Logo patted itself on the back when announced their Jason Bellini-hosted 30-minute weekly news show. Veteran political journalist Doug Ireland, however, wants to slap them across the corporate face for their failure to mention consistently anti-gay Iran during their end-of-the-year spectacular. The frequent Gay City News contributor wrote to Jason directly:
I just watched your half-hour end-of-the-year “news” review on LOGO. And I was truly appalled when, in your oh-so-brief inclusion of Ahmadinejad’s infamous “no homosexuals in Iran” statement among the top ten stories of the year, there was not a word about the horrific, lethal campaign of persecution of LGBT people in Iran by its theocratic regime.
Coming just days after Iran’s hanging of 21-year-old Makwan Moloudzadeh — for having had sex (at the age of 13) with other boys his own age — aroused worldwide revulsion, your glaring omission of any word about the skein of daily repression which same-sexers face in Iran — Internet entrapment, raids on private homes and parties, arrests, torture, imprisonment, lashings, forced sex-change operations, executions, and the rest — is stunning and incomprehensible.
Your broadcast found time to talk about Ellen’s dog (twice) and about the feud between Mr. Trump and Ms. O’Donnell (twice) and other entertainment trivialities, but about the unspeakable persecutions visited on gay people in Iran you and your colleagues were utterly silent. By the way, I have yet to hear a word about the hanging of Makwan on your air. And still you call this show-biz fluff you’re doing “news”?
No word on whether Bellini’s responded to Ireland’s irate missive.
hells kitchen guy
Somebody actually watches Logo?
Dawster
to Doug:
T H A N K Y O U.
(to HKG – yes, we do.)
Ash
Jason Bellini has always struck me as a moron with no voice training and little journalism training. He doesn’t speak well, isn’t engaging, and doesn’t seem that smart. I’m less than surprised, and as always, less than impressed.
qjersey
Logo serves a real need for many LGBTQ folks and youth, however, it is just another corporate cash in. C’mon, news shows are cheap to produce…and they just got around to a half-assed weekly news show? I don’t understand why Logo has not picked up some great LGBTQ programming that has been on neighborhood cable in NYC, particularly Viacom is located in NYC!
Gregg
Gay USA on local cable in NYC, and also available as a podcast, is light years better than Logo’s sad news show. On Logo, they gloss over Iran, mention Huckabee while making him seem likable, and only go in depth when talking about celebs. Corporate media at its most mediocre.
Amber LeMay
People watch Logo for news? I thought that’s what Comedy Central was for.
kamasutrajones
The point is that if Logo claims to be producing a news show for the community, it should include the inanities of Ahmedinejad and Iran’s continued execution of LGBTQ members of it’s society. Though, I will point out that such atrocities don’t only occur in Iran, but in any Islamic nation that follows sharia law, which says that all homosexuals should die a slow painful death.
leomoore
I’m a little surprised anyone actually watches LOGO. I see it in my guide on DirectTV, but it reruns series endlessly. The movies seem to be directed more towards female viewers. The series on short films can be interesting, but there doesn’t seem to be much else. If I want news, I look at BBC America. CBS has little more credibility than Fox News.
hells kitchen guy
Watching Logo for news is like buying Playboy for the articles. (or Genre)
Nitesurf
LOGO has been an enormous disappointment.
todd
Who cares about Iran? And who cares about Logo? Sue CBS for not jumping on the Iran is scary bandwagon!
ggreen
With Logo, like all MTV/Viacom networks, if it doesn’t happen in NYC it’s not important. As everyone knows NYC is that capital of the known universe.
Dawster
as stated, i watch Logo… but i don’t know anyone who watches Logo NEWS (and takes it seriously). it’s so quick, preppy, upbeat, and stylized. it hardly functions as “news” and is more of an afterthought to people too crystaled up to concentrate on anything for more than 30 seconds.
THAT, i think is the true crime… but not from Logo’s standpoint… from CBS’ standpoint. unless Logo develops it’s own separate news division… it has to rely on what CBS gives them – and that’s the glossy “genre”-esque version of the news.
the presenter… is just a that: a pretty face presenter no different than MTV’s “news” presenters. you don’t seriously think they are slaving over the AP wire trying to come up with the day’s broadcast, do you? please.
buck
Doug Ireland sounds like a pompous asshole. I loved how that fool said “Mr. Trump and Ms. O’Donnell” like he’s with Lovey at the country club. Her name is Rosie, fool. I think Bellini deserves more credit…In fact, I remember seeing an entire story devoted to gay persecution in Iran a couple shows ago.
Jack E. Jett
As a victim of the verbiage of Doug Ireland, I would like to fing out what his background is as far as producing newscasts or television shows.
Here is what he had to say about our show;
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As the host of what’s billed as QTN’s “avant-garde†chat show, “Queer Edgeâ€â€”a portly, 50ish gentlemen named Jack E. Jett who thinks wearing one glove and a multi-colored Mohawk and repeatedly climbing on top of his desk makes him avant-garde—said the other day, “You don’t have to be talented to do this show.†How right he was. Only occasional glimpses of semi-pulchritudinous go-go boys gyrating on the set provide any relief from the utter mindlessness of these talk shows. And for this garbage we also have to endure commercials?
——-
While I will cop to most everything he said about me, his claim of only enjoying the go go boys made me question what show he had seen. We never had male go go dancers on The QueerEdge. We had two big breasted girls named The Barbarellas.
Yes I know this is off topic but one rarely has a chance to respond to bitchy comments about something you create.
While I don’t think one had to be talented to host the QueerEdge, I think it takes even less talent to write about it.
Jack Jett
50 and Portly
hells kitchen guy
Jack: First rule of showbiz is attacking your critics only makes you look small. Let it go.
Dawster
Jackie J, what can i do to get “the QueerEdge” back on the waves?
Jack Jett
hells kitchen….
i am not small …i am portly….it is the cameras that got smaller.
you are right….but i couldn’t pass up the chance.
i have broken every single rule in this biz of show.