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PinkNews
PinkNews homepage, April 2012
Type of site
Online newspaper
Available inEnglish
Created byBenjamin Cohen
URLthepinknews
CommercialYes
RegistrationNo
LaunchedJuly 2005(2005-07)
Current statusActive

PinkNewsis a UK-basedonline newspapermarketed to thelesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community(LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded byBenjamin Cohenin July 2005.

It closely follows political progress onLGBTQ+ rights around the world,and carries interviews with cultural figures and politicians. 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,andopinion.

PinkNewspays special attention to the topic ofreligion and homosexuality.It became one of the few LGBTQ+ publications to have interviewed an incumbentArchbishop of Canterburyin 2014, whenJustin Welbydiscussed theChurch of England's approach to homosexuality.[1]

PinkNewsruns the PinkNews Awards, which launched in 2013 and take place annually in Westminster. The awards, which are voted on by the public alongside a panel of judges,[2]honour the work of LGBTQ+ activists in the field as well as political speakers and businesses. Previous high-profile PinkNews Awards winners includeJohn Bercow,[3]Nick Clegg,[4]Richard Branson,[5]Ed Miliband,[5]Alex Salmond[5]andDavid Cameron.[6]

History[edit]

PinkNews was founded byBenjamin Cohenin July 2005.[7][8]A paper version,The PinkNewswas officially launched in 2006.[9]However,PinkNewsbecame an online-only publication when the print edition was dropped in 2007.[citation needed]

In 2018, PinkNews became the first LGBTQ+ publisher onSnapchat.It had an operating profit of £2million in 2021.[10]The website was redesigned in 2022. New filtering features were also added to its app in an attempt to counternews avoidancedue to negative reporting.[7]

Editorial policy and interviews with politicians[edit]

The editorial stance ofPinkNewsis not to campaign in a partisan manner, although it does interview politicians and has a pro-LGBTQ+ stance.PinkNewsdoes 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 datePinkNewshas published articles by six British Prime Ministers:John Major,[12]Tony Blair,[13]Gordon Brown,[14]David Cameron,[15]Theresa May,[16]andBoris Johnson.PinkNewshas also interviewed other political figures in the United Kingdom, includingNick Clegg[14]andJeremy Corbyn,who have also written for the paper.[17][18]On 2 January 2020, UKMPLayla Moranrevealed in an interview with PinkNews that she ispansexual;she is believed to be the first UK parliamentarian to come out as pansexual.[19][20]

News International legal threat[edit]

In 2006, two tabloid newspapers, theNews of the WorldandThe Sun,published a false story about twoPremiershipfootballershaving a gay orgy with aDJ.Although theNews of the Worlddid not name any of them, it used a pixelated photograph of footballerAshley Coleto illustrate the story. PinkNews published what it claimed to be theunpixelatedoriginal photograph. Cole, along with the DJ, Masterstepz, sued these tabloids' parent companyNews Internationaland won at least £100,000 plus legal costs.[21]News International threatened to pursue PinkNews, under theCivil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978,for a share in these costs, but did not in the end follow through. If they had, PinkNews would have been closed down, as it was just astartupat the time.[22]

Relationship with Stonewall[edit]

PinkNewsreported heavily on the refusal ofStonewall,an LGBTQ+ rights group, to actively campaign for gay marriage.[23]Stonewall's then Chief ExecutiveBen Summerskillsuggested "it would cost a staggering £5 billion to implement", a figure later seized upon by opponents ofsame-sex marriagedespite 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 byLynne Featherstone,the minister for equality;Evan Harris,president of Liberal Democrat LGBT+ groupDELGA;andSteve Gilbert,the Lib Dem MP, all of whom said they supported same-sex marriage. A poll commissioned byPinkNewsand 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 accusedPinkNewsof 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]

PinkNewsalso 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 ExecutiveRuth Hunt,Stonewall decided to begin campaigning on transgender issues.[27]

In 2017, Stonewall andPinkNewsco-hosted an electionhustings,[28]and Ruth Hunt has written forPinkNewson a number of occasions.[29]

Advertising and support[edit]

