Yes, the word “gay” was included in a laundry list of groups who were part of the power of democracy that were mentioned in Obama’s speech last night. And, yes, LGBT voters were a big factor in last night’s presidential election results. However, as Ben stated yesterday, gay and lesbian issues, namely same sex marriage, were not highly visible in mainstream media coverage.
Noting that same-sex marriage was not proactively high profile for the presidential candidates themselves, LGBT organizations & media focused more on California’s Proposition 8 as well as on Florida’s Proposition 2 to a much lesser degree. Non-California based mainstream media largely kept silent on Prop 8 — and gay marriage.
Still, I’m a bit surprised today when I Googled results for Proposition 8 early this morning, almost all of the latest information was from LGBT media sites and blogs. Perhaps mainstream media will focus at least one day of coverage on Proposition 8 as final results in this too-close-to-call vote are tallied.
I anticipate that gay and lesbian notables will have some part as Obama’s administration plans take shape over the coming weeks, and that could raise profile of LGBT issues in mainstream media. I know LGBT media will be fully engaged in covering dialogues about same-sex marriage and civil unions on the federal level. I’m not so sure about the depth of coverage to expect from mainstream media, given their track record in recent months.
I don’t know why mainstream media hasn’t engaged in our issues. All media can raise the issues and questions themselves, even if candidates don’t bring up issues like same sex marriage. I do know that I can’t sit and wait for mainstream media to grasp the issue at hand in covering our issues. So, like Ben, I’ll keep my eye on LGBT blogs for the latest LGBT news as we look toward the work of a new president and a new Congress.
SUBSCRIBE