Gay Activists
Count me in the camp of those who aren't crazy about using the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. to make points about LGBT rights. Oh, I understand the comparison and it makes sense. But there's something uncomfortable about white, LGBT activists using the King...
NLGJA, Journalism, and Proposition 8
After our very successful convention in San Francisco that brought together journalists from the traditional, LGBT, and citizen press, some questions continue to linger about NLGJA's position on not-taking-a-position on Proposition 8 in California. That discussion...
Dealing with those Wikileaker Sexuality and Gender Questions
Among the many layers of interesting stories inside the Wikileak controversy involving classified DoD documents is the questions about Bradley Manning himself. Specifically, speculation on Boing Boing that Manning was transgender and the much wider speculation that...
NYT Ethicist Randy Cohen Responds to Bilerico
Randy Cohen, the New York Times Ethicist columnist, has responded to concerns raised by Jillian Weiss at Bilerico Project and that we highlighted here. Here's his response to Weiss, as reported at Bilerico: Thanks for the interesting note. We no doubt disagree but not...
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