Articles by Jonathon Feit

How many times do we young people have to prove that we're at least as capable of being wondrous as our geriatric counterparts? Consider the most important media and technology ventures of the 21st century thus far: Google. MySpace. Facebook. YouTube. Um ... none of these groundbreakers had a founder over 30 years old. So much for gray hair.

The most significant risk involved in addressing diversity is, of course, that someone, somewhere is going to be left out of the mix. It's a rightful concern -- one best mitigated by internalizing how truly vast is the field of racial, ethnic, religious, national, sexual and industrial orientations.

It's been a month since Advertising Age launched "The Big Tent," an eclectic blog series that takes its mission quite seriously and aims to make a dent in diversity issues across advertising, marketing, and related industries. Amid the buzz and comments (I read every single one), I received a pause-worthy e-mail from an investment-banker friend, who asked what many of our readers are likely thinking even now: "Are we getting anywhere?"

Recently, a comment on one of my posts led to a disconcerting exchange: as the sole Caucasian blogger for the Big Tent, I was put in the uncomfortable and unwanted (at least at this stage of my career) position of "speaking for the majority." The irony, as regular readers of this page will grasp, is that I am simultaneously young, disabled and crusading for GLBT / Equal Marriage Rights -- all distinctly less-than-majority positions. Which is precisely why Proctor & Gamble's much-ado "My Black is Beautiful" campaign inspired me to no end.

When I announced in 2006 that my company would be developing the world's first all-inclusive weddings magazine -- focused on GLBT, interracial, interfaith, and destination weddings -- I received mainly two types of responses: (1) questions about my own sexual orientation, and (2) questions about why the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender matrimonial market hadn't yet been tapped.

Too often we critics just complain. But as a businessman and academic, I believe in giving credit where it's due. Our industry has begun sprinting toward diversity, and collectively we should be proud, while recognizing our responsibility to push the bar ever higher.

Chris Anderson, editor of Conde Nast's Wired magazine, has been having a big week. First, he pulls a high-profile media stunt that proves he's outgrown his journalistic britches; and then he gets an Ad Age story all his own.

The "study" upon which I am basing this post is by no means scientific. It's tiny in scale, was conducted exclusively by me, and leaves room for a variety of conclusions. Still, I think it's telling, and reveals a problem embedded in our several months-long crusade for media and marketing diversity. Therefore, it warrants discussion.

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