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.

  • Daily Mail readers really aren’t happy that London has “gay” lights

    Daily Mail readers really aren’t happy that London has “gay” lights

    Daily Mail readers are literally flipping over the fact that some of London’s traffic lights have LGBT symbols.

    Sometimes we try to imagine the minds of those commenting on DM’s stories, but we get very claustrophobic.

    So the DM reported that some of London’s traffic lights have LGBT symbols where the green light should be. Around 50 traffic lights in central London have been modified so that the green light has LGBT icons glowing instead of just a green light. The symbols include, two men or two women holding hands – or the gender symbols linking together…

    Well commenters on the piece are mad. So very mad about this crazed PC world we live in.

    One concerned citizen even called for a law to ban all political correctness and repeal all “p.c” laws that have been passed in the last 50 years.

    Others were, of course, concerned that the tax payer might have been footing the bill for the scheme, whilst another was concerned that in time to come that “straight people will not be the norm”

    Of course our absolute favorite was this rant which questioned why the gay community needed to parade its sexuality… Unlike the hetero community, which quietly goes on about it’s business – unless of course they’re on Jeremy Kyle.

  • Gawker down

    Gawker down

    Gawker, one of the world’s leading news sites is to close down.

    Gawker_LogoGawker is to cease operation from next week after nearly fourteen years of service. The news comes after Univision successfully bid $135m for Gawker’s six media sites a few days ago.

    It is believed that no staffers at Gawker will lose their jobs – as staffers will be assigned to other outlets in the portfolio or be adsorbed into Univision.

    In a memo to staff Nick Denton, the site’s founder said neither he or Gawker.com would be included in the new venture with Univision.

    “Sadly, neither I nor Gawker.com, the buccaneering flagship of the group I built with my colleagues, are coming along for this next stage.”

    Why is Gawker closing?

    Gawker filed for bankruptcy after a lawsuit, brought by the former wrestler Hulk Hogan, awarded $140m in damages to the TV star.

    The lawsuit, reportedly costing $10m was funded by Paypal co-founder, Peter Thiel. Mr Thiel, one of the world’s richest openly gay men said that he aided the lawsuit because he wanted to curtail the company’s “bullying”.

    The company published an article outing Mr. Thiel in 2007.

    What was the lawsuit about?

    Gawker was sued by Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) after they published a video of him having sex with the wife of a friend from 2007. The trial lasted 3 weeks and Gawker was ordered to pay $115m compensation and $25m in punitive damage.

    What will happen to Gawker.com?

    In the long-term nobody knows what will happen to the Gawker brand – however it’s six sister sites: Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Jezebel, will continue as normal.

  • Editors of The Daily Beast removes article after athlete “outing”

    Editors of The Daily Beast removes article after athlete “outing”

    The Daily Beast has removed and apologised for an article which potentially “outed” several athletes in this year’s Rio 2016 Olympic games.

    grindr

    IMAGE: Grindr / FILE PHOTO

    The news site, The Daily Beast, has been heavily criticised after an article appeared online in which a journalist, Nico Hines, was trying to go on some dates using the gay dating app, Grindr – however the article revealed potentially identifiable characteristics of some of the sportsmen – some of whom are not out.

    German Lopez, who was covering the story for Vox.com said,

    “On its face, the story may seem like yet another fluffy piece about sex in the Olympic village, and not much else. But it did do one potentially awful thing: It may have outed multiple gay athletes, including one from “a notoriously homophobic country,” potentially putting people in real danger.”

    In a letter the Editorial team said that they were “wrong” and “sorry” for the article and took the decision to remove it from their site in an “unprecedented but necessary step”.

     

    ALSO READ: Out Olympian Tom Bosworth skipped PE lessons because he was target for bullies once they found out he was gay.

    ALSO READ: Tom Bosworth to buy engagement ring at Heathrow airport to make his boyfriend an “honest man!”

     

    The editors also apologised to the athletes who “may have been inadvertently compromised” by the story.

