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.

  • Center Parcs will no longer advertise in the Daily Mail

    Following on from the Southbank Centre’s announcement that they won’t be advertising in the Daily Mail, Center Parcs says it will not advertise in the paper either.

    In a crushing blow to the Daily Mail, the Southbank Centre in London and Center Parcs have both said they will no longer place advertising in the outlet.

    The announcement follows on from a Richard Littlejohn column concerning the baby announcement by Tom Daley and Dustin Lance-Black.

    In a statement on Twitter, the Southbank wrote,

    “Southbank Centre reaches out to audiences through wide-ranging online and offline media titles, across the political spectrum.

    “We monitor the environment in which our advertising appears, to ensure the values of a publication are compatible with our own. We have no future plans to advertise within the Daily Mail”.

    Center Parcs wrote,

    We take where we advertise very seriously and have a number of steps to prevent our advertising from appearing alongside inappropriate content. We felt this placement was completely unacceptable and therefore ceased advertising with the Daily Mail with immediate effect.

     

    Some of the UK’s biggest brands are under pressure to stop advertising in the Daily Mail and Mail Online.

    Brands such as Jet2, Calvin Klein, Quorn and Natwest have all had their brands advertised next to or under the content on the web version of the newspaper

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to the brands concerned for comment.

    How much has Richard Littlejohn cost the Daily Mail?

    The Daily Mail was urged to fire Richard Littlejohn by over 200,000 people in 2013 after a piece he wrote “monstered” transgender school teacher, Lucy Meadows, who sadly committed suicide shortly after her transition.

    StopFundingHate a UK pressure group whose campaign focuses on changing the media via its advertisers have called upon Quorn, Natwest, Visa and VisitNorway to answer on whether they were happy that their brands were effectively funding the content on the MailOnline.

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com StopFundingHate said, “Many customers of Jet2 and Calvin Klein will be deeply disappointed to see them funding this divisive and disheartening article. Yet again we see that the Daily Mail is increasingly out of touch with the views of mainstream British society. A recent YouGov poll found that 58% of people believe that “companies should withdraw their advertising if it is placed next to content they think is racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic”

    “Brands can easily prevent their ads from appearing on the Daily Mail website by updating their Google Adsense settings or speaking to their media agency”. 

  • Southbank will no longer advertise with Daily Mail following on from Richard Littlejohn column

    “We have no future plans to advertise within the Daily Mail”.

    In a crushing blow to the Daily Mail, the Southbank Centre in London, has said that it will no longer place advertising in the outlet. The announcement follows on from a Richard Littlejohn column concerning the baby announcement by Tom Daley and Dustin Lance-Black.

    In a statement on Twitter, the Southbank wrote,

    “Southbank Centre reaches out to audiences through wide-ranging online and offline media titles, across the political spectrum.

    “We monitor the environment in which our advertising appears, to ensure the values of a publication are compatible with our own. We have no future plans to advertise within the Daily Mail”.

    Some of the UK’s biggest brands are under pressure to stop advertising in the Daily Mail and Mail Online.

    Brands such as Jet2, Calvin Klein, Quorn and Natwest have all had their brands advertised next to or under the content on the web version of the newspaper

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to the brands concerned for comment.

    How much has Richard Littlejohn cost the Daily Mail?

    The Daily Mail was urged to fire Richard Littlejohn by over 200,000 people in 2013 after a piece he wrote “monstered” transgender school teacher, Lucy Meadows, who sadly committed suicide shortly after her transition.

    StopFundingHate a UK pressure group whose campaign focuses on changing the media via its advertisers have called upon Quorn, Natwest, Visa and VisitNorway to answer on whether they were happy that their brands were effectively funding the content on the MailOnline.

    Speaking to THEGAYUK.com StopFundingHate said, “Many customers of Jet2 and Calvin Klein will be deeply disappointed to see them funding this divisive and disheartening article. Yet again we see that the Daily Mail is increasingly out of touch with the views of mainstream British society. A recent YouGov poll found that 58% of people believe that “companies should withdraw their advertising if it is placed next to content they think is racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic”

    “Brands can easily prevent their ads from appearing on the Daily Mail website by updating their Google Adsense settings or speaking to their media agency”. 

  • Brands are under pressure to drop Mail Online advertising after shocking Richard Littlejohn column

    Some of the UK’s biggest brands are under pressure to stop advertising in the Daily Mail and Mail Online after one of its columnists wrote a scathing piece about Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black’s baby announcement.

    “Pass the sick bag…”

    Richard Littlejohn has written a column entitled, ‘Please don’t pretend two dads is the new normal’ in which he blasts the parents to be Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black for announcing that they are expectant fathers.

