“Do journalists have a duty to report on the sexuality of so-called ‘glass-closeted’ gay people? They do if those people are powerful, says Felix Salmon of Reuters,” Ken Fisher writes for Ars Technica. “Media attention on powerful gays and lesbians, even those in the closet, is a social good because it promotes and celebrates diversity, he argues. If it is inspirational to millions to see a gay person at the helm of an illustrious company, Salmon believes we have an ethical duty to not to gloss over the sexuality of such a person, even if that person has never publicly “come out.” To fail to do so, Salmon suggests, can be unethical, because it’s dishonest.”
Fisher writes, “It is impossible to discuss this debate without discussing its genesis, and that means visiting upon the private life of the man who is at the center of the debate: Tim Cook. The former COO of Apple is now filling Steve Jobs’ running shoes as CEO, which makes him massively powerful in tech and, for many, a hero. Cook has chosen not to discuss his private life; very little has even been gossiped about Tim Cook’s personal details, and facts are few and far between. Still, there is a consensus that Cook is gay (Salmon cites the “‘public realm’ as his source) but, without Cook being open about it, it’s something journalists can only speculate (or gossip) about based on other less solid sources.”
Fisher notes, “I can’t help but notice that this now makes two Apple CEOs in a row where the press has struggled to define limits covering their private lives.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We stand by our Take from January 21, 2011.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Kristian” for the heads up.]
Related article:
Gawker’s Valleywag outs Tim Cook as ‘most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley’ – January 21, 2011
This is easy.
No.
Really don’t give a shit… Wont effect my life one way or the other.
But seriously, society has become thin-skinned to a fault.
I bet each of you feel strogly about a social issue – enough that your opinion ruffles feathers – but here you are with ruffled feathers.
Toughen up. Quit crying. If you know that being gay is a non-issue, then why cry about it?
Because you want those you disagree with to be silenced – the NEW American way…
This isn’t a gay/not-gay issue. It’s a matter of privacy. It’s something everyone should agree on.
It’s none of their business.
You’re right, Bunsen, your comment should totally silence us.
Irony much?
The press are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. I long for the day when it’s a non-issue.
There is no need to “out” gays. It’s the left-handed people we need to know about. Damn lefties!
Aw, well, I guess I better come out then. It’s rough being a lefty you know! Just trying to find a properly-designed pair of scissors is a chore. And worse: Try being a lefty who uses a Dvorak keyboard! Oh, the humanity…
‘ It’s rough being a lefty you know!’ ain’t that truth. I’m lefthanded, lean and hang(or so my tailor would say) to the left, poliically too, drive on the left, own a lefthand drive car, prefer left-field music…and a whole load more…it’s dominating my life!
Shit… I’m left handed, too. >.< I'm screwed!!!
If Tim Cook changes Apple’s pioneering HR policies regarding sexual orientation in a way that is harmful to them and not to him because he isn’t out, the subject matter is fair game. But he isn’tbthe only gay CEO in the village and we don’t need to know if he is or not. Reuters should bevabove such gossip. Why can’t Americans accept that the only reason to be interested in someone’s sexuality is if you want to have sex with him or her and you need to know if your advances have a shot at a result! If the Republican’ts in North Carolina (where Apple just spent a cool $1B) insist on an anti-gay marriage amendment to get the evangelical vote out in 2012 and Tim wants to get involved in that debate, he will have to weigh the impact on the company, the customers and the shareholders first and decide. I think he is far too brilliant a man to have time for such pettiness and gossip.
So what if the new CEO of Apple is closet homosexual? I still expect Cook to be at least as successful as Jobs and that is my ultimate criterion as an Apple consumer.
If someone wishes to remain completely anonymous and have lives free from public scrutiny they ought not be celebrities, public figures, or other members of the high and mighty set or the social elite. The general rule is if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
I don’t think Ars is going to get my page clicks after this article. It’s none of their g/d/ business if someone is gay or not.
If that person wants to make a big deal out of it, and try to inspire other people, then it’s up them not some hack internet blogger who can’t get a real job.
Who cares?
…And all those countries “proud” of the freedom of their citizen…
Gee! Who cares for the “sexuality” of anybody (except the religious extremists)?
Freedom is freedom. If it is not total… then it is not at all!
