Update: Dallas Morning News Corrects Problematic Article Following GLAAD Outreach
November 3, 2009
On October 28th, GLAAD called on The Dallas Morning News to issue a retraction for an October 25th article written by Cheryl Hall. In her piece, “Dallas executive amassing a gay media mini-empire,” Hall used problematic language in referring to the LGBT community when writing about two of Stephen Jarchow’s media companies. She called The Advocate and Out magazines “two alternative lifestyle magazines,” and she wrote that Regent Entertainment film company catered to an “alternative lifestyle audience.”
GLAAD immediately contacted Hall to discuss these issues. While, she acknowledged she made an error in going against the guidelines of her newspaper, she said she could not make a retraction and repost the story. However, she suggested that GLAAD write a letter to the editor, which GLAAD did. GLAAD also reached out directly to the newspaper’s editor-in-chief. The Dallas Morning News immediately corrected the online version of the story.
The paper also ran the letter to the editor written by GLAAD about the problematic language in Hall’s profile story. Furthermore, The Dallas Morning News placed a editor’s note in the paper’s library archives stating that the story did not meet the paper’s standards in the event anyone researching the original story will know to refer to the corrected version instead of the original.
The story also expanded its former blanket statement that the gay community is a “largely, affluent, well-educated minority group,” to include advertising and consumer purchasing statistics about the gay community. However, this affluence stereotype still remains problematic and GLAAD is continuing conversations with the editors about to how fairly report about the economic realities of many people in the gay community and to make sure their overall reporting on LGBT issues is fair and accurate.
Related Posts:GLAAD Calls for The Dallas Morning News To Issue Retraction
October 28, 2009
In the October 25th edition of The Dallas Morning News, business reporter Cheryl Hall used problematic language in referring to the LGBT community when writing about two of Stephen Jarchow’s media companies. In the article, “Dallas executive amassing a gay media mini-empire,” Hall refers to The Advocate and Out magazines owned by Jarchow’s Here Media Inc., as “two alternative lifestyle magazines.” She also refers to his Regent Entertainment film company as catering to an “alternative lifestyle audience.” Furthermore, she labels the gay community as a whole as an “affluent, well-educated minority group.”
She wrote in the story:
“Gay.com will culturally and technically mesh with its new sister companies: HereTV, an online, cable and satellite service that reaches 54 million households, and Out and The Advocate, two alternative lifestyle magazines”
“They are building a gay-targeted multimedia mini-empire because they understand this largely affluent, well-educated minority group, believe advertisers want to tap into it and think other media companies don’t want to touch it.”
“Since 1995, Regent has produced or released 150 movies, a third of which were aimed at an alternative lifestyle audience.”
Out is a “lifestyle” magazine, as are other lifestyle magazines like GQ or Marie Clare that mix news, features, fashion and celebrities. The Advocate on the other hand is a news magazine. This mislabeling goes far beyond the magazines’ descriptions. The term “alternative lifestyle” is one that is typically used to denigrate gay people, who are as diverse in their lives as anyone. There is no single lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender lifestyle. The phrase “alternative lifestyle” is used to disparage the gay community suggesting that their sexual orientation is a choice and therefore can be “cured.” The Dallas Morning News and the Associated Press have marked this term as inappropriate and against their style guidelines.
In terms of Hall’s comments that gay people are a “largely affluent, well-educated minority group,” the data shows otherwise. A 2009 study reviewing Census data on poverty revealed that, far from being “largely affluent,” gay men for example experience poverty at rates that are as high as or higher than rates for straight adults.* While, GLAAD encourages Hall’s focus on Jarchow’s investment in reaching gay audiences, her reporting lacks a true understanding of the diversity and economic struggles that many in the LGBT community face.
GLAAD contacted Hall on Monday October 26, to discuss these issues. While, she acknowledged that she made an error in going against the guidelines of her newspaper, she said she could not make a retraction and repost the story. However, she suggested that GLAAD write a letter to the editor, which GLAAD has done.
GLAAD is not alone in finding Hall’s language problematic. John Wright from The Dallas Voice, a Texas-based LGBT media source wrote the following:
The Dallas Morning News ran an interesting piece in this Sunday’s Business section on Stephen Jarchow, a straight Dallas resident who’s chairman of Here Media Inc., which owns Here TV, Out, The Advocate and Gay.com. But as Rafael McDonnell at Resource Center Dallas pointed out to me this morning, someone at The DMN needs to check their Associated Press Handbook. That’s because the AP Stylebook, which is essentially a bible in this industry, specifically says to avoid the term “alternative lifestyle” when you mean “gay,” and yet the DMN uses “alternative lifestyle” not once but twice in the story about Jarchow. As McDonnell put it, “I know The DMN’s laid off some editors, but what is this, 1970?” Indeed, while I generally try to avoid coming across as the politically correct LGBT police, there’s really no excuse. “Lifestyle” implies choice, and being gay or lesbian is no more a lifestyle than being straight. If someone at The DMN needs additional reference material, they should turn to style guides published by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
GLAAD is asking The Dallas Morning News to issue a retraction both in print and online and re-post the story on its website.
*Revisiting the Income Penalty for Behaviorally Gay Men: Evidence from NHANES III by Christopher S. Carpenter, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California at Irvine.
Related Posts:HBO Omits – and Then Restores – Openly Gay Bishop Gene Robinsons’ Invocation
January 20, 2009
In the days leading up to the inauguration of President Barack Obama, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied Americans looked forward to the Sunday inauguration kickoff concert, set to be broadcast on HBO, which openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson would open with a prayer.
When the prayer was not included in the broadcast, LGBT bloggers, advocates and GLAAD staff reached out to HBO to express their concerns. At first, HBO suggested that the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) had kept the prayer out of the broadcast, as noted on AfterElton.com. After some back and forth, the PIC issued the following statement from spokesman Josh Earnest:
“We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson’s invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday’s program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event.”
Within 24 hours, after hearing the concerns of LGBT people across the country, HBO agreed to play Bishop Robinson’s prayer before the inauguration and include it in future re-broadcasts of the concert. Media outlets nationwide picked up the story, which was featured last night on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and in reports by Reuters, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Dallas Morning News, among others.
Though HBO viewers did not have the opportunity to see the invocation, bloggers posted the full prayer as recorded by a Christianity Today reporter. Rev. Susan Russell’s blog also posted photos from the event and the text of the prayer, while Episcopal Cafe featured links to the full prayer. Numerous LGBT blogs, including Joe.My.God. and Pam’s House Blend, offered ongoing commentary and updates as new details about the story emerged.
In a press release issued today, HBO gave the following update:
An updated version of the exclusive HBO special : THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL on WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21 (11:30 p.m. ET/PT). This presentation will include the invocation of the Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson, as well as all of the original performances of the live special, which was seen Sunday, Jan. 18.
The new version will also be seen this weekend on the main HBO channel and on HBO Latino, on SATURDAY, JAN. 24 (6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT) and SUNDAY, JAN. 25 (3:30 p.m. ET/PT).
It will also be available on hbo.com starting Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Today, GLAAD sent out the following as part of a statement, which you can read here.
GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said:
“We are disappointed that at this landmark moment millions of people worldwide did not get the opportunity to see the invocation by the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson during the original live broadcast of the opening celebration of the Presidential Inauguration. Rev. Robinson’s incredible voice draws attention to the common ground we share and we are encouraged that HBO has restored his invocation to their historical record of that day.”
