Annotated Bibliography

ODonnell, M. (2009). Gay-hate, Journalsim and compassionate Questioning: Journalsim's Response to the Matthew Shepard Case. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 19, pp. 112-125.

Marcus O’Donnell lectures in journalism at the University of Wollongong. He is the former editor of the Sydney Star Observer, Australia’s oldest gay and lesbian weekly newspaper. This indicates a knowledge and understanding of journalism and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) issues. O’Donnell begins by discussing the details of the murder of Matthew Shepard; a gay, 21 year old student from Wyoming. The author continues on to highlight the limited or negative media representations of GLBT persons, and the paucity of scholarly articles on the issue. O’Donnell argues that when GLBT hate-crimes are reported, journalists adapt a “tragic framing” angle to alleviate social guilt and bring closure to the public, hence discouraging active engagement in social and political reform. O’Donnell progresses to critique a 20/20 report by Elizabeth Vargas, claiming its sensationalised manner, which brought outrage and grief to the GLBT community, is a poor form of ethical journalism. O’Donnell instead promotes JoAnne Wpyijewski’s “compassionate questioning” and anecdotal style of article, which makes mention a wide array of theories on the case but provides no substantive argumentation in favour of any one in particular. The paper closes with the notion that all journalism articles regarding minority groups must be reported in a compassionate and moralistic way. O’Donnell has cited numerous sources, however, their use is sporadic. Therefore, some conclusions are reached without evidence or examining opposing views, causing the article to lose some credibility.

 

Kennedy, S. (2012, May 10). Obama Backs Same-Sex Marriage. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from ABC News: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/obama-backs-same-sex-marriage/4001992

Stephanie Kennedy has over 20 years of journalism experience with many as the American foreign correspondent for an array of ABC shows; albeit not specifically versed on the human rights issues surrounding the GLBT community. Kennedy, directly after the lead, makes comment to the proximity of Obama’s announcement to the upcoming election, already pushing the angle of the story. She apportions much of the article to Obama quotes which outline his family as the catalyst for change. Midway through the article she brings attention to the Australian debate over same sex marriage with a quote from Julia Gillard claiming she will not change her stance. Kennedy highlights Obama’s previous and changing stances, mentioning Vice-President Joe Biden’s statement, and the abolishment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation. Kennedy argues Obama’s stance will hurt his re-election bids as he will lose support of swing-states previously won (for example, North Carolina which approved a constitutional amendment to forbid any gay union or marriage) and of the “black” community who are opposed to gay rights. This article is very information based for Obama and Democratic Party, not making mention to the Republican’s stance on gay marriage. It is also the only article cited to include the Australian gay marriage issue as it is an Australian publication.

 

Baker, J. C. (2012, May 9). Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should be Legal. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from New York Times Online: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/us/politics/obama-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal.html?pagewanted=all

Jackie Calmes has worked for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for over 25 years as the White House political and economic correspondent. Peter Baker is a political author and journalist for The Washington Post and The New York Times. This indicates these authors have vast experience with political issues. This article is written with highly emotive language, not using the inverted pyramid structure; something not typical to New York Times articles. Much of this article focuses on the speculation of the announcement after Joe Biden’s statement to the press, and critique of Obama’s lengthy “evolving” stance on gay marriage. It also analysed pro-GLBT legislative reforms, such as the abolishment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy, and the promotion of overlooking the Defence of Marriage Act in the judicial system. This article takes issue with Obama’s religious stance as a Christian. Furthermore, much speculation is cast over the outcome of the upcoming election, claiming Obama has lost support from the African American community, older generations, white-collar workers and political swing states. It concludes with a promotion of the upcoming gay-rights fundraisers and Obama’s promotion of this human-rights based issue.  Unlike the other online article (ABC cited above), this articles agenda is more efficiently hidden in its lengthy nature.

 

The Economist. (2012, May 12-18). Puntuated Equilibrium. The Economist, p. 40.

The Economist is a weekly British economic and political magazine. While publically announcing its traditional liberal views, the magazine is held in fairly high regard for its journalistic integrity. The first part of the article defends Obama’s “evolving” view on gay marriage; an aspect which the other sources have critiqued Obama for. It does, however, notion that Obama’s stance was most likely a result of Joe Biden and Arne Duncan’s public statements in favour of gay marriage. Emphasis is placed on the pro GLBT actions that the Obama administration has enacted, such as repealing the federal Defence of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. The last third of the article examines the North Carolina constitutional ban on same-sex unions and marriage, and the failed attempts of Colorado to be the first state which banned gay-marriage to allow civil-unions for same sex relationships. It finishes by citing a statistic that 50% of Americans support gay marriage, and that the Republican Party should also “evolve” in its views on GLBT issues. As this article is printed, it is limited in its words, such lacking some of the examples the internet articles contained.