If it’s in our local paper-of-record, then it must be true:

Dan Savage, editorial director of The Stranger and a syndicated columnist in Seattle, will be presented a Webby Special Achievement Award in New York City this month for an online-video project aimed at stopping bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. The Webby is considered the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, from websites to online film and video. Savage, 34, said he launched the “It Gets Better Project” last year…

69 replies on “Savage, 34”

  1. @50 and @51: Even the most experienced journalist would likely not feel she had to go to public records to check the age of someone she was writing a positive article about and who had given her an age not once, but twice. She would reasonably expect the story subject to have some integrity.

  2. @42, your comment only shows your ignorance of how search engines work. You’d need to include the intern’s name in your comment for this page to pop up in any search likely to be done by a potential employer. Although it would be easier, and not inappropriate, to include in the correction itself a humorous bit about the fact that the intern was punked by Dan Savage. Especially as Dan is famous first not for any one achievement, but for personality – the kind of personality that drives him to pull this and other stunts. Or does the Seattle Times really have *no* room for a sense of humor, however small?

  3. @54 Oh, they did include that… after a fashion…

    “Information in this article, originally published June 2, 2011, was corrected June 3, 2011. A previous version of this story said Dan Savage was 34. Savage is 46. When Savage was asked for his age, he lied to the reporter twice, both times telling her he was 34.”

    “He lied to the reporter twice”–factually correct, but somewhat lacking in grace and sense of humor…

    FFS, how can these people be so upset about something that’s quite possibly the oldest white lie in the book? Okay, stereotypically it’s women who lie about their age, but…

  4. 35

    you know how that works, don’t you?
    Dan has to let Terri cheat all he wants.
    And Dan pays all the bills.
    Plus Dan wears two bags over his head when Terri fucks him.
    with the lights off.

  6. @54, 55: My guess is that the Seattle Times, like most newspapers, hates running corrections. Usually the reporter shoulders all the blame, but in this case Dan told the same “white lie” twice. So they’re emphasizing that part of the story to shift the blame – and questions about their accuracy – off of themselves. Maybe they could have handled it more gracefully – but Dan did fudge the truth, and it is the Seattle Times we’re talking about, so it’s not too surprising how they responded.

  8. Dan, you’re the handsomest 46-year-old around, and you do great work through Savage Love and IGB. Own it. Be proud.

  9. @56 Don’t extrapolate from your relationship to Dan’s, mate.

    @58 Oh, I guess that they’re pissed, but I think this whole thing would be a lot less embarrassing for them if they had more of a sense of humor about it.

  10. @50: Really? Isn’t it a much bigger problem that people today regurgitate whatever they find in Wikipedia as fact, without checking it out? So in this case the reporter goes directly to the source, and he lies — twice.

    Asshole.

  12. @62 well it’s certainly an asshole move to then make fun of the newspaper for it. seems like lying about your age is one of those permissible things to do though. 🙂

    but mostly your comment shows some ignorance about Wikipedia. It’s biggest sin is having disorganized articles, not being inaccurate over basics facts like birth year.

  13. It’s almost like after reading years of bullshit right-wing editorials in the Seattle Times, Dan has contempt for that paper! Plus he’s funny! Haw! I larf!

  15. Why the fuck did the intern feel the need to report his age in this story anyway? This isn’t high school English class. Focus on relevant facts and get pissed if someone lies to you about those.

  16. It’s a shame the Times is training it’s interns to take whatever someone says on the phone as verified fact. I thought the point of being a journalist was to have some skepticism about interviews and to verify via other sources. Teaching someone to be a note-taker is not teaching journalism. Maybe this is the best lesson this interns will get while at the paper.

  17. “Why the fuck did the intern feel the need to report his age in this story anyway? “

    It is standard journalistic practice in dailies to report the age of the subject in this type of article. (for subjects that aren’t reported on every day). Very common. If you read newspapers regularly, you’d know this.

  18. I’m happy to see that someone called bullshit on Dan. Sure, he’s an uber-talented guy with amazing achievements. But he can also be an arrogant, self-righteous ass, as he clearly was in this case when he not only lied to the reporter, but then ridiculed her for believing him.

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