As the Great Recession, the arrest of Madoff, and the Somali pirates were writing the end of 2008, we kicked off 2009 with many a good reason to be cynical. And while it’s easy to say that a skeptical society often brings about a more answerable one, even exciting developments like Obama’s victory (for some, not all) and new technologies added to what I want to call The Year of Transparency. Many are extremely happy to see 2009 come to a close, but we shouldn’t confuse the roller coaster with what is actually a stunning conjunctural moment. The term “conjunctural moment” is one I’ve only heard uttered by history academics, but it might be the perfect way to describe 2009, a year riddled with the collisions of many different trajectories. (more...)

History has shown us how easy it is to people the media with Chicken Littles. It’s even easier when the economy isn’t in the best shape. In all cases, it’s much harder to articulate what’s next and why it’s important. It usually takes some very smart people to do that because it involves deep, good thinking. More often, we get fear mongering that is both catchy and contagious. Enter: Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal on December 19th, “The Adam Lambert Problem.” Ostensibly, Noonan’s main point was about the importance of political issues that don’t have to do with the ubiquitous economic crisis that is also quite apt to pepper a conversation. Besides offering little evidence that the American public is, in fact, more worried about social issues than economics ones (she supports it with: “There are often signs in various polls that those things may dwarf economic concerns”), the article has another major flaw. Make no mistake: this is not a story about an angry liberal attacking a perceived conservative newspaper. I would hope anyone reading Mediaite regularly would realize how foolish it is to brand a newspaper based on its op-ed pages. We’re past that tired debate, aren’t we? This is the story of poor journalism. (more...)

A couple months ago, someone, wondering aloud, asked me if maybe gay rights would be the new issue that marks the time and generation we’re in. I didn’t so much as wonder aloud in reply as I did shout: “You mean that after the civil rights movement, you think the gay rights movement is next? I would say they two are the same.” (more...)

In a recent interview with Advocate.com, gay ex-TV anchor Charles Perez described his former boss Bill Pohovey (another openly gay man) thusly: "I think he's a company man. I think if you had to label Bill a gay man or a company man, you would pick company man." Without knowing anything about Charles Perez or why he's been in the headlines lately, you might, like I did, find this quote a little troublesome. It creates a rigid dichotomy between being one type of person and being a gay man, as if the two are mutually exclusive. “If you had to label,” Perez says as if it might be a forced decision, but one that nonetheless is nothing out of the ordinary. (more...)

Mediaite was born at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, July 6th. Then the server crashed. Welcome to the fun-filled world of a start-up! For the past four weeks, we've taken to comparing the site to a baby: Don't leave it alone, don't expect much sleep, you never know what it'll burp up. (Wordpress! How you bedevil us!). Though it's certainly forced us to stretch in ways we weren't expecting, we've enjoyed the past month — enough to look forward to sticking around for a while (sorry, Brain Trust). (more...)

To all my dear and queer Chatty Cathy's out there: Thank you!  It's been great to hear what everyone had to say about my article posted to Mediaite a few days ago, "Obama's Fiercest Critics: The Gay Online Media."  It's interesting that some have commented on my use of the word "fierce" in the title.  I actually only realized the Tyra reference after I originally wrote it.  I truly meant for the list to highlight Obama's strongest, most outspoken critics (not haters, critics) out here on the interwebs.  It seems my article touched a nerve with some people, but perhaps only because they've conflated a whole host of issues about the gay online community that weren't actually brought up in my post (a quick glance at the hilarious and ridiculous comments posted on the article Queerty published in response to my list should give you an idea).  Allow me to clarify where I was coming from. (more...)

What with all the scandals, specials, and Sarah stories, Obama has been cooling off in the shadows of the media spotlight lately. This is not to say, of course, that the things on his plate aren't being covered. But maybe because he threw a big, gay White House party recently, or maybe because Joe Jackson's Ranch Records plug was more important to the American public, Obama has been let off the hook recently about his commitment (or lack thereof) to changing the nation's policies that make gay Americans second-class citizens. There is, however, a strong online gay tidal wave brewing - one dedicated solely to shining a light on every gay thing Obama does. (more...)