Remember when I wrote about how Jay Blotcher can't be a stringer for the NY Times because he did media relations with ACT UP over ten years ago?
One would hope that the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association would be concerned about such things. You would be wrong, at least in terms of them being on the right side of the issue. As Jay tells us:
The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association has barred me from appearing at their Plenary on Journalistic Objectivity, scheduled at the June Convention in NYC.The plenary session was created and organized by CNN journalist Rose Arce.
A month ago, Rose invited me to sit on this panel. She felt my case strongly reflected the current debate over journalistic objectivity. She plans to have the two SF Chronicle lesbian journalists on the panel, who were reassigned from the gay marriage beat after becoming hitched.
However, when Rose gave her list of panelists to NLGJA's Executive Committee, she was told I could not sit on the panel.
Why? NLGJA felt my problem with the NY Times was a "personnel matter" between employer and employee ... and NOT an issue of journalistic ethics. This was the same reasoning they gave me in March, when they refused to support my case.
Note that the NLGJA thinks it was wrong for the San Francisco Chronicle to prevent two lesbian reporters from covering gay marriage after they got married.
I guess it's only things related to AIDS that the NLGJA considers mere "personnel matters."
Revolting.