ABSOLUTELY NOT UNLESS that person is a self-hating &/or opportunistic, religious-right pandering hypocrite by actively working on the anti-LGBT agenda – like those GOP lawmakers past (ex-US Sen. Larry Craig) & present including that old geezer State Rep. Phil Hinkle who bribed an 18 year-old with a Blackberry and an iPad to keep him from talking to the media. Or that senator from Puerto Rico who resigned last week after a pic of him with his pants down & then some on an online gay social network became known. Tim Cook hasn’t harmed anybody. In fact, his genius has helped Steve Jobs & Apple revolutionize the world via better Macs & iOS devices. His sexual preference is nobody’s business but his own.
You should stop using hate speech. I’m a member of the rebellious right who believes God’s Word that homosexuality is a sin which will be punished LIKE ANY OTHER, including my own, but, thankfully God has also provided the answer in Jesus. BTW, God is actively helping homosexuals come out of it and live a full life in Him. What an awesome God!
So, please stop generalizing and slandering and basically being a user of hate speech, ok? It’s bad for you. 🙂
“Living a full life in Him”?
Sounds a bit gay that does 😉
Really? How on earth could you conclude that? God is simply awesome, you should check it out in His Word, the Bible. It radically transformed my life and helped me understand my sin and the forgiveness that comes through Jesus.
Blessings!
How gay.
Reminds me of our teacher who said “that it is not news that dog bites a man it is news when man bites the dog”.
Tim Cook would not be the first nor the last gay as Apple CEO.
Both “model families” like “Brangelina” and those public “loud” gays piss me of equally.
If Tim Cook is in fact gay, I’m glad he can keep the news to himself.
As long as his relationships are legal, I don’t care.
Even if not. Charly Chaplin routinely had relationships and kids with teenagers! Didn’t make him less of a great actor.
BTW the rainbow Apple logo will not return, because Tim Cook is one of them who killed that logo. At one point when Apple needed to reduce costs they realized that printing the Apple logo in colours costed huge amount of money for the company so they desided to make it simpler and save the money. Now the black and white Apple logo is an icon. Simple with style.
I don’t get why it matters TBH. Not mentioning his orientation doesn’t mean he’s hiding it, it just means he keeps his private and business lives separate. In the 21st Century I’d like to think people of all flavours are entitled to do that.
Celeb “magazines” and the like should concentrate on those people that actually feel the need to poke their faces in front of the paps every few hours. There’s plenty of those vacuous bubbleheads around to fill edition after edition.
Orientation has nothing to do with job performance. It’s like judging ability because the man has six toes. The writer is homophobic and he wants the message out to his gang of homophoes. It’s being judgmental under the cloak of (wink, wink) ‘celebrating diversity’.
Or perhaps the writer was rebuffed by Cook in the past and this is “payback”?
It interests me because it creates a perspective on the person. Do not act like it is of no matter if you cannot even be gay and speak about it when you’re in the army.
Tim’s orientation is nobody’s business but his own. He’s done an amazing job as Apple’s COO, and I have every reason to expect him to be a stellar CEO as well.
Felix Salmon is a useless attention whore.
There’s a very obvious social an ethical rule that you are not suppose to go out your way to mention someone’s sexual orientation or race when that information is irrelevant in the current context. It’s just singling someone out as a minority without adding anything relevant to the conversation. Obviously, there’s nothing ethical or responsible about it. It just makes you a dick.
This is the second time I’ve seen article like this on MDN, yet not one shred of credible information to back up the claim about Tim Cook. It’s very sloppy to just say something like that without any semblance of a reason to believe it.
Hold on while I vomit.
Who cares? If the person is the best person for the job, so be it. He can have his personal life however he wants. Non story being made up for hits.
What a strange article. I feel sorry for Tim. He doesn’t have to live in this confusion of being gay, meaning that God can help him if he’ll let Him.
Blessings,
You are ignorant. You are the one who needs help.
Well, actually, daily I do get help from Jesus because I can see that I’m not perfect and have a long way to go. What about you? Have you checked out what God says about sin and then about salvation, or rescue from sin? It’s great stuff!!
Blessings!
It has no relevance in a business context. Your sexual orientation has no bearing on how you run a/your business or operate in the business arena. In the same way your race or religion has no bearing. It may have some influence, but by in large, it is meaningless. I could care less what your orientation might be. What I don’t want is that fact being forced on me (the same for race or religion.) Just run your business. If we happen to be talking and it turns out you are homosexual, then so be it.
If he is, he is. If he isn’t, he isn’t. Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.
Just because you can, does not mean that you should.
With media comes great irresponsibility.
Why would I be in any way shape or form be interested in the sexual orientation of somebody important in tech or politics or showbiz or whatever.
What people do or don’t do in the privacy of there lives is theres.