Equality Matters was a media and communications initiative in support of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

in the United States. Equality Matters was a partner organization with

Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a non-profit left-leaning watchdog journalism organization. It was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center. It seeks to ...

, a progressive media

watchdog group Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative journalism where journalists, authors or publishers of a news publication fact-check and interview political and public figures to increase accountability in democratic governance systems. Role ...

Richard Socarides Richard Socarides is an American polymath, who has been active primarily as a businessman, journalist, political strategist, writer and venture capitalist. He is the founder and CEO of Kozani Capital LLC, a venture capital and corporate advisor ...

, a longtime LGBT rights activist and former senior advisor to President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on gay civil rights issues, served as the founding president of Equality Matters, and Kerry Eleveld, journalist for ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'', served as editor beginning in 2011. Both announced their departure from the organization in November 2011.

History

The organization, an offshoot of

, was founded as a "communications war room for gay equality," and was launched on December 23, 2010. While Media Matters focuses broadly to "notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation," Equality Matters looked solely at

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

issues in the media. Since the departure of Richard Socarides and Kerry Eleveld in November 2011, Equality Matters remained active as a mirror site for Media Matters' LGBT content, with a separate Equality Matters blog and podcast (since March 29, 2011) authored by Bradley Herring and Carlos Maza.

Organization

Equality Matters was an internet-based organization. Their official website featured coverage of LGBT issues in the media. The website featured a blog, a fact checking section, videos, and "Top Picks of the Week", which the organization stated was "Our picks for the most interesting, outrageous, or thought provoking stories of the week."

Association with Media Matters for America

According to

David Brock David Brock is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives in the Democratic Par ...

, founder of Media Matters for America,

Equality Matters will build on the work done by edia Matters and Media Matters Action Network Through strategic communication, research, training and media monitoring, Equality Matters will strengthen efforts for full LGBT rights and correct anti-gay misinformation. Its goal is to enhance advocacy and activism across all platforms and to leverage expertise in support of others who are working to make full equality a national imperative.

Goals

According to Media Matters founder David Brock, Equality Matters should "expose right-wing bigotry and homophobia wherever we find it" and "stiffen the spines of progressives."

David Mixner David Benjamin Mixner (August 16, 1946 – March 11, 2024) was an American political activist and author. He was best known for his work in anti-war and gay rights advocacy. Mixner played a key role in defeating Proposition 6 in California, ...

, gay author and activist, said of the group that "while a range of groups are working to advance gay rights, the movement has lacked a national rapid-response war room of the sort that can push back against homophobic messages in the media and the political arena and keep the pressure on elected officials."

Public reception

In the months following its December 2010 launch, Equality Matters faced some criticism about the way the organization was being run. Peter Rosenstein of the ''

Washington Blade The ''Washington Blade'' is an LGBTQ newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the '' Philadelphia Gay News'' and the '' Gay City New ...

'' stated that he believed "Over the past couple of months it appears that Equality Matters may have been launched too soon and before its organizers had a real strategy and mission for what they would do."

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.equalitymatters.org Media analysis organizations and websites LGBTQ political advocacy groups in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.