THEGAYUK

Tag: Media Watch

Read the latest news and analysis of media in the UK and abroad. Browse THEGAYUK’s entire archive on news about the media.

  • Gawker Editors Resign Over Removal Of Gay Escort / Conde Nast Exec Article

    Two Gawker.com editors resigned today after the site’s managing partner Nick Denton removed an article that alleged that a Conde Nast exec was paying to see a gay porn star.

    Gawker Media Executive Editor Tommy Craggs and Gawker.com editor-in-chief Max Read have both resigned citing the removal of a post that many have claimed was the “gay shaming” outing of a Conde Nast exec, who allegedly organised a meeting with a gay porn star.

    In a statement released to Gawker.com staff Cragg wrote:

    “On Friday, I told my fellow managing partners—Nick Denton, founder and CEO; Heather Dietrick, president; Andrew Gorenstein, president of advertising and partnerships; Scott Kidder, chief operating officer; and Erin Pettigrew, chief strategy officer—I would have to resign if they voted to remove a story I’d edited and approved. The article, about the Condé Nast CFO’s futile effort to secure a remote assignation with a pricey escort, had become radioactive. Advertisers such as Discover and BFGoodrich were either putting holds on their campaigns or pulling out entirely.

    “(This isn’t the place to debate the merits of that story, other than to say that I stand by the post. Whatever faults it might have belong to me, and all the public opprobrium being directed at Jordan Sargent, a terrific reporter, should come my way instead.)”

    The article was slammed on social media after its publication on the 17th July. The openly gay site founder Nick Denton express regret in publishing the piece, which included pictures and text exchanges reported to between David Geithener and the unnamed gay porn star.

    Geithener denies knowing the gay porn star.

     

     

  • LBC Radio Presenter Iain Dale Slams Ivan Massow Mayoral Campaign Video

    Long-time LBC presenter Iain Dale has slammed Ivan Massow’s latest mayoral campaign video as “buttock-clenchingly awful”.

    The out LBC presenter Iain Dale tweeted his disapproval of Ivan Massow‘s latest mayoral campaign video calling it “possibly the worst campaign video” he had ever seen.

     

    Comments for the video have been disabled on YouTube but that didn’t stop Iain Dale having at pop at Massow, calling the campaign “buttock-clenchingly awful”.

    In an interview with THEGAYUK Ivan Massow told us: Having spent the last year “visiting various London institutions… hospices, meals on wheels, homeless shelters, tube digs…And every Housing Association in London…developers, [and] planning departments” and he is now keen to take this a step further, over the course of a month, he wants to spend each night staying with a different London-based family, to find out what bugs London about London.

    In direct response to Dale, Massow tweeted: “the idea is to hear from Londoners directly about their own area.”

     

     

  • Gawker Editors Condemn Removal Of “Gay Shaming” Outing Of Exec

    The editorial team at Gawker.com have condemned of the removal of an article which many readers have derided as “gay shaming” of a Conde Nast exec.

    The removal of an article which outs the married father of three and Chief Financial Officer of Condé Nast, David Geithener, who allegedly tried to pay for 2 to 3 hours with a gay porn star, has been criticised by the site’s editorial team who say that the take down was an “unprecedented breach of the firewall.”

    They are up in arms that ‘business executives deleted an editorial post over the objections of the entire executive editorial staff”.

    Huffington Post’s national editor, Katie Nelson took a swing at Gawker, stating that what they had published was “gay shaming” and not journalism.

    The owner of Gawker, Nick Denton, who is openly gay, took down the post yesterday after revealing that publishing it was decision he regretted. The removal of the story is the first time that the gossip and news site has formally taken down a story, despite Denton acknowledging that the article was “true and well reported.”

    Gawker Media, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands owns Gawker.com. Deadspin and Jezebel.

    David Geithener denies knowing the gay porn star.

  • Gawker Is Slammed For Gay Shaming After Outing Condé Nast Exec

    Gawker Is Slammed For Gay Shaming After Outing Condé Nast Exec

    Gawker, one of the Internet’s leading news sites is facing harsh criticism after revealing that a Condé Nast exec allegedly tried to pay for a night with a gay porn star.

    (more…)

  • 2015: Half Year In Review, The top stories on THEGAYUK so Far

    As we’ve just passed the half way point of 2015 we look back at the most-read stories on TheGayUK from January 2015 to June 2015 end.

