Recently the New York Times ran a story on the Gay Softball World Series. And it wasn’t buried: it was on the front page.
The story was about the purging of heterosexuals and bisexuals from the competition (what ever happened to diversity and inclusion?). That same day there was also a story about gay activists in Rhode Island who are against the religious liberty protections included in a civil union bill. Also meriting attention was the right of a man from Venezuela fighting deportation: he claimed he is married to a New Jersey man and can stay, and with the help of the Obama administration, it looks like he will.
There were stories on gay rights activist Brian Ellner’s successful campaign to get same-sex marriage approved in New York; a fundraiser to discourage homosexuals from killing themselves noting the appearance of Johnny Weir, “the flamboyant figure skater” who “arrived in sequined hot pants”; and a White House reception for gays, attended by columnist Dan Savage “who arrived with his husband.” In an article on flashy new names for paint, it mentioned a color called Genteel Lavender, about which a young actress astutely noted it should be called, “My Gay Best Friend.”
In 2000, New York Times reporter Richard Berke told a gay crowd that “on any given day, three-quarters of the people who decide what goes on the front page are ‘not-so-closeted homosexuals.’” Interestingly, to this day, the Times has never printed Berke’s remark.
