We pay a lot of lip service here to the idea that magazines and newspapers are a dying breed these days. But how can you not?

It's no longer just a conceptual exercise, like "Oh, when the Internet really takes off and everyone buys a Kindle there will be no more need for paper journalism."

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Deborah Howell had her work cut out for her this Sunday. The Washington Post ombudsman had to explain why her paper did not mention fallen American soldier Major Alan Rogers' homosexuality.

Rogers died in Iraq early this year and, according to his friends, begrudgingly hid his homosexuality under the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Those same friends say Rogers would have wanted his untimely death to highlight our army's unfair treatment of gays.

Howell explained yesterday, however, that the original story did include Rogers's homosexuality, but Executive Editor Len Downie made the call to excise that tidbit because "there was no proof that Rogers was gay and no clear indication that, if he was, he wanted the information made public."

Howell goes on to defend Downie's decision, which is in line with the Post's editorial standard on sexuality: it shouldn't be mentioned unless absolutely integral. Not all gay activists, the paper believes, are gay, which is definitely true.

Though she doesn't criticize Downie outrightly, Howell does some more digging into Rogers' life - including chatting with other activist friends - and concludes that the story would have been "richer" with more details on Rogers' private life.

The Post was right to be cautious, but there was enough evidence — particularly of Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell" — to warrant quoting his friends and adding that dimension to the story of his life. The story would have been richer for it.

Now that the story's out, perhaps Rogers' death can do some actual good…

Canadian Neil Smith never imagined he'd become a professional writer. Sure, he liked writing and all, but dismissed it as a hobby - until his marvelous short stories started getting published.

It wasn't long until an agent contacted Smith and persuaded him to publish a collection of nine thoughtful, profound tales, Bang Crunch, which Vintage Contemporaries recently republished in paperback form.

Our editor chatted with Smith this morning and got the scoop on his literary process, the inevitability of melancholy and how he discovered his own imagination. Read all about it, after the jump.

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It's a big day for veteran reporter Randy Lovely. The openly homo-journo has accepted the top slot at Gannett's Arizona Republic, which he joined back in 2002. Lovely can now call himself the top gay editor in all the land - well, in the United States, at least. From Editor & Publisher:

Lovely, 43, is a 16-year Gannett employee and is a Native American.

He said he first learned of the promotion on Thursday. "The great thing is continuity," he said of his appointment from within the Republic. "I have been here for six years. I won’t start overnight trying to fix things."

The move makes Lovely the only openly gay top editor of a major U.S. newspaper. He has been a member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association since 1999.

Lovely says he has never hidden his sexual preference, but is not among the most outspoken gay rights activists. "There are many others who are much more involved. I support them, but I am not on the leadership," he says of his NLGJA membership. "I have not had to be anything other than what I am. I can't be the one to tell anyone they have to be out. But it is not something I am afraid of."

Lovely ain't the first openly gay editor. The late Roy Aarons, who once edited The Oakland Tribune, came out in 1990.

It's a historic day in Gayville! From Box Turtle Bulletin:

Today marks a very important milestone in LGBT history. Fifty years ago today, on January 13, 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its first ever pro-gay ruling in ONE Inc. v. Olesen, a landmark decision that allowed a magazine for gays and lesbians to be sent through the U.S. mail.
…
the Supreme Court issued its short, one-sentence decision on January 13, 1958 without hearing oral arguments. That decision not only overturned the two lower courts, but the Court expanded the First Amendment’s free speech and press freedoms by effectively limiting the power of the Comstock Act to interfere with the written word.

Good thing, too, because otherwise we'd be out of a job!

The boys over at Out are all sorts of ready for summer - they've just completedy their annual swimsuit issue.

The gay glossy includes a feature on nude yoga, foodie food secrets and, of course, a generous Nino Muñoz shot spread of gorgeous guys. Look for it on January 15, baby!

It's a sad, sad day in the media world.

Details magazine announced that it will no longer include the "Gay Or…" back page. The four-year old feature caused many a controversy, perhaps none as memorable as their Gay or Asian piece which, as Ad Age's Nat Ives points out, hinged on a plethora of stereotypes:

"White T-shirt: V-neck nicely showcases sashimi-smooth chest," one entry on the page said. "What other men visit salons to get, the Asian gene pool provides for free." In another spot: "One orders take-out sushi, the other delivers it."

That is just vile - forgetting Mexicans like that!

Details EIC Daniel Peres promises the mini-scandals had nothing to do with the feature's demise. It seems his team simply lacks the imagination to come up with more head scratchers: "Pissing people off is never really a problem for me. It had simply run its course. It was getting difficult coming up with good ideas." Last month's Gay or Straight sealed the deal.

Legendary and litigious music producer Danny Fields will appear on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius radio show today at 4:30 to discuss his ridiculous lawsuit against Out magazine.

In case you don't recall, Fields claims the gay glossy tarnished his name by implying he used his punk rock powers to woo young boys.

As we and Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici pointed out, however, Fields once bragged about doing just that. In Please Kill Me: Uncensored Oral History of Punk, Fields recalls fun-loving days at Max's Kansas City:

You could have sex with all the bus boys… Anybody who walked into that room, you could fuck, because they all wanted to get into the back room. And you would say, "You'll have to fuck me and I'll let you sit at a good table."

Will Fields offer a logical explanation or continue his $100 million quest? Find out today at 4:30.

There will be no gay education in Jamaica. The education minister denied a newspaper story insisting a pro-gay book would be added to the nation's curriculum. The news shouldn't surprise any one, of course - Jamaica's become quite the homophobic nation. Nor should anyone be surprised by the Jamaica Observer's lede:

The education ministry moved swiftly yesterday to quell fears among teachers and parents that it had hit rock bottom by endorsing a school textbook that apparently promoted same-sex unions and homosexuality.

Maybe the homophobes in Warrensburg, Missouri should head on down to Jamaica.

Ridiculous has a new name, and it's Steve Wiegand. The Sacramento-based journo spent some ink this week decrying poking fun at SB 777, the anti-bully bill Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed earlier this month. Wiegand's analysis is at once hilarious and frightful:

…Today's topic: The injustice of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger having signed Senate Bill 777, which was authored by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, who is widely known to be a lesbian. Which is like a homosexual, only female.

Anyway, folks, this here SB 777 should have been numbered 666, since it is truly the devil's work.

What this bill would do, according to Kuehl, is clarify, codify and make more orderly a law that has already been on the books for five years. Basically, it would make it clear that discriminating against – i.e., bullying, assaulting, taunting, ridiculing, spitting on, cursing or denigrating – someone at school because their sexual preferences don't square with your own is illegal.

That's pretty devilish.

[Apologies to Wiegand. We misinterpreted his words as hateful, when, in fact, they are quite hilarious. Frightfully so..]

It's been two months since we heard about Larry Craig's disorderly conduct arrest in Minnesota. In honor of this blessed anniversary, CBS News sat down with Idaho Newstateman's Dan Popkey, the dedicated journo who spent nearly a year delving into Craig's reported faggotry. As the dust settles around Craig, Popkey's got one hope: that America's learned its lesson.

This story is a very big deal, but not only on a political level. I think it has enormous cultural consequences. And I hope that there will be some positive change because of it. I think that some people who may have had closed minds about whether a gay person can serve well in a high office … they might have their minds opened as a result of this.

Popkey also worries that he's not his paper's best public representative. Don't worry, Popkey, we've seen you on television and you're doing a great job. Although, you could use a bit more graphic language. But that's just our fucking style.