    Top Read content on TheGayUK overall:
    1) Benedict Cumberbatch Marries Judge Rinder and his husband
    2) Eleven Facts About Judge Rinder
    3) Gay Films On Netflix
    4) Louis Tomlinson’s Penis Breaks The Internet
    5) Hot Gay Actors Under 40
    6) Top 10 Best Israeli Gay Films
    7) X FACTOR’s Johnny Robinson Drops New Single – As A Woman
    8) 8 Naked Boybands
    9) Do You Have A Gay Name, Christopher Voted Gayest Name
    10) Interview with The Overtones

    Top Read content on TheGayUK overall:
    1) Benedict Cumberbatch Marries Judge Rinder and his husband
    2) Eleven Facts About Judge Rinder
    3) Gay Films On Netflix
    4) Louis Tomlinson’s Penis Breaks The Internet
    5) Hot Gay Actors Under 40
    6) Top 10 Best Israeli Gay Films
    7) X FACTOR’s Johnny Robinson Drops New Single – As A Woman
    8) 8 Naked Boybands
    9) Do You Have A Gay Name, Christopher Voted Gayest Name
    10) Interview with The Overtones

    Top Celebrity story
    1) Benedict Cumberbatch Marries Judge Rinder and his husband
    2) Louis Tomlinson’s Penis Breaks The Internet
    3) X FACTOR’s Johnny Robinson Drops New Single – As A Woman
    4) Interview with The Overtones
    5) Michelle Visage “Most Vain Because I’m A Drag Queen”
    6) Katie Hopkins Not A Gay Icon – The Overtones Rage Over The Thought
    7) Jeremy Jackson Naked Pictures Emerge
    8) Interview with Bianca Del Rio
    9) Big Brother’s Joel Admits He Could Make Out With Aaron
    10) Did Rhianna OUT Cristiano Ronaldo?

    Top Advice Stories:
    1) Top 6 Best Gay Apps
    2) Three Of The Best Teeth Whitening
    3) SEX ADVICE: Can We Use Fruit And Veg In Bed?
    4) Five Top Tips To Keep Your Man Bush Under Control
    5) Why Do I Have Erections In The Morning – 5 Things Guys Should Know
    6) 10 Ways To Make Your Semen Taste Better
    7) How To Massage Your Prostate
    8) How To Last Longer In Bed
    9) Feed Your Penis – Eat these to keep your man bits healthy
    10) Want a stronger penis? Drink more coffee

    Top World News Stories
    1) Another Man Thrown To His Death By ISIS For Being Gay
    2) Three Men Accused Of Being Gay Executed In Iraq
    3) When Bradley Cooper Had His (Gay) Cherry Taken
    4) Frameline Festival Has The Gayest Promo Ever
    5) Bearded Queen Wows Crowd On America’s Got Talent
    6) ISIS Fighters Hug Two Gay Men Before Stoning Them To Death
    7) Chris Hemsworth Massive Penis Is Everything
    8) Twin 10-Year-Olds Abby And Sarah Sing Amazing Sam Smith Medley
    9) We Do Not Like Gays Living Here – Vile Welcome Note To Gay Couple
    10) Westboro Baptist Church To Picket Barry Manilow Concert

    Pages views were up 65.20% and Unique views were up 54.59% from the same period in 2014. Mobile usage increased 97.8% in the same period, tablets 84.5% and a modest 10.6% growth on people visiting the website on their desktops. Access to TheGayUK via mobile devices accounted for 65.3% of all traffic.

  • Tylenol hire out gay Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black to shoot TV Ad

    Many forward thinking major corporations are getting far more inclusive in their advertising these days, and US drug company Johnson & Johnson went one further by hiring out gay Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black to shoot their latest campaign for Tylenol.

    It features a same-sex prom couple and two gay dads and has a voiceover that declares, “Family isn’t defined by who you love, but how.” Manoj Raghunandanan, Senior Director of Marketing for Johnson and Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare, told Advertising Age that the ad was representative of his company’s commitment to celebrating how “families look and feel different [now] than they did before.”

    Here’s a sneak preview of it before it is launched on American TV later this month.

  • BRUCE JENNER: “I Am A Woman Now”

    ‘I JUST CAN’T PULL THE CURTAIN ANYMORE.’

