PinkNews

PinkNews is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005.[1][2] The UK editor as of March 2015 is Nick Duffy.[3]

PinkNews
PinkNews April 2012
Type of site
Online newspaper
Available inEnglish
Created byBenjamin Cohen
EditorsNick Duffy
Joseph Patrick McCormick
Scott Roberts
Stephen Gray
Jessica Geen
Tony Grew
Marc Shoffman
Benjamin Cohen
URLpinknews.co.uk
CommercialYes
RegistrationNo
Launched21 July 2005 (2005-07-21)
Current statusActive

It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights around the world, and carries interviews with cultural figures, politicians, and British Prime Ministers. The news is split into different sections, with most recent, prominent and trending stories showing on the home page by default. People can filter news by the sections they have most interest in, including: transgender, entertainment, world, politics, arts, and opinion.

A paper version, The PinkNews was officially launched in 2006.[4] However, PinkNews became an online-only publication when the print edition was dropped in 2007. The website continues to exist and is updated with news daily.

PinkNews pays special attention to the topic of religion and homosexuality. It became one of the few LGBT publications to have interviewed a sitting Archbishop of Canterbury in 2014, when Justin Welby discussed the Church of England's approach to homosexuality.[5]

PinkNews also runs the PinkNews Awards, which launched in 2013 and take place in Westminster annually. The PinkNews Awards, which are voted on by the public alongside a panel of judges,[6] honour the work of LGBT activists in the field as well as political speakers and businesses. Previous high-profile PinkNews Awards winners include John Bercow,[7] Nick Clegg,[8] Richard Branson,[9] Ed Miliband,[9] Alex Salmond[9] and David Cameron.[10]

Editorial policy and interviews with politicians

The editorial stance of PinkNews is not to campaign in a partisan manner, though they do interview politicians and have a pro-LGBT stance. PinkNews does not endorse political parties in elections, but in previous elections has endorsed individual politicians regardless of party "based on their stance on gay rights issues."[11]

To date PinkNews has published articles by six British Prime Ministers: John Major,[12] Tony Blair,[13] Gordon Brown,[1] David Cameron,[14] Theresa May,[15] and Boris Johnson. PinkNews has also interviewed other political figures in the United Kingdom, including Nick Clegg[1] and Jeremy Corbyn, who has also written for the paper.[16][17] On 2 January 2020, UK MP Layla Moran revealed in an interview with PinkNews that she is pansexual; she is believed to be the first UK parliamentarian to come out as pansexual.[18][19]

In 2006, PinkNews was threatened with legal action by News International, the parent company of the British newspapers The Sun and News of the World. Both newspapers published articles and a pixelated image between 12 and 19 February 2006 of what they claimed were a Premiership footballer and a famous DJ engaging in a sex act with a mobile phone at a "gay orgy" with one using the headline "Gay as You Go". A week later PinkNews published what was claimed to be the unpixelated image from the Choice FM website superimposed on one from the printed articles in the newspapers, allegedly revealing the footballer as Ashley Cole and the DJ as Choice FM's Ian Thompson (DJ Masterstepz). Cole began legal action against both newspapers for libel, harassment and "false privacy" but not against PinkNews, who had never made claims that either were gay. PinkNews claimed they were trying to expose the tactics of the NotW rather than "out" anyone but this backfired as both newspapers threatened to sue under the Civil Liability Act. Cole's solicitors set up an online survey to investigate the impact, questioning respondents as to where they heard the story and if they discussed it in any forums. RWD Magazine allegedly had their forums shut down because of this.

Months later the NotW and The Sun agreed to pay damages of £100,000, which would have closed PinkNews, had they been indicted, and an apology was printed in the NotW stating: "Although the photograph was pixelated some readers have understood Mr Cole to be one of the footballers and Masterstepz to be the DJ concerned. We are happy to make clear that Mr Cole and Masterstepz were not involved in any such activities. We apologise to them for any distress caused and we will be paying them each a sum in the way of damages." News International confirmed afterwards they would not be seeking damages from PinkNews.[20][21][22]

Relationship with Stonewall

PinkNews reported heavily on the refusal of Stonewall, an LGBT rights group, to actively campaign for marriage equality.[23] Stonewall's Chief Executive Ben Summerskill suggested "it would cost a staggering £5 billion to implement", a figure later seized upon by opponents of equality despite its lack of factual basis. The rift came to a head at Liberal Democrats conference in 2010, where Summerskill argued that "there are lots of lesbians who actually don't want marriage". The event was attended by Lynne Featherstone, the minister for equality; Evan Harris, president of Liberal Democrat LGBT group DELGA; and Steve Gilbert, the Lib Dem MP, all of which said they support same-sex marriage. A poll commissioned by PinkNews and answered by more than 800 of their readership found 98% in support of marriage equality, with many comments calling for Summerskill's resignation.[23] Stonewall was also criticised by a former founder, Michael Cashman, MEP, over its policy.[23]

