Jarrett Barrios’ Sloppy Defense of GLAAD’s Obvious Conflicts of Interests (Is Bad for Him, GLAAD + The Gays)
Listening to GLAAD chief Jarrett Barrios defend himself from criticism — that accepting money from the very entertainment media companies it’s policing is a conflict of interest — is like listening to credit ratings agencies like Standard & Poor’s defend themselves from criticism over auditing financial products from the very Wall Street banks that are paying them to do so.
It’s as simple as this: If you take money from a group of people that you’ve charged yourself with independently critquing, YOU CANNOT BE INDEPENDENT.
Sure, GLAAD can still criticize ABC and Fox, despite them giving you money, as Barrios reminds everyone GLAAD does. It’s the same way a credit ratings agency can still rate a mortgage-backed security somewhat negatively. But it doesn’t make Moody’s the best candidate. And it certainly doesn’t make GLAAD. In the world of consumer products, why do you think Consumer Reports is more trusted than Good Housekeeping? Because at CR, there’s no such thing as corporate influence over the reviews.
You can never be truly honest when there is an obvious conflict of interest, as there is with GLAAD, as this website most recently pointed out in its horrifically bungled attempt at handling the Adam Lambert/AMA saga.
Or, more importantly, the mere appearance of a conflict of interest is damaging enough. Because GLAAD answers not to a corporate overseer, but its supporters and the LGBT community. It must work extra hard to convince us that taking money from the same companies it policies is not such a big deal. And if, as Barrios says, it actually isn’t a big deal, he has a larger problem on his hands: How else to explain GLAAD’s terribly unimpressive record? If the organization admitted it kowtows to corporate overseers, at least they’d have an excuse for being mostly ineffective.
Barrios closes his poor defense by explaining why GLAAD gets criticized:
It seems like Signorile, and many who criticize GLAAD’s work, do so because we don’t always see eye to eye. Because we don’t respond to the things they want us to respond to in exactly the way they want us to respond — or, sometimes, because we do respond to certain things and they think we shouldn’t (and it’s worth noting that these voices of criticism can and often do end up disagreeing with each other about what they think GLAAD ought to be doing).
Well, yes. But we also criticize GLAAD because GLAAD deserves criticizing. This isn’t for sport. It isn’t (truly) for pageviews. It’s because GLAAD actively solicits money from the LGBT community, which it so often fails. And Barrios’ defense here — while required — is just another example of GLAAD’s downward spiral.
Enough, already. GLAAD is a waste of $20 million a year.
It isn’t about equality at GLAAD, it’s about salaries (+$350,000 for Barrios) and political networking.
Except GLAAD’s budget is nowhere near $20mm (their latest annual report says $8.8mm in expenses) and Barrios makes nowhere near $350K. Check your facts buddy.
$18,700,799 in receipts in 2008. From their IRS Form 990. (2009 has been estimated at +$20 million). We’ll see when they file their 990 with the IRS.
Several reports has suggested Barrios makes more than $350,000, but GLAAD still refuses to disclose that information. Barrios also has a $100,000 expense account.
Check your facts, buddy. It appears you’re a GLAAD-Bag.
@Brian:
Brian for the win!
Since I’m only 18, and I don’t follow this all the time, what does GLADD actually do?
@Bomba: Don’t ask.
I quit giving to GLAAD years ago, as I thought most of the gay community had. Why does anyone give them money?
What is it with this blog and hating glaad?
With 20 million they could finance a lot of gay content outside of award shows. Filmmakers are struggling right now.
Forgive the superficiality one more time, but it is uniquely disappointing when ineffectual leadership is personified in hunk form like Barrios. I guess he’s our own Dan Quayle.
I think GLAAD is over. Tell GLAAD.
Having met the guy here in Boston, I’m kinda disappointed that it seems he’s completely deluded himself…. not as bad as his campaign against Marshmallow Fluff of course.. but still.
Barrios is a politician. His career is more important than our equality. Sound familiar?
This is EXACTLY why we didn’t want the Mormon Church advertising on Queerty, because everybody knows that you can’t be non-biased when you’re taking loads of money from the people you’re reporting on.
@Cam: As I far as I know Queerty is a blog for gossip /entertainment/gay news not a civil rights watchdog group
I have owned and operated my own successful business for some 45 years now. Yet, even I would feel a tinge of guilt taking the kind of annual salary Barrios is collecting.
And I don’t have to account to anyone, except the revenuers.
No. 15 · ousslander
@Cam: As I far as I know Queerty is a blog for gossip /entertainment/gay news not a civil rights watchdog group
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Gay news….such as reporting on the Mormon Church twisting campaign laws with regard to fundraising for Prop 8, reporting on the Church kicking people off of a public easement area in Salt Lake City merely because they were gay etc…. those stories were posted here, if the Church was buying ads on this space, they would obviously pressure the owners not to run stories along those lines.
As for GLAAD. The only reason that Consumer Reports is trusted to report on products is because they DON’T take advertising. The fact that GLAAD has it’s hands out to the people they are watchdogging is just wrong if we’re supposed to trust their objectivity.
GLAAD needs to find a real purpose.
The gay media has become very good at policing the media. GLAAD needs to find something to do that contributes to our equality – maybe a new strategy.
Otherwise, it’s hard to justify their existence and all the money they consume ($20 million a year).
He has shifty eyes and that is the crappiest sofa! BTW – Signorile is a prick in person!
@Bomba: That is a very telling and instructive question you have asked. The reason that you don’t know what GLAAD is supposed to do is that it hasn’t done much to fight heterosexism in the entertainment industry for years.
i love you papi,you are the best!!!!