    At the beginning of the interview Diane Sawyer made it clear that Bruce was still using the pronoun He, therefore our review of the interview reflects that.

    When Bruce Jenner won the Olympic Gold Medal for the Decathlon in 1976 he broke the hold that the Soviets had on that event for years and instantly became an American Hero. For years this strapping handsome 6’4” man was recognised as the World’s Greatest Athlete. Tonight however she is sitting down to give an exclusive interview with ABC TV’s Diane Sawyer to finally confirm the news that he worries may disappoint so many of the fans who have looked up to him for years.

    Jenner is visibly extremely nervous as the cameras start to roll but she soon finds confidence as he begins to tell the real story for the very first time. What we discover in the next two hours is an outstandingly honest and open person who is also disarmingly charming. Jenner doesn’t shy away from any of Diane Sawyer’s probing questions and is utterly frank with his answers. Jenner’s words evoke a response from Brandon, his son, who puts it very simply when he tells his Dad that he was proud of his when she won all her medals, but that pales into insignificance with Jenner’s bravery now.

    Jenner tells the waiting world “I am a woman now. I have told a lie all my life, and this is who I am. I cannot hide anymore and I just can’t pull the curtains”. He adds “I still have all my male parts but I identify as female.” He believes that what he is doing is going to change the world by talking about it all now.

    Jenner explains that this is the very last time he will do an interview as ‘Bruce’ as he is about to undertake more of his transitioning which she reveals she started back in the 1980s when for a few years she took hormones.

    A deeply religious and a family person Jenner married Chrystie the first wife in 1972 and they had two children before they divorced nine years later. Wife number two was singer Linda Thompson and they had two children before they separated five years later, and then in 1991 Jenner married Kris Kardashian and as well as fathering two daughters Jenner became the step-father to the infamous Kardashian sisters. Jenner shares that the first person he revealed her gender confusion too was Chrystie, and he is very quick to point out that this was not the cause for the failure of this, or the other marriages.

    Jenner makes a point of explaining to an inquisitive and rather bemused Diane Sawyer that he is 100% heterosexual and has never ever even considered having sex with a man. He however has done his homework on this particular topic beforehand and quotes a very simply way of explaining the situation.

    “Sexual identity is about who you go to bed with, whereas gender identity is about who you go to bed as.”

    Jenner has been an integral part of her family’s infamous hit Reality TV Show for years, so his relationship with all the children has been carried out under the glare of spotlights for some time now. His four eldest asked to be part of the interview so that they could publicly express their support for their father’s transition.

    I think even Diane Sawyer was surprised with the answer Jenner gave when she pushed Jenner on how the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian had reacted. Kim had said that her husband Kanye had turned her around to the whole idea. West used his own life as an analogy: “I can be married to the most beautiful woman in the world, and I am. I could have the most beautiful little daughter in the world, and I do. But I’m nothing if I can’t be me. If I can’t be true to myself, they don’t mean anything.” Kim added her own advice telling her dad “you’ve got to rock it”.

    Aside from the sensationalism of having a celebrity having the bravery to come clean to the world with such astounding and highly personal news, both Jenner and Diane Sawyer took time out to acknowledge the ongoing struggle of other people transitioning which is still so greatly misunderstood and still results in suicides and violent crime. Jenner expressed her deepest hope that talking about this topic in this manner on primetime TV may save more lives and give others the strength to become who they really are.

    When Jenner explained to Diane Sawyer that next time they meet she would only see Jenner as the woman she now is and she finished the interview with “I am saying goodbye to peoples perception of me, but I am not saying goodbye to me.”

    I think when the reviews are in, we will find she is even more of a Hero than ever before. Certainly in our book.

    The similarities of Jenner’s story with that of the Award winning TV series TRANSPARENT is remarkable . That featured a retired Professor also in his 60s who finally decides to transition and has to share the news with his adult children. It’s a rather joyous positive journey based on the real life story of the series creator Jill Soloway’s father .

    by @RogerWalkerDack

  • Did Diane Sawyer Mis-Gender Bruce Jenner?

    For many people watching last night’s Diane Sawyer special with Bruce Jenner, it seemed that she was misgendering Jenner after telling her that he was now a woman. It may have seemed disrespectful, but here’s why it wasn’t.

