Author: Brett

Gay Republican Sees Opening in Mass. Campaign

Brett

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76291.html

Richard Tisei is used to occupying the loneliest corners in politics.

As the Republican Senate minority leader in Massachusetts, he was one of just five GOP lawmakers in the statehouse, often on the lopsided losing end of big votes. As an openly gay Republican, he publicly split with then-Gov. Mitt Romney when gay marriage became legal in the state, making him an even rarer breed in a party that has a big hang-up with same-sex marriage.

But forget all that this year.

Realizing that winning is what ultimately matters in politics, national Republicans have embraced Tisei in his race against vulnerable Democratic Rep. John Tierney, tapping him for their elite “Young Guns” program, believing he has a chance to break through in the bluest of blue states.

If elected, he would be the first openly gay Republican elected to the House since Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe retired, and the first Republican to come out prior to an election.

But he doesn’t want his candidacy to be just novelty — outside of social issues, he’s got a serious Republican record, never once voting for a broad-based tax increase in the 26 years he served in the state Legislature. He helped pass the state’s sweeping welfare reform act in 1993, and although he supported the Massachusetts health care law, he’s pledged to repeal “Obamacare.”

CNN to Launch ‘CNN Films’ Features Banner

Brett

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn-films-theatrical-banner_b127784

CNN is planning to launch a new feature film banner called CNN Films that will develop “tentpole” non-fiction films for television and theatrical release, TVNewser has learned.

The plan is for CNN Films to pursue well-known, distinguished documentarians and filmmakers, who will produce the features. The films will air on CNN, as well as in limited theatrical release and at film festivals. The first features produced under the CNN Films banner are expected to debut sometime in 2013.

CNN Films productions are expected to serve as event, tentpole programming, with a handful of new films released under the banner each year. As long as the subject matter is non-fiction, it is fair game for being featured. A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment.

CNN underwent a reorganization in its two documentary units back in March, combining them into one department with a focus on acquiring documentaries from outside production companies. CNN will continue to produce and acquire longform programming under the “CNN Presents” and “In America” banners, separately from CNN Films.

Programming Politico’s Future With Video

Brett

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/programming-politicos-future-video-140071

Last January in Iowa, Politico’s tireless Mike Allen sequestered himself under fluorescent lights in a room with a laptop and his omnipresent BlackBerry and talked for well over five hours as Caucus results trickled in. There was no music, just raw politics. Believe it or not, this is pretty much exactly what makes PoliticoLive’s broadcasts work.

Since Allen’s first run, Politico Live has come a long way, adding garnishes of production value and beefing up its on-camera presence with embedded Politico reporters. The result is an obsessive, wonky and intelligent broadcast that is much like its print and Web counterparts. One possible hint about its ambitions was a recent job posting for an executive producer with extensive live TV experience. With a niche to fill, Politico, which was founded in 2007 as a disruptive voice for Beltway journalism, might be poised for its second act: a robust video presence that could give cable news a reason to worry.

The broadcast has increased in scale and quality and has an agreement to broadcast livestreams on C-SPAN, but the barriers to cable entry are many. According to comScore figures for March, Politico had 168,000 unique video viewers while at the other end of the spectrum, MSNBC.com boasted more than 18 million. The comparison is an uneven one, but there’s no question: A focused site like Politico has a long way to go.

Jay ‘Corey’ Jones, Gay Minnesota Teen, Commits Suicide After Allegedly Being Bullied

Brett

Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Minnesota teen who jumped to his death last Sunday after allegedly being tormented by classmates for being gay.

As the Rochester Post-Bulletin is reporting, 17-year-old Jay ‘Corey’ Jones of Rochester, Minn. had suffered severe depression after being bullied for a number of years. Jones had known he was gay from a young age, according to his father, Jay Strader. Police officials say Jones jumped from a pedestrian bridge near Century High School on May 6.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/jay-corey-jones-gay-minnesota-teen-suicide_n_1510001.html?ref=gay-voices

Gay on TV: It’s All in the Family

Brett

On “Glee” this spring, a transgender character named Unique is competing in a sing-off. On “Grey’s Anatomy,” Arizona and Callie are adjusting to married life, having been pronounced “wife and wife” last year.

On “Modern Family,” the nation’s most popular television show, Cameron and his partner Mitchell are trying to adopt a second child.

What’s missing? The outrage.

The cultural battlefield of television has changed markedly since the 1990s, when conservative groups and religious figures objected to Ellen DeGeneres coming out and “Will & Grace” coming on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/business/media/gay-on-tv-its-all-in-the-family.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=print

Fashion Blogging is Creating a New Era of Influencers

Brett

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/05/06/fashion-blogging-is-creating-a-new-era-of-influencers/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=share+button&utm_content=Fashion+blogging+is+creating+a+new+era+of+influencers&utm_campaign=social+media

You don’t have to be Paris Hilton or Anna Wintour to have a say in the fashion world anymore. Nowadays, “regular” people from all over the world are becoming the biggest voices in fashion, and it all starts with a fashion blog.

With hoards of Twitter followers, Facebook likes and tons of traffic, fashion bloggers are fast becoming fashion influencers — a title, in the past, that was only given to celebrities. Even top designers and major labels are buying into this, requesting fashion bloggers to be at the front row of Fashion Week and other star studded events.

