Gay Today: World

Jealous? GLAAD Manager Dumps on StopDrLaura.Com

Compiled by GayToday

StopDrLaura.com co-founder John Aravosis
Photo: Rex Wockner

Washington, D.C.—Following an article in this week's New Republic,written at the request of that magazine by John Aravosis, a co-founder of the highly effective www.StopDrLaura.Com Web site and touted by syndicated International News Reporter, Rex Wockner, GLAAD's Publications Manager, Bob Findle, testily addressed Wockner, saying:

“Maybe you should have identified this (article in the New Republic) as a paid advertisement by Aravosis? This makes it seem that the piece was an actual New Republic article. I think you should send out a clarification. Just my opinion.”

In response, John Aravosis critiqued GLAAD's outburst with his own letter to Rex Wockner:

“I see that Bob Findle of GLAAD is making some bizarre claim that my recent article about StopDrLaura.com, published in the New Republic, was not an article at all--but he is instead claims that it was a 'paid advertisement by Aravosis.'

"As you know, StopDrLaura.com was launched on March 1, 2000 in response to the news that GLAAD and Paramount reached a deal in mid-February of this year in which GLAAD agreed to permit Dr. Laura to have her TV show this fall.

"Many of us in the community felt betrayed by GLAAD having accepted this untenuous bargain with one of its own funders, and as a result launched StopDrLaura.com in order to expose the double-standard inherent in any such compromise: Had Dr. Laura defamed Jews or African-Americans, no civil rights organization would ever agree to give her a TV show.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:

GLAAD Explains Its Slowed Approach to Dr. Laura

Did Paramount Lie? Dr. Laura to Promote 'Ex-Gays'

Dr. Laura & Paramount: Agreement or Ruse?

Related Sites:
GLAAD

Stop Dr. Laura.com

GayToday does not endorse related sites.

“As everyone now knows, our Web site did better than our wildest dreams, and has since become the focal point for an international gay rights movement fueled by grassroots activists across the US and Canada - all on a $15,000 budget.

Because of our success, we've been getting, as you can imagine, a lot of publicity. One such media outlet interested in our campaign was the New Republic. They came to me a few months back and said they were doing a special insert in their magazine about the Internet, and were seeking "lead thinkers" about the Net to write pieces for the supplement.

“In specific, they were hoping I would write about the Internet and politics, with a specific eye towards the Dr. Laura campaign. I was of course flattered, said I'd be glad to write the piece, wrote them the article, their editor edited it, and they published it this week in their magazine and on their Web site. Contrary to GLAAD's email to you, I never paid the New Republic to publish my article, but rather they commissioned me to write the article.

As a writer myself, I frequently pen articles for lots of publications, including the Economist, the New York Daily News, and coming soon, POZ magazine.

“Perhaps GLAAD didn't realize that, and this is why they got confused. Hopefully, this e-mail clarifies what really transpired, and we can now all get back to the business of focusing our anger on the bad guys, rather than on members of our own community.”