    In the statement the Editors said,

    “As a newsroom, we succeed together and we fail together, and this was a failure on The Daily Beast as a whole, not a single individual. The article was not intended to do harm or degrade members of the LGBT community, but intent doesn’t matter, impact does. Our hope is that removing an article that is in conflict with both our values and what we aspire to as journalists will demonstrate how seriously we take our error.”

     

  • Journalist Patrick Strudwick calls out hypocrisy over gay sex

    Buzzfeed’s LGBT editor, Patrick Strudwick has called out the hypocrisy surrounding the differences between gay and straight “lifestyle” choices when it comes to sex and taking a pill.

    (C) marcbruxel Depositphotos

     

    With the nation’s attention drawn to PrEP and how NHS England must now reconsider its stance on offering the anti-HIV medication to those most at risk of infection, Buzzfeed LGBT editor Patrick Strudwick has highlighted some of the hypocrisy and some of the “arguments” made about the differences between gay sex and straight sex – or as we like to call it around these places … sex.

    In a tweet entitled simply: “When gay men have sex” – he outlined a number of differences between gay and straight sex.

    He wrote:

    When gay men have sex without a condom it’s called “bareback sex”

    When straight people have sex without a condom it’s called “sex”.

    When gay men have sex it’s called a “lifestyle choice”

    When straight people have sex it’s called “sex”.

    When gay men take a pill to prevent HIV it’s called a “lifestyle choice”.

    When straight people take a pill to prevent pregnancy it’s called a “responsible”.

    Earlier this month the editor slammed the Daily Mail for its coverage of the historic and landmark ruling that NHS England must offer the anti-HIV “lifestyle” drug to those most at risk of infection.

  • Independent Fails To Hail Any Gay or Bisexual Men As Important For Landmark Year

    Independent Fails To Hail Any Gay or Bisexual Men As Important For Landmark Year

    The Independent Newspaper has failed to acknowledge any gay or bisexual men in its round up list of people who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights.

    The Independent, home to the annual Rainbow List has failed to acknowledge any gay or bisexual men in its round up of the people who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights.

    The list included Caitlyn Jenner, who many in the LGBT community have blasted as not being a good representative after claiming “If You Look Like a Man in a Dress, It Makes People Uncomfortable”

    The list, created by reporter Caroline Mortimer, hails, reality star Caitlyn Jenner, actresses Ruby Rose and Ellen Page, artist iO Tillett Wright and model Cara Delevigne as people who made “massive strides for equality and tolerance for LGBT people across the world.”

    Cara Delevigne is a former model who came out as bisexual in an interview with Vogue in July. She is in a relationship with singer St. Vincent and has now quit the modelling industry.

    iO Tillett Wright is an artist who photographs anyone who doesn’t indentify as “100% straight”.

    Earlier this year Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily Rose came out as not 100% straight.

    The list failed to mention the extraordinary efforts made by some gay and bisexual men in 2015 for LGBT rights across the globe.

    The only man mentioned on the list of just six people is Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who along with other judges who legalised same-sex marriage in the US.

    We reached out for comment from the list’s creator Caroline Mortimer.

  • Robert Dyas Release Gay / Straight Advert And The Internet Reacts

    So UK retailer Robert Dyas releases a somewhat confusing gay/straight video and now the internet has exploded with reaction, here’s some of the best…

    It’s surely the best/worst marketing decision of 2015, but the people are talking about the new advert which shows that people of all sexualities can shop at RD, except Pansexuals, asexuals and polys…
    It wasn’t but it now is…
    Multi faith?
    This seems to be a common question for people
    It’s quite possible
    This is what happens when you don’t use actors
    Pick up a powertool at Robert Dyas
    That’s so Robert Dyasist
    Ooo err missus
    Use what you have
    Good old JL
    See ban the pansexuals…
    Bravo

  • IKEA Features Gay Couple Kissing In Christmas Advert

    A Christmas advert for IKEA features a kiss between two men in their latest advert.

    The advert which has been released by IKEA Germany features a gay male couple who come to Christmas dinner. In the advert the pair sneak a quick peck on the cheek.

