Nico Hines
Nico Hines is the London editor for The Daily Beast, and former Washington correspondent for The Times. Tina Brown called Hines "a first-rate reporter whose wit and flair will be right at home on The Beast" when he joined The Daily Beast.[1] He has a wife and two children.[2]
Hines is most well-known for writing an incendiary piece in The Daily Beast about LGBTQ athletes in the 2016 Summer Olympics, especially the outing of gay athletes staying at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Controversial stories
Muslim patrols story
Hines received criticism from Islamophobia Watch (IW) in 2013 for an article regarding an attack on US student Francesco Hounye, erroneously linking the attack to alleged "Muslims patrols", and claiming that Detective Constable Ben Mott "called upon the Muslim community to identify the men who left a tourist scarred for life", despite no such comments being made towards Muslims. The former leader of the anti-Islam English Defence League, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, "seized on Hines' inaccurate and inflammatory report to spread another poisonous story about Muslims", according to IW.[3]
Gay Olympians story
Hines gained widespread notoriety in August 2016 for a Daily Beast article, which he claimed was written with the intention to find out if an "average Joe" could find his way into the "hotbed of partying athletes, hookups, and sex, sex, sex" at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[4] Although he originally used a number of apps, including Tinder, Bumble and Jack'd, he focused on the geosocial networking app for gay men, Grindr, due to "instant hookup success". Originally titled "I Got Three Grindr Dates in an Hour in the Olympic Village", the piece was later edited to "The Other Olympic Sport in Rio: Swiping".[4]
Although Hines did not mention any LGBT Olympians by name in his original piece, he included the heights, weights and countries of origin of several athletes whom he arranged dates with and enough details to identify several Olympians, at least one from a country with laws against homosexuality.[5][6] In his original piece, Hines recognised that some athletes remained in the closet at home, due to living in "notoriously homophobic" countries.[7]
The story was widely acknowledged as "dangerous" and "homophobic",[5] and a violation of journalistic ethics.[6] Calls for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to revoke Hines' press credentials followed shortly.[8] The IOC issued a statement that "this kind of reporting is simply unacceptable" and indicated that Hines was withdrawn from Rio by the Daily Beast, which many have seen as "an attempt ... to forestall the IOC taking any more action".[9]
Within hours, the piece faced intense backlash online.[10][11][12][13] John Avlon, the editor-in-chief for The Daily Beast, revised the article to remove some identifying details and added a note to the article stating "Some readers have read Nico as mocking or sex-shaming those on Grindr. We do not feel he did this in any way",[14] but after criticism from Dan Savage (among others), the article was removed altogether[15] and replaced with a retraction and apology[14][16] stating "Publishing an article that in any way could be seen as homophobic is contrary to our mission."[17] Hines, however, refused to comment or apologize for his actions, and his Twitter feed makes no mention of the controversy, despite being bombarded with negative comments.[4]
Reactions
In the article, Hines provided enough detail to identify the athletes, despite not providing names, prompting reactions from the gay community including openly gay Olympians, and allies.[17]
- Amini Fonua criticized the article, writing "Imagine the one space you can feel safe, the one space you're able to be yourself, ruined by a straight person who thinks it's all a joke?"[18][19][20]
- Andrew M Seaman, ethics committee chair for the Society of Professional Journalists, called the article "journalistic trash, unethical and dangerous".[21]
- Michelangelo Signorile wrote that the article "serves no purpose journalistically".[22]
- Noah Shachtman, the executive editor of the Daily Beast tweeted "We were wrong. We'll do better."[23]
- Tyler Oakley wrote "when LGBTQ+ people are protective of our safe places, understand WHY. we can be killed in our clubs. entrapment can happen on our apps."[24]
- DeRay Mckesson wrote "It is disappointing that the @thedailybeast published @NicoHines' story in the first place. That wasn't journalism."[24]
- Gus Kenworthy tweeted "So @NicoHines basically just outed a bunch of athletes in his quest to write a shitty @thedailybeast article where he admitted to entrapment".[24]
- Fortune Feimster wrote "Nico Hines is a piece of garbage for outing closeted gay Olympians who are closeted because they could get killed in their countries."[24]
- Scott Nevins wrote "Does @NicoHines realize his astounding straight privilege put athletes lives in immense danger, all for a badly written @thedailybeast piece".[24]
- Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote that the article is "a prurient, loathsome thing to do to them, and to their families, especially to those coming from places Hines acknowledges are intolerant to gay people."[1]
- A spokesman for Grindr stated "We consider ourselves a safe space for the gay world, and while everyone is welcome, it is with the understanding that this is a community, not a novelty for reporters to troll".[23]
- The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association stated "The reporting was unethical, extremely careless of individual privacy and potentially dangerous to the athletes".[25]
- President of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, wrote "How this reporter thought it was OK — or that somehow it was in the public's interest — to write about his deceitful encounters with these men reflects a complete lack of judgment and disregard for basic decency, not to mention the ethics of journalism".[25][26]
- Ashland Johnson, public policy director for Athlete Ally wrote "The apology, the deleting the story, they are a great step but the damage had been done".[25]
- Vince Gonzales, professor of professional practice at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism wrote "I think this borders on journalistic malpractice".[25]
- The International Olympic Committee told Outsports in an email statement that: "We understand the organization concerned recalled the journalist after complaints and withdrew the story. This kind of reporting is simply unacceptable."[9]
- Ken Miguel, the vice president of broadcast at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association told the Daily Dot that Hines' actions were "unethical", and that "You don't have to be an LGBTQ journalist to see that. Any journalist should know that they are not allowed to lie."[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Williams, Mary (August 11, 2016). "Olympic sex reporting gone wrong: How not to cover the international athlete hook-up scene". Salon.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Breemer, Anna van den (12 August 2016). "Grindr-avances in olympisch dorp: The Daily Beast onder vuur om stuk dat atleten out". DeMorgen (in Nederlands). Retrieved 15 August 2016.
