GLAAD Withdraws Support for AT&T's Proposed Merger with T-Mobile

[Ian David]

GLAAD Withdraws Support for AT&T's Proposed Merger with T-Mobile
Posted by Chris Geidner |
July 13, 2011 3:01 PM | Permalink

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) withdrawing its support for AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile. In the letter, GLAAD also stated its strong support for, as the organization put it in a news release, "the tenets of net neutrality."

Mike Thompson, GLAAD's acting president, filed today's letter after the organization received extensive criticism for the move endorsing the merger, as well as a series of letters involving the FCC's consideration of net neutrality rules. The move resulted in then-President Jarrett Barrios resigning from the organization and Thompson stepping in as acting president.

Thompson writes that GLAAD "received many expressions of concern about our May 31st letter after its filing. We have taken those concerns under consideration, and have over the last several weeks engaged in a much more rigorous and consultative examination of the relative benefits and drawbacks to AT&T's application than we undertook in advance of the filing of our initial letter. We concluded at the end of this reconsideration process that GLAAD should return to a neutral position regarding AT&T's merger application."

In a statement announcing the changed position, Thompson went further, saying that "the explanation used to support this particular merger was not sufficiently consistent with GLAAD's work to advocate for positive and culture-changing LGBT stories and images in the media."

More:
http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/07/glaad-withdraws-support-for-at.html

[FiveGoodMen]

1. While everyone's entitled to an opinion...

I don't quite get why GLAAD (as an org) is weighing in on the issue of mergers between communications companies.

[Ian David]

2. ... and THAT would be why their president resigned soon afterward. n/t

[TheWraith]

3. Same here. Although if they're going to get involved, I'm glad they're not endorsing.

We have far too few national wireless carriers already.