    In the column, Littlejohn firstly questions who the mother is. Then goes on to ask, what role of the mother will play in their child’s life and who the sperm donor is.

    ALSO READ: OPINION | The “mother” of all questions, who is Tom Daley’s surrogate mother?

    Littlejohn then goes on to slam a transgender woman for becoming the first trans woman in the world to be able to breastfeed a child, born to her partner, who did not wish to breastfeed the child.

    He misgenders the woman numerous times and describes the move as a selfish demand of “adults being given priority over the best interests of the unborn child”.

    He writes,

    “For a start, this person is described as a woman, but has had no surgery to transition from a man. Sorry, but I’m with Germaine Greer — someone in possession of a full set of wedding tackle is a man, not a woman.

    Secondly, if this is his/her baby, did he/she fertilise the egg in the traditional fashion? On third thoughts, let’s not go there”.

    Brands questioned

    Brands such as Jet2, Calvin Klein, Quorn and Natwest have all had their brands advertised next to or under the content on the web version of the newspaper.

    The Daily Mail was urged to fire Richard Littlejohn by over 200,000 people in 2013 after a piece he wrote “monstered” transgender school teacher, Lucy Meadows, who sadly committed suicide shortly after her transition.

    StopFundingHate a UK pressure group whose campaign focuses on changing the media via its advertisers have called upon Quorn, Natwest, Visa and VisitNorway to answer on whether they were happy that their brands were effectively funding the content on the MailOnline.

    The ads placed on the column are provided by a system called InRead, by Teads, an inventor of native video advertising.

    UPDATE: Both Center Parcs and Southbank have pulled their advertising spend for the Daily Mail.

    THEGAYUK.com has reached out to Quorn, Natwest, Visa, Jet2 for comment.

  • “Spot A Gay” newspaper article sparks outrage

    ‘Goes to the gym’, ‘Sports a beard’ and lesbians “hate men” but enjoy hugs.

    WTF. A Malaysian newspaper has reached a low point in journalism after publishing a stereotype-laden list to help its readers determine whether somebody is gay or lesbian.

    The tabloid Sinar Harian used tired stereotypes to pigeon-hole what gay men might look like or which hobbies they might enjoy, including wearing tight clothing to show off their physiques and suggesting that gay men might sport a beard.

    Apparently, according to the list, our eyes also “widen” when we see handsome men.

    Lesbians, according to the list, “hate men” but enjoy hugs.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Backlash concerns

    The list has sparked concerns by LGBT+ advocates because same-sex relationships are illegal in the Muslim-majority country. The anti-sodomy law is a hangover from colonial-era laws.

    Punishment for those found guilty include caning or a fine and up to 20 years in prison.

    The paper ran the checklist alongside an interview with the preacher Hanafiah Malik. The interview warned that homosexuality was “on the rise” and that it needed “to be stopped”.

    Advocates in the country are concerned that the article and the list could spark a backlash against the LGBT+ community.

    The 74

    Malaysia is just one of the 74 countries in the world, where it is illegal to be gay or where sodomy is illegal.

     

  • Dumbledore Won’t Be ‘Explicitly’ Gay In Fantastic Beast: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

    It was several years ago when J.K. Rowling revealed that beloved Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is gay. By then, she finished writing her books and the “Harry Potter” films were also done. Now that the character will be brought back to life by Jude Law in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” Potterheads were excited to see his sexuality explored. (more…)

  • Facebook’s new newsfeed algorithm could be a disaster for gay media

    The changes to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm could spell disaster for LGBT+ media.

    In case you hadn’t heard Facebook is planning to change its newsfeed to make sure the time you spend on its platform is more “meaningful”. Mark Zuckerberg suggested that he wanted users’ time on the site to be “time well spent”. Facebook wants to give you more family and friends and fewer page updates. The problem is that many smaller news publishers, such as LGBT+ media could find themselves unduly penalised by the new update.

    Many LGBT+ news sites rely heavily on traffic from social media sites like Facebook. A quick analysis of unverified traffic data from SimiliarWeb shows that PinkNews, GayTimes and Attitude had over 40 percent of their traffic driven by social media, including Facebook, in December, GayStarNews had 39 percent.

    Part of the update will also rely on a trust score from users, which Facebook will use to determine how often content from a particular publisher will show up in your timeline. For more established, huge brands such as the BBC, Guardian or CNN this could prove to be an advantageous policy. However, many LGBT+ news sites have been the target of hate trolls and could find their trust score unfairly compromised by homophobes and transphobes.

    If Facebook was to take these negative reviews into consideration, this new update could negatively impact LGBT+ media.

