Tim Vollmer has a thoughtful piece out expressing concern over the decline of traditional LGBT press. A few reactions are in order. I think folks like Tim have to get past the notion that you're only an LGBT media journalist if you have credentials, an office, write entirely without opinion, and your work appears in print. To borrow the phrase of a friend, "journalactivists"- something I would call myself- are on the rise. While I engage in a lot of opinion writing and organizing, I also strive to do well-rounded, more traditional "journalistic" pieces examining a number of topics. Examples:
- Articles (here and here) looking at the role of religion and the Catholic Diocese in the marriage equality fight in Maine, including an interview w/Bishop Gene Robinson
- Looking at the emerging role of new infrastructure in electoral activism (here)
- A wide-ranging interview with Rea Carey, the Executive Director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (here and here)
- Discussing the necessity and timeline of the DADT review with Rep. Sestak (here)
The reason I'm mentioning these is that if you closed your eyes and took my name off it, you could see several of these pieces in traditional, respected LGBT print outlets. Of course, not all online writers do this kind of work, but many strive to- Bil Browning at The Bilerico Project does a video series every year at the Creating Change conference. I've watched them- he asks the same questions any non-opinion journalist might ask, with a very even-handed approach. Pam Spaulding recently held a series of open interviews with Democratic NC-Sen candidates, the same as any other traditional media outlet might.
I think there is a tendency to group "the bloggers" or online writers in general into all opinion media, and while there is the fair share of that in mine or Bil's or Pam's work, that's not all of it. And that's where I see the divergence- perhaps in many folks' ideal world, the journalists would do the non-biased journalism, those who do opinion writing would do opinion writing, and they wouldn't mix. But they are mixing- many of us online now do both. Even the "View From Washington" pieces by The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld- as respected a traditional journalist as any- have some notes of opinion mixed in, such as this one on DADT repeal and the Obama Administration's leadership (or lack thereof) on it.
As someone who still gets the NYTimes in print every Sunday, and reading through the Gray Lady's history of Pulitzer Prizes yesterday, including one for breaking open the Bush Administration's record on FISA, I think a traditional full-time press corps is important. But these spaces are merging, and I don't think it's necessarily for the bad. I do think if you want an LGBT press, it's going to be necessary.
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