Should news outlets declare allegiances?

By DYLAN BYERS

Following Friday's landmark Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriages, three news organizations -- BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and Mashable -- changed their Twitter avatars to feature the rainbow flag, a symbol of pride in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The decision to endorse a legal ruling that is opposed by many conservatives -- including the vast majority of Republican presidential candidates -- signals how comfortable some news outlets have become with backing certain political causes, and highlights a divide among media organizations not always accounted for in the familiar dichotomies of old vs. new, right vs. left, etc.

No matter their perceived editorial biases, it would be difficult to imagine legacy news brands like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CNN* (see update), NPR or Time magazine taking sides in a political debate that they were expected to cover. The Times, Post or Journal editorial boards would surely be expected to take a stand, but not so the news divisions.

But this is not a divide between legacy and new media alone, for it would be equally difficult to imagine digital-first organizations like POLITICO and Bloomberg News altering their Twitter avatars to include the rainbow flag. While columnists and contributors from those news organizations may write opinions on the matter, the generally accepted view is that news divisions should report on, rather than advocate for, political causes.

Yet for Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, same-sex marriage is an issue which does not have sides. On Friday, he told the On Media blog that BuzzFeed's Twitter avatar was in keeping with its standards guide: "We firmly believe that for a number of issues, including civil rights, women’s rights, anti-racism, and LGBT equality, there are not two sides."

However, that standards guide also dictates that "when it comes to activism, BuzzFeed editorial must follow the lead of our editors and reporters who come out of a tradition of rigorous, neutral journalism that puts facts and news first." Smith said he was proud of his team's coverage.

Lena Auerbuch, a spokesperson for Huffington Post, which is admittedly liberal and officially came out in support of gay marriage in 2013, said Friday, "We've always supported marriage equality and we're glad it's the law of the land."

Jim Roberts, Mashable's Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer, said:  "Mashable has always supported equal rights for all and we are proud to celebrate this historic day.”

UPDATE (3:04 p.m.): Perhaps I stand corrected. This is from CNN:

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on the tweet.