  • PinkNewswas an official supporter of theCoalition for Equal Marriage(C4EM), a counter-organisation to theCoalition for Marriage,and successfully petitioned for the introduction ofsame-sex marriage rights in England and Wales,while the Coalition for Marriage campaigned against it.[30]
  • PinkNewsnamed 25 January asPeter TatchellDay 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]PinkNewsalso published a prose poem written byStephen Fryin honour of Tatchell's birthday on 24 January and frequently carries advertisements for the Peter Tatchell Foundation.[32]
  • On 25 April 2012PinkNewsbegan 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]
  • PinkNewsregularly reported on the progress of theOut4Marriagecampaign, which was started in May 2012 and launched by Mike Buonaiuto andPinkNewsfounder, 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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Cohen, Benjamin (13 May 2014)."Archbishop of Canterbury: It's 'great' that equal marriage is the law of the land".PinkNews.Retrieved28 April2015.
  2. ^"The nominees for the fifth annual PinkNews Awards".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  3. ^Kentish, Benjamin (16 October 2019)."Nancy Pelosi presents John Bercow with LGBT rights award".The Independent.Retrieved17 October2019.
  4. ^"Nick Clegg receives a Pink News award for equal marriage - GOV.UK".gov.uk.Retrieved12 October2017.
  5. ^abc"The PinkNews Awards Winners and Nominees in full".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  6. ^Davies, Caroline (26 October 2016)."David Cameron gets award for introducing same-sex marriage".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved12 October2017.
  7. ^abTobitt, Charlotte (12 December 2022)."Pink News tackles news avoidance with positive news filter".Press Gazette.Retrieved13 December2022.
  8. ^Cohen, Benjamin (30 July 2007)."Comment: How PinkNews.co.uk changed the gay media".PinkNews.Retrieved15 January2023.
  9. ^Shoffman, Marc (29 June 2006)."The Pink News launches new gay era".PinkNews.
  10. ^Tobbit, Charlotte (1 September 2022)."Pink News CEO on how £2m profit LGBTQ+ brand resonates with Gen Z".Press Gazette.Retrieved9 November2022.
  11. ^"Pink News editorial policy".PinkNews.Retrieved4 April2012.
  12. ^"Sir John Major: We should remember those who have fought for a more accepting Britain".PinkNews.Retrieved11 October2017.
  13. ^Blair, Tony (5 December 2005)."We are living in a new age of equality".PinkNews.
  14. ^abLuft, Oliver (28 July 2010)."Pink News five years on: 'revenue could rise ten-fold'".Press Gazette. Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2012.Retrieved21 December2011.
  15. ^Cameron, David (23 June 2011)."Why It's vital to kick homophobia out of sport".PinkNews.
  16. ^"Theresa May writes for PinkNews on the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act".PinkNews.Retrieved11 October2017.
  17. ^Roberts, Rachel (12 June 2017)."Theresa May appoints Justice Secretary opposed to LGBT rights".The Independent.Retrieved18 June2017.
  18. ^Jeremy Corbyn: Much more needs to be done to tackle homophobia in our society.PinkNews.Published 26 July 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  19. ^Duffy, Nick (2 January 2020)."Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran comes out as pansexual: 'Pan is about the person, not the gender'".PinkNews.Retrieved3 January2020.
  20. ^"Layla Moran: Lib Dem MP announces she is pansexual".BBC News.3 January 2020.Retrieved3 January2020.
  21. ^Brook, Stephen (26 June 2006)."England star wins libel payout over sex slur".The Guardian.Retrieved25 September2017.
  22. ^Park, James (9 July 2011)."How the News of the World threatened PinkNews after Ashley Cole expose".PinkNews.co.uk.Retrieved22 May2012.
  23. ^abcReeves, Andrew (28 September 2010)."What does Stonewall want if it isn't gay marriage?".LibDemVoice.org.Archived fromthe originalon 8 June 2013.Retrieved11 January2013.
  24. ^"Stonewall undermines campaign for gay marriage".Peter Tatchell. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2010.Retrieved22 May2012.
  25. ^Geen, Jessica (27 October 2010)."Stonewall says it will campaign for gay marriage".PinkNews.co.uk.Retrieved22 May2012.
  26. ^"Celebs split over trans protest at Stonewall Awards".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  27. ^"Stonewall announces it will now campaign for trans rights too".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  28. ^"General Election 2017: Stonewall LGBT hustings sells out".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  29. ^"Ruth Hunt · PinkNews".PinkNews.Retrieved12 October2017.
  30. ^"C4EM supporters".C4EM. Archived fromthe originalon 2 January 2013.Retrieved4 April2012.
  31. ^"Peter Tatchell Day declared".Rainbow Forum LGBT Group. Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2012.Retrieved4 April2012.
  32. ^"Peter Tatchell Day poem".PinkNews. 24 January 2012.Retrieved4 April2012.
  33. ^Gray, Stephen."Video: Coalition for Equal Marriage releases beautiful viral campaign film".PinkNews.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 1 January 2013.Retrieved22 May2012.
  34. ^"Comment: I hope my Equal Marriage film wakes us all up to support changing the law".PinkNews.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 24 June 2017.Retrieved22 May2012.
  35. ^"Out4Marriage".out4marriage.org.Retrieved26 July2015.
  36. ^Grice, Andrew (24 May 2012)."Home Secretary Theresa May records video declaring full support for gay marriage".The Independent.Retrieved27 May2012.
  37. ^Guardian, The (24 May 2012)."Theresa May records video in support of gay marriage – video".The Guardian.Retrieved27 May2012.

External links[edit]

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