Mediaite, a ‘Must-Read’?

Mediaite, a must-read?

All the D.C. goo-gas have been atwitter about the impossible-to-say Mediaite launched recently to “cover the media.”  Well, in the first chance I had to review one of their posts, I was astounded by the lack of depth or analysis involved in its coverage.  This, despite the fact that Publisher Dan Abrams has written that he wants the site to be “the must-read for anyone interested in media, the business of it and the personalities behind it.”

The post, written by Kevin Gotkin, alleges to list (Mediaite is all about lists) the online folks “dedicated solely to shining a light on every gay thing Obama does.”  (First of all, a note to Mediaite: “Solely” means “only.”  Two of the four blogs listed cover more than solely gay issues and all four cover things other than Obama and LGBT issues. K, thanx.)  It goes on: “These are the people who do ask, do tell (do pursue and yes, do harass) and all from the comfort of their own online home.”

And Rachel Sklar, the editor at large of Mediaite, writes of this post: “I think that’s one of our best pieces, actually. Could not be prouder.”

The piece then lists four blogs, each of which I will go through in turn.

1. Queerty.  Really?  When I think of political analysis, I would not think of Queerty.  And, really, from Mediaite’s description, nor do they.  They write:

Queerty tries extremely hard to be the most opinionated gay blog out there. They might succeed if their snark didn’t translate into insults indiscriminately being hurled at everyone and anyone.  But since its inception, Queerty has undoubtedly been writing impassioned, biting commentary on everything gay.  When Queerty gets it right, its posts are inspiring, angering, and beautiful because its writers have little interest in reporting – they scream, they shout, but they rarely let someone slip by if it affects the LGBT community.  They understand that hot, half-naked guys might draw a little more attention than a great post about Obama’s unfulfilled promises, but that certainly doesn’t mean they bite their tongues.

That’s the Mediaite way, apparently, of being “dedicated solely to shining a light on every gay thing Obama does.”  That alone was enough for me to know that Mediaite is nothing more than the Mouthpiece Theater version of a blog.  An example of their “great post[s] about Obama’s unfulfilled promises” was the irrational post highlighted by Mediaite: “Obama Must Issue Exec Order to Begin DADT Repeal. And Yet He Won’t.“  No, that is not true — and no one, other than Queerty, has ever claimed so.  Queerty is good and fun for many things, but I’m not sure who goes there for analysis of LGBT political and legal issues.

2. David Badash and his site, The New Civil Rights Movement.  It’s a good site, and I think David deserves a place on this list.

3. The Daily Dish, Andrew Sullivan’s blog.  Andrew is the original gay blog, and I recall the dark-blue andrewsullivan.com site from way back when, so he is likely always going to show up on such lists.  As they point out, he doesn’t always focus on gay issues these days — in fact, his blog became an essential part of the Iranian election discussion — but people do pay attention when he says something on gay issues due to his lengthy tenure of writing about such issues.

4. AmericaBlog.  The idea that a site focused on analyzing and commenting on media would blindly reprint John Aravosis’s fabrications and misstatements is quite unfortunate.  They write:

AmericaBlog just launched its gay-only off-shoot of the motherblog, but the site would have made this list with or without its own homo URL.  Gay AmericaBlog could be considered the more outspoken counterpart to its friend-blog, Towleroad (a site that would have made this list if it wasn’t trying to be the gay CNN by reporting instead of commenting).  Yes, the advertising on the site takes up exactly half of the screen, but the posts never stray from their intent to deliver the truth that “a great nation deserves,” which, unfortunately, often includes deep criticism of Obama and his administration.

The “truth” a great nation deserves, generally speaking, should be true statements.  If by “more outspoken counterpart” they mean “yelling and screaming regardless of whether facts back it up,” then, yes, AmericaBlog is outspoken.  And if “deep” means “irrational,” then AmericaBlog fits the bill.

Among the posts that Mediaite highlights:

• Obama Defends DOMA in Federal Court, where the full headline, strangely omitted by Mediaite, is: “Obama defends DOMA in federal court. Says banning gay marriage is good for the federal budget. Invokes incest and marrying children.”  The “incest and marrying children,” which other times shows up on AmericaBlog as “pedophilia,” has been discussed at length by me, most notably at “Not a Vendetta” and “Chairman Frank and Aravosis’s Misstatements.”
• Obama DOJ Lies to Politico in Defending Hate Brief Against Gays, where reality was made up, as I discussed in those earlier posts and Professor Nan Hunter, quoting Marty Lederman, also discussed.
• President Obama Revealed Today Another Reason He Can’t Act on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which I responded to here: “AmericaBlogReality, Watching Distortions Spread.”

Regardless of the specifics, which cause enough concern, it’s clear that Mediate’s definition of being “dedicated . . . to shining a light on every gay thing Obama does” is shouting loudly and often about and at Obama.

If Mediaite thinks this is one of their “best pieces,” as their editor at large wrote, then I’m not so sure this venture is going to succeed.  If it actually wants to become a “must-read for anyone interested in media,” then the site likely should spend more time on those time-tested journalistic tools of researching and investigating its pieces to ensure they at least pass the laugh test for accuracy and less-than-superficial coverage.

[UPDATE: Gotkin claims, via Twitter, that "The facts I wrote were about Obama's biggest CRITICS, not the best 'political analysis,' as you seem to assume."  My response: "The all caps was helpful, but no, I understood what you were aiming at. I don't consider shouting criticism. Skeptical coverage is."]

If someone wants an actual representation of coverage of Obama and LGBT issues online, here’s my list:

1. Towleroad might not be an opinion blog, but the blog does more than any other to do what Mediaite said it was looking for: “dedicated . . . to shining a light on every gay thing Obama does.”  Towleroad is today’s gay newspaper, and Andy Towle deserves great credit for the work he does.
2. Daily Dish
3. Pam’s House Blend is a site with which I sometimes disagree, but not because I’ve felt that Pam or her other contributors have a disregard for facts or civility, but rather because we simply disagree at times on the best approach.
4. Kerry Eleveld at The Advocate is bringing more and better coverage of gay issues to the forefront than ever.

Also, don’t forget:

• The Bilerico Project is a multi-person site that often provides a wide variety of perspectives on LGBT issues.
• The New Civil Rights Movement
• The Box Turtle Bulletin is a smart site that provides analysis and insight with a few good contributors.
• Independent Gay Forum provides more poitical balance than most LGBT-related sites, and also provides always interesting thoughts.
• GayPatriot is a gay Republican voice.  Gasp.  We often disagree, but the site is certainly providing gay voices criticizing Obama.
• Rod, 2.0 is a gay non-white voice. Gasp again.  We agree much more, but Rod provides a unique voice.
• Queerty
• Good As You is similar to Queerty but with less skin and more coverage of the Right.
• Yes, AmericaBlog, is worthy of viewing, because — let’s face it — he has the traffic and sources.  And, often, when he sticks to the facts, John Aravosis does a very good thing.  But too often, he falls off the factual wagon and goes in the mud for his commentary — without skepticism — to be reliable.
• Oh, yeah, and Law Dork.  You should read him. ;o)

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