Media coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues has come a long way since the days when the New York Times referred to gay people as “perverts” (12/16/50) or the New York Post (10/17/90) published an op-ed claiming that “our promiscuous homosexuals appear literally hellbent on Satanism and suicide.” Though stereotyping and sensationalism remain a problem, particularly for coverage of transgender people (see Extra!, 11-12/07), hard work by activists has succeeded in gradually shifting national media coverage to largely embrace a much more fair and respectful approach to LGBT stories and people. In some local media markets, however, [...]

After months of pressure from activists to make good on his campaign promise, Barack Obama called for a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in his January 27 State of the Union address. Less than a week later, Adm. Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate committee hearing on February 2 that repealing the policy that prevents gay men and lesbians from serving openly was “the right thing to do.” As the story made the rounds on television, the most striking thing about the conversation was who wasn’t in it: the people at the center [...]