St. Pete Times drops the ball when covering Channel 8 protest

When Alexandra Zayas, from The St. Petersburg Times, called to talk about the Channel 8 protests, I couldn’t have been happier. Intelligent, friendly, compassionate – Zayas understood the topic and had done the research. She was covering the protest and surrounding story, gathering opposing points of view from friend and foe alike.

Hers would be a well-rounded story. I could just tell. So I was happy to contribute a verse.

But then the editors at the Times dropped the ball. They reassigned Alex and gave her story to Ileana Morales, whose account of the protest is half-assed.

I’m not blaming Morales. She was probably working on a tight deadline with a word-limit more appropriate for elementary school book reports.

The blame lies with The St. Petersburg Times. When they give more space to stories like this one about a horror film, one can’t help but wonder why an important media event like the Channel 8 protests got barely 260 words.

Unlike this video, their article doesn’t quote Nadine Smith, Lorna Bracewell, or any of the major players who could articulate a compelling argument.

I’m not just bitching because she left out my point of view.

I’m bitching because the article makes it look like a handful of troublemakers took to the streets when in reality there were over a hundred well-informed protestors. Mentioning the freakshow who put a swastika on his poster is also telling. That idiot doesn’t even come close to representing the majority of intelligent people who braved the heat and abuse of drivers simply to make their voices heard.

I may have disagreed with their premise, but gay rights activists in our community deserve better than they got. Watch out St. Pete Times. Or those red shirts might come for you next.

Tags: Alexandra Zayas, Channel 8 protests, Ileana Morales, St. Petersburg Times