This movement is creating a new breed of entrepreneur; where a simple love of fashion can be flipped over into a business. Savvy bloggers are changing the way brands reach customers forever, while defining trends for readers that were once only swayed by the big fashion magazines.

Gay Rights: Obama Praised for Global Commitment

Brett

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/06/MN7P1O9S23.DTL

As President Obama struggles with the politics of gay issues at home, his administration is drawing cheers from human rights groups for its commitment to gay rights around the globe.

In the past several months, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech at the United Nations that dramatically shifted the international human rights focus to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, dedicated $3 million to help promote LGBT rights worldwide, and distributed educational materials to U.S. embassies to keep diplomats alert to gay rights issues.

U.S. involvement was essential in the passage of a U.N. resolution expressing “grave concern” about abuses and violations of gay and lesbian rights, as well as the first debate on gay issues before the U.N. Human Rights Council.

“It is true that Obama’s work internationally is unprecedented,” said Christopher Stoll, senior staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco.

Daniel Baer, deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said, “LGBT rights are a high priority for the State Department, and I think that our commitment to this issue is clear throughout our numerous actions.”

‘A lot has changed’

While U.S. gay groups express frustration at Obama’s refusal to sign an executive order banning discrimination against gay employees of federal contractors and his “evolving” view on same-sex marriage, international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch praise the steps the Obama administration has taken worldwide.

“A lot has changed thanks to the U.S. ongoing policy,” said Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “Important steps have been taken.”

Josh Dixon Comes Out as Gay, Aims for Spot on Olympic Gymnastics Team

Brett

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2012/05/06/josh-dixon-comes-out-as-gay-aims-for-spot-on-olympic-gymnastics-team/

The United States has never had a publicly out male gymnast participate in the Olympics outside of equestrian events. Gymnast Josh Dixon hopes to be the first.

The Stanford grad took a big step toward that goal at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, finishing second overall out of the 72 competitors. He also tied for wins in two events: floor exercise and high bar. It was a game-changing come-back performance for Dixon, who tore his Achilles tendon last spring.

Now Dixon is talking about his personal life and sexual orientation publicly for the first time. Like charging at the vault, he’s coming at it at full speed.

Dixon and his two sisters were all adopted at birth by Michael and Kathy Dixon. While the three children were born at different times, they share the same birth mother, whom none of the family has ever met. It was through his sisters that he first discovered gymnastics.

The Dixon household was diverse: Josh is half-black and half-Japanese, while his father Michael is white and his mother Kathy is Japanese.
Maybe it was the multicultural household he grew up in, but Dixon never felt his early crushes on boys were wrong. Still, he didn’t talk about those crushes because he was immersed in gymnastics from the time he hit puberty.

“Eat, sleep, train and do homework,” was the extent of Dixon’s life. “Gymnastics was my number one priority, and if something got in the way of that I had to push it aside.”

The mantra was reflected in his interview with Outsports. When asked about gymnastics, he could rattle of incredibly detailed accounts of his scores and performances. Questions about his personal life were more of a struggle for him to answer.

Joe Biden Gay Marriage Reacton: Frustration As Officials Walk Back VP’s Same-Sex Marriage Comments

Brett

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/joe-biden_n_1489670.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

WASHINGTON — Excitement quickly turned to frustration amongst gay rights activists on Sunday after the Obama team walked back Vice President Biden’s remarks on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that seemed to signal his endorsement of marriage equality.

When asked by host David Gregory on Sunday whether he is “comfortable with same-sex marriage now,” Biden replied, “I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction — beyond that.”

Biden’s comments, which were stronger in support of marriage equality than any made by President Obama, were quickly hailed by LGBT groups.

“We are encouraged by Vice President Biden’s comments, who rightly articulated that loving and committed gay and lesbian couples should be treated equally,” responded Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Now is the time for President Obama to speak out for full marriage equality for same-sex couples.”

“I’ve known Vice President Biden since interning for him in the Senate in 1976,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. “The personal and thoughtful way he has spoken about his coming to support the freedom to marry reflects the same journey that a majority of Americans have now made as they’ve gotten to know gay families, opened their hearts and changed their minds. President Obama should join the Vice President, former Presidents Clinton and Carter, former Vice Presidents Gore and Cheney, Laura Bush, and so many others in forthright support for the freedom to marry.”

Joe Biden ‘Absolutely Comfortable’ With Gay Marriage

Brett

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/75954.html

Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he was “absolutely comfortable” with gay marriage, sending his office into an immediate effort to clarify his comments as reflecting no change.

Asked on “Meet the Press” if his views on gay marriage had “evolved,” which is the word the president has used to describe his own thinking, Biden spoke forcefully about his own position.

“I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that,” Biden said.

The comments are the strongest so far from within the White House. Obama supports civil unions, but gay rights activists have been pushing him say more, especially as gay rights measures have been debated on the state level around the country. There’s growing frustration with Obama’s reluctance to embrace gay marriage — especially among supporters who believe that the president personally supports them, but is holding off saying so for political reasons.

Now Biden has added to the pressure, saying in his first interview since the president officially kicked off his reelection campaign with two rallies Saturday, that he believed more and more people were seeing gay marriage as “a simple proposition.”

“Who do you love? Who do you love? And will you be loyal to the person you love? And that’s what people are finding out is: What all marriages, at their root, are about, whether they’re marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals,” Biden said.

Afterward, a Biden spokesperson said there was nothing new in what Biden said, and that there was no distance between his position and the president’s.