Lowdown
by Lloyd Grove
New York Daily News
Thursday, March 4, 2004
All fired up over Times
Gay activist Larry Kramer, who gained celebrity status as founder of the militant AIDS awareness group ACT UP, has written The New York Times a scorching E-mail in defense of fired stringer Jay Blotcher. (excerpt)
Lowdown
by Lloyd Grove
New York Daily News
Thursday, March 4, 2004
All fired up over Times
Gay activist Larry Kramer, who gained celebrity status as founder of the militant AIDS awareness group ACT UP, has written The New York Times a scorching E-mail in defense of fired stringer Jay Blotcher.
In an open letter to Times CEO Arthur Sulzberger Jr. - which he copied to scores of opinion-leaders inside and outside The Times, including several openly gay reporters - Kramer protested "the ridiculous dismissal of Jay Blotcher ... because he had once been a member of ACT UP."
Fourteen years ago, Blotcher spent eight months as spokesman for the organization. He later repped other groups before turning to journalism full-time in 2001.
Times Metro Editor Susan Edgerley explained to the Gay City News that she dropped Blotcher, who wrote four stories and contributed reporting to three others during his three years as a stringer, "to protect against any appearance of conflict of interest."
Kramer raged at Sulzberger: "You do not dismiss Larry Altman from writing for you because of conflict of interest; he writes about the [Centers for Disease Control] all the time and he once worked for them. Bernard Weinraub writes about Hollywood and his wife [Amy Pascal] heads Columbia Pictures. Talk about conflict of interest."
The Times has curtailed Weinraub's coverage of the movie industry in recent years, and spokeswoman Catherine Mathis says that Altman, a physician, hasn't worked for the government since 1966.
"We try to avoid employing people who are identified with a cause," Mathis explained, "because it creates the possibility that readers may wonder if their copy is written in pursuit of that cause."
Yesterday Blotcher told me he isn't seeking reinstatement, but is grateful for Kramer's support.
"God bless Larry," he said.
Filed under: Blotcher Blog