    Many took to social media to question Sawyer’s use of masculine pronouns, however, at the beginning of the interview, it was made clear that Bruce was still using male pronouns and had asked to be referred to in that way.

    A statement released by GLAAD may help people understand what might feel like a minefield when assigning pronouns to those who are trans, transitioning or transitioned.

    At this time, Bruce Jenner has not requested that a new name or pronoun be used, therefore we are respecting his wishes and will continue to refer to Jenner by his current name and with male pronouns. Some transgender people prefer to change their name and/or pronoun quickly. Other transgender people may take more time to decide what name and/or pronoun feels right to them. To be respectful, use the name and/or pronoun requested by the individual.

    During the 2-hour special, Jenner told Sawyer:

    “I am a woman now. I have told a lie all my life, and this is who I am. I cannot hide anymore and I just can’t pull the curtains”. He adds “I still have all my male parts but I identify as female.”

     

    He believes that what he is doing is going to change the world by talking about it all now.

  • Russian Embassy Corrects BBC On Its Anti-Gay Law

    BBC 3 was corrected after it Tweeted the wrong information to its followers about gay rights in Russia.

    The BBC were slammed last night by the Russian Embassy after it tweeted:

    “In Russia it’s illegal to tell anyone that being gay is normal. #ReggieYatesExtremeRussia: Gay & Under Attack, now pic.twitter.com/NVyabGblBn”

    The Russian Embassy were quick to snap back:

    “.@bbcthree This is plain wrong. Care to read http://rusemb.org.uk/press/1436 #ReggieYatesExtremeRussia”

    The programme fronted by Reggie Yates was centred around the fight and struggles that many LGBT Russians face after the introduction of a law in June 2013, which makes it illegal for anyone to talk about homosexuality to people under the age of 18.

    Since the introduction of the law Russia’s gay community has been on high alert from attacks and abuse. In 2014, Channel 4 broadcast a film called Hunted, which documented the cruelty that many face in their day-to-day living. In Russia it is claimed that only 1% of gay people dare to live openly because of the homophobic attacks on the gay community.

    The BBC replied to the tweet,

    ‘@RussianEmbassy Sorry for simplification. As the show correctly said, in Russia it’s illegal to tell anyone under 18 being gay is normal.”

  • NEWS: New Global LGBT Movie Platform

    Wolfe Video, the world’s largest exclusive distributor of LGBT films now in its 30th year, has relaunched its newly re-designed WolfeOnDemand platform in partnership with Vimeo. This now makes their entire collection of over 150 LGBT movies available worldwide for streaming and downloading.

    Most titles are available in HD and priced for streaming rental at $3.99. Viewers can rent or buy films from WolfeOnDemand.com and watch on any connected device via Vimeo’s transactional HD video player.

    Films offered include nearly every imaginable genre of LGBT features and documentaries, from thrillers to romantic comedies to sci-fi animation.

    They range from prestigious recent releases as the Independent Spirit Award-nominee Test and acclaimed documentary I Am Divine, to such popular and important hits and classics as Desert Hearts, Reaching for the Moon, Undertow and 8: The Mormon Proposition.

    It also includes Wolfe’s latest VOD release the highly acclaimed gay drama, The Circle. Switzerland’s selection for both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, this gorgeous period piece portrays the true story of Ernst and Robi, the co-founders of the Swiss gay rights movement, as they meet and fell in love in the 1950s against the backdrop of “The Circle” (the pioneering gay rights organisation and underground club). It made The Gay UK’s Top Ten Movie List of 2014.

  • Daily Mail Links Taylor Lautner Girlfriend Split To Gay Club Sightings

    Twilight lead man Taylor Lautner has split from his girlfriend Marie Avgeropoulos and the Daily Mail has linked the split to possible sightings of the hunk at gay clubs.

    The ‘amicable’ split comes after Taylor, who turns 23 next month, was spotted ‘lurking into two West Hollywood gay gay hotspots – The Abbey and Mother Lode’ a report that was first made by Radar Online.

    The hunk was also spotted posing with THEGAYUK cover star Murray Swanby, captioned ‘I’ve never been more #attracted to someone in my life.’

    The DM also reported that Taylor met up with Bryan Singer in order to further his career. That report was first made by Defamer. Defamer spoke to two sources who confirmed the story.

    Rumours aside Taylor Lautner has been linked to an impressive line-up of women including, Lily Collins, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.