Recently in Journalism Category

cineQueer warmly congratulates reporter Gail Shister on her upcoming induction into the LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame! The ceremony will take place Saturday at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Convention in Washington.
 
Here are some highlights from the press release:
 
Gail Shister was among the first "out" reporters in U.S. mainstream news media when she joined the New Orleans States-Item (now Picayune) in 1975 as its first woman sportswriter. Four years later, she broke the same barrier at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
 
Shister was named The Inquirer's television columnist in 1982. Widely recognized as one of the country's foremost observers of the industry, Shister's news-breaking column ran for 25 years and was distributed to more than 500 newspapers. On the Web, she had her own link on the Drudge Report.
 
Now a metro reporter for The Inquirer, Shister writes profiles for Page One. She is a columnist for tvnewser.com and appears regularly on CNN's "Reliable Sources." She also teaches writing at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is an adjunct professor in the English Department.
 
Shister served as vice president of NLGJA and won the Distinguished Service Award in 1997. She and her partner, photographer Penny Jeannechild, have three children.
 

UPDATE, August 18, 2008: Thanks to constituents sharing their concerns with Fox News, on August 15 America's Newsroom host Gregg Jarrett apologized on the air for comments made about a transgender contestant on the upcoming season of America's Next Top Model: “This time yesterday we aired a segment about a transgender by the name of Isis, who will compete in the upcoming season of the television show America’s Next Top Model. The group GLAAD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation sent us an email saying it was offensive. That was not our intention. We apologize.” 

Now is the time to ACT!

As previously reported, Fox News Channel aired a crude and obnoxious segment concerning the recent announcement of America’s Next Top Model’s first-ever transgender contestant. Isis, who will begin appearing on the new cycle of the popular CW program when it premieres on September 3, was interviewed exclusively in the current issue of Us Weekly.
 
Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett and Us Weekly Editor-at-Large Ian Drew spent the segment gratuitously insulting the America's Next Top Model contestant, using dehumanizing terminology, inaccurate and inappropriate pronouns and offensive references to her anatomy. 

While laughing and joking, Jarrett mocked Isis’ description of herself as a woman whose “cards were dealt differently,” and said, “That’s an understatement!”  Drew referred to recent instances of transgender visibility on reality television as “The Crying Game ’08,” going on to call the show “America’s Next Top Tranny.”  Drew then said that she doesn’t look any different from other contestants because “they are not exactly the most high-class group of women.”  Throughout the segment, Jarrett switched back and forth between male and female pronouns, and both Jarrett and Drew suggested that Isis “fooled” people by “blending in.”  They went on to make crude remarks about her genitalia and the pitch of her voice.

Soon after the segment aired, GLAAD contacted both Fox News Channel and Us Weekly, calling on both to apologize.  Us Weekly issued the following statement: “We apologize if any group was offended by our editor’s comments as it was by no means his intention.”  Fox News did not respond.

Please contact Fox News Channel and call on them to apologize for these obnoxious, insulting and dehumanizing comments.

Fox News Channel

Gregg Jarrett  - Anchor
(212) 301-3000
gregg.jarrett@foxnews.com

Jay Wallace - Executive Producer
(212) 301-5168
jay.wallace@foxnews.com

Tom Lowell - Senior Producer
(212) 301-3000 (outlet)
tom.lowell@foxnews.com

On August 14, Fox News Channel aired a crude and obnoxious segment concerning the recent announcement of America’s Next Top Model’s first-ever transgender contestant. Isis, who will begin appearing on the popular CW program when it premieres on September 3, was interviewed exclusively in the current issue of Us Weekly.

Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett and Us Weekly Editor-at-Large Ian Drew spent the segment gratuitously insulting the America's Next Top Model contestant, using dehumanizing terminology, inaccurate and inappropriate pronouns and offensive references to her anatomy.

GLAAD has reached out to both Fox News Channel and Us Weekly to address the matter and will have an update available shortly. 

In the meantime, watch the offensive clip below:

Television news legend Ted Koppel has prepared a four-part examination of China for his Koppel on Discovery series. Entitled "The People’s Republic of Capitalism," Koppel looks into where China stands since it became a powerhouse in the global economy.

Part Two, "MAOism TO MEism," aired last night, and provided a brief glimpse into China's burgeoning gay culture. Check out a clip below:

Christopher Rice, son of novelist Anne Rice and a New York Times bestselling author in his own right, was selected by L.A. Weekly as one of their L.A. People 2008.

"I've had people tell me I shouldn’t do this thing or that thing," he told the publication. "People told me I shouldn’t be a columnist for The Advocate, for example, because it might hurt my book sales. But I've rarely listened to those people, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really tried to do things I want to do."

The article comments that "Rice hasn’t been shy to speak his mind in his Advocate column," noting that his targets "are usually trends happening within rather than outside the gay community. Like the time he came out against open relationships, which he didn’t think were healthy for those in a long-term commitment. The column generated one of the heaviest loads of letters to the editor the magazine had seen in some time."

To read the full article on Christopher Rice, click here.

Photo by Kevin Scanlon 

L.A. Weekly has named their L.A. People 2008 and journalist Karen Ocamb is one of the well-deserved on the list. As news editor at IN magazine, a local, gay biweekly, and as a blogger, Karen has covered LGBT issues for two decades with integrity and tenacity.

“There are so many important events happening in the LGBT community that never get covered by the mainstream media,” says Ocamb. “It’s my job to write about our people and give them a voice.”

I've been associated with Karen for many years -- and for years before that as a reader of her work -- and have witnessed Karen's impressive coverage of local and national politics, of the AIDS and crystal-meth epidemics, and much more.

L.A. Weekly points out that while the gay press has moved toward pop-culture features and away from hard news, Karen, believes it’s the duty of gays and lesbians to be well-informed about issues that affect them. With the upcoming election and last week's decision by the California Supreme Court, Karen's MacBook Pro is staying busier than ever. “These are civil rights issues,” she says. “Whenever someone is denied the right to the pursuit of happiness, we should all be concerned. That’s what I continue to write about." 

Photo by Kevin Scanlon