Summerskill later accused PinkNews of running an "unethical campaign” against Stonewall after asking every LGBT organisation and political group to outline their stance on the issue, with only Stonewall refusing to comment. In October 2010, Stonewall revised its policy and agreed to support same-sex marriage, stating "Stonewall is pleased to be widening its campaigning objectives to include extending the legal form of marriage to gay people".[24][25]

PinkNews also regularly reported on criticism of Stonewall for its refusal to campaign on transgender issues.[26] PinkNews has collaborated closely with Stonewall following the departure of Summerskill in 2014. A year later, under Chief Executive Ruth Hunt, Stonewall decided to begin campaigning on transgender issues.[27]

In 2017, Stonewall and PinkNews co-hosted an election hustings.[28] Hunt has written for PinkNews on a number of occasions.[29]

Advertising and support
  • PinkNews was an official supporter of the Coalition for Equal Marriage (C4EM), a counter-organisation to the Coalition for Marriage, which successfully petitioned for the introduction of same-sex marriage rights in England and Wales, while the Coalition for Marriage is campaigning against it.[30]
  • Named 25 January as Peter Tatchell Day to celebrate the British political campaigner's 60th birthday, 45 years of human rights campaigning and 10 years since the launch of the Peter Tatchell Foundation.[31] PinkNews also published a prose poem written by Stephen Fry in honour of his birthday on 24 January and frequently shows advertisements for the Peter Tatchell Foundation.[32]
  • On 25 April 2012 PinkNews began using a video for the Coalition for Equal Marriage in their advertising space, wrote articles in support of it and gave it their official backing, encouraging readers to respond to the government consultation to show their opinions.[33][34]
  • PinkNews regularly reported on the progress of the Out4Marriage campaign, which was started in May 2012 and launched by Mike Buonaiuto and PinkNews founder, Benjamin Cohen. The campaign used YouTube videos of people supporting equal marriage, including celebrities and Members of Parliament, finishing with the line "And that’s why I’m out for marriage. Are you?". The Out4Marriage YouTube campaign reached 14 million views in just three weeks from launch.[35][36][37]

See also

References
  1. Luft, Oliver (28 July 2010). "Pink News five years on: 'revenue could rise ten-fold'". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. "PinkNews". Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. "PinkNews about". Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  4. Shoffman, Marc (29 June 2006). "The Pink News launches new gay era". Pink News.
  5. Cohen, Benjamin (13 May 2014). "Archbishop of Canterbury: It's 'great' that equal marriage is the law of the land". PinkNews. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  6. "The nominees for the fifth annual PinkNews Awards". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  7. Kentish, Benjamin (16 October 2019). "Nancy Pelosi presents John Bercow with LGBT rights award". The Independent. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  8. "Nick Clegg receives a Pink News award for equal marriage - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  9. "The PinkNews Awards Winners and Nominees in full". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  10. Davies, Caroline (26 October 2016). "David Cameron gets award for introducing same-sex marriage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  11. "Pink News editorial policy". Pink News. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  12. "Sir John Major: We should remember those who have fought for a more accepting Britain". PinkNews. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  13. Blair, Tony (5 December 2005). "We are living in a new age of equality". PinkNews.
  14. Cameron, David (23 June 2011). "Why It's vital to kick homophobia out of sport". Pink News.
  15. "Theresa May writes for PinkNews on the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act". PinkNews. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  16. Roberts, Rachel (12 June 2017). "Theresa May appoints Justice Secretary opposed to LGBT rights". The Independent. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  17. Jeremy Corbyn: Much more needs to be done to tackle homophobia in our society. PinkNews. Published 26 July 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  18. Duffy, Nick (2 January 2020). "Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran comes out as pansexual: 'Pan is about the person, not the gender'". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  19. "Layla Moran: Lib Dem MP announces she is pansexual". BBC News. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  20. Park, James. "How the News of the World threatened PinkNews after Ashley Cole expose". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  21. "News of the World could sue website over Cole "gay orgy" story". Press Gazette. 17 March 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  22. "Gay news site threatened if Ashley Cole suit succeeds | Media news". Journalism.co.uk. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  23. Reeves, Andrew (28 September 2010). "What does Stonewall want if it isn't gay marriage?". LibDemVoice.org. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  24. "Stonewall undermines campaign for gay marriage". Peter Tatchell. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  25. Geen, Jessica. "Stonewall says it will campaign for gay marriage". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  26. "Celebs split over trans protest at Stonewall Awards". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  27. "Stonewall announces it will now campaign for trans rights too". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  28. "General Election 2017: Stonewall LGBT hustings sells out". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  29. "Ruth Hunt · PinkNews". PinkNews. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  30. "C4EM supporters". C4EM. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  31. "Peter Tatchell Day declared". Rainbow Forum LGBT Group. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  32. "Peter Tatchell Day poem". Pink News. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  33. Gray, Stephen. "Video: Coalition for Equal Marriage releases beautiful viral campaign film". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  34. "Comment: I hope my Equal Marriage film wakes us all up to support changing the law". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  35. "Out4Marriage". out4marriage.org. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  36. Grice, Andrew (24 May 2012). "Home Secretary Theresa May records video declaring full support for gay marriage". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  37. Guardian, The (24 May 2012). "Theresa May records video in support of gay marriage – video". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
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