HUFFINGTON
12.09.12
OUT AT THE TIMES
dismantle ingrained homophobia, the attempts
by the new publisher,
Arthur Sulzberger Jr., to
achieve diversity, and,
perhaps most importantly, the coming out of
people like Lee, Schmalz,
and many others has created a general feeling in
recent months among gay
staffers at The Times that
they can speak up about
even complained that
the paper’s health plan
would not be adequate
for him when and if he
is unable to work.
While the editors may
not always follow the advice of gays and lesbians
in the newsroom, gay
staffers say they are now
was a case of hypocrisy.”
The Times, still smarting from the controversy
around having named
the woman who accused
William Kennedy Smith
of raping her, decided
against naming Williams
in a story that referred to
his outing. But Schmalz
thought it was significant
that he was brought into
the discussion.
“By not using gay, The
Times held back a social
movement, refusing
to give it legitimacy.”
their experiences.
“People are now very
vocal when they need to
be,” says Lee. In January,
Times business reporter
Kim Foltz wrote a piece
in The New York Times
Magazine in which he
revealed his HIV-positive status, discussed
his gay relationship, and
asked their opinions
about sensitive issues.
Regarding the decision
on whether to out Assistant Secretary of Defense Pete Williams last
August, Schmalz says, “I
argued that we should
have outed him. He was
publicly defending the
Pentagon’s policy excluding homosexuals. I argued
that it was a case that fit
into the guidelines, that it
“The changes regarding gays at The Times are
a little bit commensurate with the situation
with women here,” says
Times op-ed columnist
Anna Quindlen. “There
was a period when women had to pass. When
you’re passing, you can’t
really come to the of-