“To my infinite regret, we never asked anyone knowledgeable enough about transgender issues to help us either (a) improve the piece, or (b) realize that we shouldn’t run it. That’s our mistake — and really, my mistake, since it’s my site. So I want to apologize. I failed. More importantly, I realized over the weekend that I didn’t know nearly enough about the transgender community – and neither does my staff. I read Caleb’s piece a certain way because of my own experiences in life. That’s not an acceptable excuse; it’s just what happened,” – Bill Simmons, new media pioneer, editor-in-chief of Grantland.
For a more thorough piece on how those mistakes happened, read … Grantland’s Christina Kahrl.
Simmons’ account of how a piece came to be published is fascinating. (I have a question: is there anyone at Grantland who is gay and might have had a role in reviewing this piece? Being gay does not mean understanding the issues facing transgender people, but it helps a little. Diversity does have a point in journalism – and not because of lefty abstractions.) Otherwise, I’m struck by the thoroughness and integrity of the public accounting and the sincerity of the apology. I think it’s way better than would have once happened in legacy media. Because it’s personal and real.
The Dish 