Why media coverage of LGBT Olympic athletes is ‘simply unacceptable’; Washington Post, 8/16/16

Steven Petrow, Washington Post; Why media coverage of LGBT Olympic athletes is ‘simply unacceptable’ :

"Unfortunately, the Daily Beast incident is only the most egregious among other media “fails” in its LGBT coverage from Rio...

Let’s also take a look at NBC’s coverage of gay diver Tom Daley’s win of the bronze medal in the men’s 10-meter synchronized diving finals. Although the network routinely pans to parents, spouses and opposite-sex partners in these moments of triumph or defeat, NBC failed to identify Daley’s fiance Dustin Lance Black (the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the film “Milk”) sitting in the stands. Black, who emailed me from Rio, didn’t want to comment on his own situation but did offer this: “I can say in general that visibility is the cornerstone of the modern LGBT movement, and any news organization that actively avoids or ‘closets’ LGBT people, relationships or stories is most certainly on the wrong side of today’s struggle for better understanding, equality and acceptance.”

That’s exactly why responsible media coverage of the LGBT community remains so important. It’s not always life and death. But it’s always pride and prejudice."

Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio; New York Times, 8/12/16

Christopher Mele and Niraj Chokshi, New York Times; Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio:

"The article drew significant backlash from gay leaders and athletes.

Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said on Twitter: “Thoughtless @thedailybeast piece puts LGBT athletes in danger. It should be removed & replaced w a real story about violence LGBT ppl face.”...

Robert Drechsel, who retired last week as the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics and director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described the article as “thoughtless, insensitive and unethical.”

He said it was good that the article had been removed but that it came too late.

“It’s hard to find the words to describe,” he said. “Why in the world — why in the world of journalism — would anyone do this?”"