    Speaking out against the changes, PinkNews CEO, Benjamin Cohen asked, Facebook’s VP of news Adam Mosseri, “How will Facebook ensure that homophobes don’t label LGBTQ media as untrustworthy, anti-Semites label Jewish media as untrustworthy and at the same time trust the sources that spread hate?”

    Mosseri, wrote on Facebook, “We’re not looking to vet people. We are looking to make sure that our samples are as representative of the population as possible.”

    Scott Gatz, the founder of Q.Digital, which owns and operates Queerty, asked: “We’ve specifically had to deal with page followers who are anti-gay commenting/flagging posts/etc, we’ve even had to escalate to your management. Now I fear that this will be a quiet way for them to make us go away.”

    Mosseri added: “People can’t volunteer to weigh in on how trustworthy a page is, we pick a random sample of people to survey. Second, we only ask people who recognise a page if they trust it, so if you’re a small page we won’t have enough people and therefore this change won’t effect you.

    The changes will see the amount of news displayed in your newsfeed reduced from five percent to four percent.

  • Magazines dump photographers following allegations from male models

    Magazines dump photographers following allegations from male models

    Vogue and GQ owners, Condé Nast have ended their working relationship with two photographers after male models alleged sexual abuse.

    Mario Testino, 63, and Bruce Weber, 71, have had any future commissions cancelled by the media giant, Condé Nast. The two photographers have been accused of the sexual misconduct of a number of male models.

    The claims were reported by New York Times and contain allegations dating back to the 1990s.

    Both Weber and Testino have denied any wrong-doing, with both saying that they were “shocked” by the claims against them.

    Weber said, “I’m completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims, being made against me, which I absolutely deny”.

    Testino’s lawyers, according to NYT “challenged the characters and credibility of people who complained of harassment”.

    Models and assistants described to the NYT a “pattern of what they said was unnecessary nudity and coercive sexual behaviour”.

    Anna Wintour, the artistic director of Condé Nast, released a statement confirming that commissions for the two world-famous photographers, saying, ”

    “We are deeply disturbed by these accusations and take this very seriously. In light of these allegations, we will not be commissioning any new work with Bruce Weber and Mario Testino for the foreseeable future.”

    Condé Nast has changed its code of conduct and new rules surrounding photoshoots have been updated to include, that models must be over 18, a strict no drugs or alcohol rule and models must approve shoots that include nudity, sheer clothing or undergarments.

  • Daily Mail returns to Virgin trains after outcry

    Virgin boss Richard Branson on Monday said he would resume offering the right-wing tabloid the Daily Mail on his trains after a decision not to stock them sparked accusations of censorship last week … (more…)

  • Netflix just freaked out a lot of people

    They’re watching you…

    Always watching Netflix, is known for the way it reads and analyses the data it collects on its users – but this took a somewhat creepy turn today when Netflix US asked its 4.2 million followers who had been watching a particular show repeatedly.

    What was probably thought of as a joke, potentially shows a more sinister side of companies and their data collection. Yes, Netflix knows what its millions and millions of subscribers are watching – and when you’re watching it.

    Needless to say, some people had misgivings and questions about the Tweet.

     

     

    Honestly, we don’t mind too much as long as they don’t hold our almost religiously observed RuPaul’s Drag Race viewings against us.

    So was this creepy or funny?

  • So the Stranger Things’ cast is in the MONEY!

    Caching.

    The cast of the Netflix’s superhit, Stranger Things is being paid a lot. Especially when you’re just a teenager. and relatively unknown (well they are all under 16-years-old – give ’em a break)

    It was revealed that each of the cast, Finn Wolfhard (14), Millie Bobby Brown (13), Gaten Matarazzo (15), Noah Schnapp (13) and Caleb McLaughlin (16) are earning a whopping $30,000 per episode.  Eight episodes per season that’s a massive $240,000 PER SEASON.  Nearly a quarter of a million bucks per season – and they’re probably going to be signed up for SIX series of the show.

    That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Also, the cast was paid “a less than six-figure bonus” – (so sub $100,000 we’re taking that as) as a bonus, because the show has been so successful.

    However, that’s just a starting point – as always, as a show becomes more and more popular, agents and managers can and will start to renegotiate terms for their actors. If the show becomes an Emmy winner – then the teens can expect large windfalls!

  • Netflix just canned two episodes of House Of Cards which starred Kevin Space

    The Netflix political drama “House of Cards” got into a lot of trouble after its lead star, Kevin Spacey, was accused of sexual harassment by several individuals, including the show’s crew members. The show was already preparing for its sixth season by the time the scandal broke out, and reports have it that two episodes featuring Spacey was already filmed. (more…)