De Amerikaanse journalist Nico Hines - zelf heteroseksueel, getrouwd en vader van twee kinderen...
- ↑ Pitt, Bob. "Daily Beast provides anti-Muslim ammunition for former EDL leader". Islamophobia Watch.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lawson, Kimberly (12 August 2016). "Daily Beast retweets calls for writer of Olympics catfishing story to be fired, then deletes them". Daily Dot.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sopelsa, Brooke; Yohannes, Alamin (August 11, 2016). "Daily Beast's Olympic Grindr Story Slammed as 'Dangerous,' 'Homophobic'". NBCNews.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rodriguez, Mathew (August 11, 2016). "Seriously, F*ck That 'Daily Beast' Gay-Baiting, Life-Threatening Olympics Piece". Identities.Mic.
- ↑ Stern, Mark Joseph (11 August 2016). "This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical". Slate.
- ↑ Ramsell, Kevin (August 11, 2016). "IOC must revoke Nico Hines, Daily Beast, Olympics credentials immediately - Outsports". Outsports.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Buzinski, Jim (14 August 2016). "IOC calls Olympic Grindr sex article 'unacceptable,' says Daily Beast sent Nico Hines home". Outsports.com.
- ↑ Mic. "Seriously, F*ck That 'Daily Beast' Gay-Baiting, Life-Threatening Olympics Piece". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ↑ "Everyone's Pissed At This Straight Journalist Who Used Grindr To Out Gay Athletes In Rio". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ↑ Williams, Mary Elizabeth. "Olympic sex reporting gone wrong: How not to cover the international athlete hook-up scene". Salon. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ↑ Stern, Mark Joseph (2016-08-11). "This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Guarino, Ben (August 12, 2016). "‘Probably gonna get some gay guy killed’: Daily Beast exposé on Olympic hookups could have huge consequences". National Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Pallotta, Frank; McLean, Rob (August 12, 2016). "Daily Beast removes Olympics Grindr article after backlash - Aug. 12, 2016". CNN. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ "A Note From the Editors - The Daily Beast". August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Acker, Lizzy (August 12, 2016). "The Daily Beast kind of apologizes for potentially outing gay athletes in Rio". OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Rusciano, Em (August 12, 2016). "Daily Beast Olympics Grindr article: The stupidity of this piece is beyond belief". Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Allegretti, Aubrey (August 12, 2016). "Gay Olympian Amini Fonua Attacks Daily Beast For 'Endangering Lives' Over Grindr Article". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Mele, Christopher; Chokshi, Niraj (August 12, 2016). "Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio". Nytimes.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Guarino, Ben (August 12, 2016). "‘Trash, unethical and dangerous': Daily Beast lambasted for Olympic dating article". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Signorile, Michelangelo (August 12, 2016). "Why The Daily Beast Thought Its Article Endangering Gay Olympians Was Perfectly Acceptable". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Rio 2016: Daily Beast 'sorry for outing gay athletes'". BBC. August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 "Jornalista usa apps para expor publicamente atletas gays na Rio2016 - NE10". August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Maltais, Michelle (August 12, 2016). "Bad form at the Olympics in Daily Beast's Grindr-baiting story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Río 2016: Un diario retira un artículo que sacó del armario a deportistas de países homófobos". El País. August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
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