The Countdown Begins: #10

SLDN begins its countdown of the Top 10 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Stories of 2006. To weigh in with your own ideas, use the comments section, or email blog@sldn.org. Check back here every day, Monday-Friday, as the countdown continues.

Throughout 2006, newspaper editorial boards across the country joined the calls for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Our #10 story of the year is the chorus of editorial pages joining the fight to end the gay ban.

During the past year, USA Today has called the ban "archaic and hurtful;" The Oregonian has said "The practice of excluding qualified people from the military because of prejudice cannot stand;" and The Washington Post has called for repeal again . . . and again . . . and again . . . making it the daily paper with the most repeated request for lifting the ban.

In fact, the media's support for repeal has been so overwhelming this year that both The New York Times and The New York Blade have taken note. "Of the 80 reports mentioning SLDN last month, a telling 56 percent of them (or 45) appeared in the mainstream press," reporter Kerry Eleveld wrote. "The average number of mainstream pieces was only 32 percent in the previous seven months."

The media has the power to change hearts, minds and votes. We at SLDN have always appreciated the support of editorial boards around the nation. We salute each and every newspaper who editorialized for repeal in 2006, and we name their work our #10 story of the year.

- Steve Ralls