Pride shame — our apology

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

The Journal messed up (that doesn’t sound strong enough, but I’m not allowed to write the word I want to use in print) this week. We printed only one photo in our primary story about Pride, and it was of two straight men who were service providers at the event. It was a bad call, and we deeply apologize.

There were a variety of circumstances that led to this, but explaining them would only, yet again, decenter the people who were harmed by this. The ultimate point that needs to be focused on here is acknowledging our part in the continued erasure of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community — even in an article ABOUT them.

The truth is that errors like this happen disproportionately to marginalized groups. Whether it’s fun to admit or not, it’s easy to let seemingly small choices happen at various stages and then throw our hands up in innocence, claiming it wasn’t intentional. For us, there were many of these small choices that led to what happened: the choice to take the photo, the choice to upload it as a possible story accompaniment, the choice to place it on the front page, the choice to leave it there, the choice to remove other photo boxes from the jump section, the choice to print it that way. Many hands were involved, which makes it easy to throw blame elsewhere.

At some point, we have to stop and own those choices. I see a lot of people proclaim allyship but then hold their own discomfort at acknowledging seemingly small mistakes or biases (and what that means about their own values or character) higher than the harm caused by those actions. If we want to change things, we have to be able to see that these situations don’t happen in a vacuum — photos in a newspaper, comments in a private conversation, decisions in a hiring room — at what point is it now causing harm large enough for us to accept it as real?

Megan Boe and Memes Bouwman, both queer women, threw that party for a community that has been erased and dismissed and shoved into the shadows so viciously and for so long that there is a literal entire month each year now dedicated to shining the spotlight on them. Those two women and that community should have been on the front page. We are so sorry — as an organization and personally as neighbors and community members.

What we get to do now is contribute to forward progress and change by trying to make amends. This week’s paper showcases queer joy on our front page, and a full montage of more photos can be found on our website. We are printing letters to the editor that call out our error. This is how we hold the news accountable, and it’s what makes us different from Facebook news or social media or national news held captive by billionaires. It’s why local news continuing in the face of artificial intelligence, fake news and 24-hour entertainment news cycles really matters.

Thank you for your continued support as we stumble and try to course-correct. Our goal of amplifying local (and especially marginalized) voices is something we will continue to strive for. Please keep speaking out; please keep calling us in to accountability. We will listen. We’re sorry.