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One-two Punch

How lone blogger Andy Towle and his thousands of readers took on religious fanatics and brought online giant Manhunt to its knees.
From The Advocate  October 7, 2008
One-two Punch

“i’m normally not a very opinionated blogger,” says Andy Towle. But during the lazy days of August, at least two things seriously pissed off the mild-mannered Web pioneer. Combined, the instances positioned Towle as both attacker and the attacked and underscored the influence of Towleroad, a site he started five years ago primarily to keep in touch with friends.

On August 18, the antigay Catholic League complained to the Democratic National Convention organizers that Towleroad (pronounced “toll road”) was “anti-Catholic and obscene” -- and requested that the site’s press credentials for convention coverage be rescinded. A press release from the Catholic group complained that the blog “shows men in jock straps and underwear” and that it takes the pope “to task for wearing a cape with ermine.” To which many gay Democratic Party staffers most likely replied, “Of course it does.” After all, those posts are partly what draws such an active audience to the site, which logs a very healthy 4.5 million page views per month. As one visitor responded to Towle’s write-up about the Catholic League press release: “Oooh, It is ON!”

A few days earlier Towle was really ticked off -- and the crowd went wild.

A story by Michael Joseph Gross in the September issue of Out magazine, which identified a cofounder of the popular gay hookup website Manhunt as a Republican, prompted Towle to link to an item from The Huffington Post saying that the same cofounder, Jonathan Crutchley, had donated the maximum amount allowed by law, $2,300, to John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Towle railed against Crutchley for “collecting money from thousands of gays and donating it to a presidential candidate who would deny them status as equal citizens.” And his readers roared back; more than 250 expressed their outrage at Manhunt and Crutchley in the blog’s comments section, and many of them promised to cancel their Manhunt memberships in protest.

Just two days later Larry Basile, Crutchley’s longtime business partner, released a statement saying that Crutchley had stepped down as chairman of the parent company’s board.

Look out, Andy Towle!

Now, Basile didn’t say that Crutchley relinquished any ownership of the corporation -- which is called Online Buddies Inc. -- or that Crutchley would not retain any other position. And it’s not clear how many -- if any -- people canceled their Manhunt memberships in response to Towleroad. But the whirlwind of activity invigorated Towle as he flew into Denver to cover the convention. “I didn’t fully understand the broad simmering level of anger that was about to set the Manhunt revolt in action,” he says. “I’m continually amazed at the viral power of blogging.”  

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Xylitol
    Date posted: 2008-09-12 1:14 PM
    Hometown: NYC

    Comment:

    Um, why the hate for The Advocate. I enjoy towleroad too, but like most bloggers he is mostly collecting and posting news other sources break. Sources like Out Magazine--didn't Out first report on Manhunt? There's an art and skill to what Andy does, but breaking stories is rarely part of it.


  • Name: Real Deal
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 11:00 PM
    Hometown: New York City

    Comment:

    PETERPARKER. You are wrong! Andy DOES have control over this by not using this company from Google. If Andy is going to post blogs about defending gay issues and I look down and see an ad for a gay hating church, you have to admit it sends mix messages. I think it would be in Andy's best interest as well as the interests of his readers to avoid this company if it can't be regulated. What sense does it make to allow a renegade ad company loose on a political gay blog? I am a fan of the blog but it seems this is something Andy can control.


  • Name: peterparker
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 8:21 PM
    Hometown: Los Angeles

    Comment:

    REAL DEAL, Andy Towle does not have absolute control over who advertises on his site. Like many bloggers, Andy subscribes to a service (provided by Google, I believe) that places ads on blogs based on the content of the blog. So if Andy does a piece on the hateful Ann Coulter, the ad service 'sees' that there is something about Coulter on his blog and might place an ad for one of Coulter's books on towleroad. The advertising service cannot distinguish whether the blog post is favorable to Coulter or not. It only knows that she is part of the content of the site and thus the site might be a good place to advertise for her. In circumstances such as that, Andy is almost always able to have the ad taken down quickly.


  • Name: Kyle Flood
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 4:59 PM
    Hometown: Muncie

    Comment:

    I love towleroad! The site does an awesome job of mixing politics, gay news, music, and even science in such a way that it is entirely interesting. i visit it several times a day.


  • Name: Real Deal
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 4:16 PM
    Hometown: New York City

    Comment:

    I am a fan of Andy's blog , however Andy is just as guilty as Crutchley. I have seen on many occasions in the ad spaces that seperate articles, advertisments flashing by for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A Church I might add that has and continues to give millions of dollars to California in support of Proposition 8 (and 22 back in 2000) The Defensive Marriage Act. If Andy wants to go on and attack others he should look in his own backyard.


  • Name: Henry
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 3:21 PM
    Hometown: Bay Area

    Comment:

    Sorry Advocate...but I get all my gay news from Towleroad now. Haven't looked at Advocate in a couple of years. I only clicked here following a link from Towleroad.


  • Name: peterparker
    Date posted: 2008-09-11 2:24 PM
    Hometown: los angeles, ca

    Comment:

    It has been widely reported, as it is here in this article, that Andy Towle linked to a Huffington Post article stating that Jonathan Crutchley had donated $2,300 to the McCain campaign. In fact, Andy Towle broke the story of the Manhunt founder's donation to McCain. I know because I was the person who tipped Towle off to the donation. Because of my interest in seeing the story reported, I followed Andy's (excellent) reporting of the situation. He never linked to the Huffington Post, but instead linked to a page detailing Crutchley's history of political donations on a website called OpenSecrets.org, which tracks any political donation over $250. A search of Huffington Post's website for the name Crutchley reveals 3 entries, all of which were published on their site in the days following Towle's breaking of the story. Let's give credit where credit is due.


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