    This not the first time IKEA has used gay couples in their advertising. It first introduced same-sex couples over two decades ago in 1994. The 1994 advert was released in the US and resulted in some stores receiving bomb threats.

    See what you think – do advertisers include gay couples enough in their adverts?

  • X FACTOR Ratings Down, Celebrity Big Brother Levelled

    Ratings for ITV’s flagship singing competition were down for the launch show, by a whopping 2 million – so were all the changes worth it?

    With half a new judging panel including openly gay Nick Grimshaw the latest viewing figures don’t make for good reading despite all the usual talk of change, upping the game and far-reaching promo for the new series. The new judging panel includes Rita Ora, Nick Grimshaw and Simon Cowell. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini joins the panel despite being voted by Heat readers as the panellist they’d least like to see return.

    X Factor’s first show suffered a near 2 million audience drop, year on year, taking 7.11 million viewers from 8PM. In 2014 the first show received 9.03 million viewers. However, the show did dominate Saturday night TV with nearly 40% audience share.

    Celebrity Big Brother’s debut on Channel 5 was watched by 2.2 million people, which is just down on the 2.4 million people who watched the previous year’s launch.

  • Neighbours Goes Gay… Hurrah

    Neighbours Goes Gay… Hurrah

    Neighbours has gone all gay on us, and naturally we’re excited as all butter.

    Male on male kissing in Neighbours? As a young boy watching the Aussie export, I thought I’d never see the day, but here we are as Nate and Aaron have a tumble in bed.

    The steamy scene which aired last week here in the UK, saw characters Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) and Nate Kinski (Meyne Wyatt) share their first kiss on screen, but it wasn’t a private moment. No they did it in front of an audience. They were doing it as part of a promotion stunt for Lassiter’s hotel. In our opinion they should have sold tickets.

    So let’s get this straight, put two ridic hot lads into a glass box, give them an audience… and they start kissing? Okay, we need to get the Cube installed in the office.

    Woof. Is all we can say.

    Neighbours in on Channel 5 daily

     

  • 3 Gay Podcasts You Need To Listen To: RuPaul, Feast Of Fun, Vera Speaks

    If you’re not listening to Podcasts yet then maybe you need to start.

    Free from the usual restrictions of mainstream media and free to users of iTunes these are voices how you’re meant to hear them. These are our top choices. Browse the iTunes store for thousands of hours of content. Just plug your earbuds in and make some new friends.

    World famous Ru Paul and best gal pal Michelle Visage spill the T in their weekly podcast. Brilliant insights into their early careers and ongoing projects. Michelle Visage literally shines in the podcast.

    Real life couple Fausto and Marc talk about everything gay, hot or otherwise in their 5-times weekly podcast, with special guests which have included George Takei, Carol Channing and most of the RuPaul Drag Race gals…

    Vera is the alter-ego of a real life (famous) voice actor, but no-one’s been able to find out who he is yet. Insightful, delightful and on Halloween his husband and him are frightful. Catch up with Vera and his conscience once a week on Fridays.

  • UPDATE: BBC News Now Reports On Norwich Pride Despite Being On Its Doorstep

    UPDATE: BBC News have now run a story on the Pride and its parade.

    In a move many in Norwich’s LGBT+ community will question, the BBC News had failed to report on Norwich Pride, despite being on the doorstep of the Norwich BBC headquarters.

    BBC News have now run a story on its website about the pride parade.

    With offices overlooking the main pride area, questions are being asked why the BBC failed to report on Norwich’s pride event yesterday, which drew large numbers of people into the city’s centre yesterday.

    The BBC News website failed to report on the pride event, which featured original members of the Lesbian And Gays Support The Miners group, who featured in the blockbuster hit Pride in 2014. It appears that the only story reported in Norfolk yesterday was, “Beach rocks moved to protect cliffs”.

    ITV’s news team did report on the Pride and its parade.

    BBC Radio Norfolk did, however, have Norwich Pride’s chairman Nick O’Brien on to talk about the pride parade and the Pride was featured in the tea time TV bulletin, yesterday evening.

    THEGAYUK reached out to BBC England news team to ask why the Pride celebrations were ignored.