Mikeology

Michael Airhart is a Rhode Island-based journalist and a critic of the culture wars.

A graduate of the University of Dayton, Michael has enjoyed a 20-year career of progressive growth as a designer, editor, content manager, and publisher/client services specialist for the Dayton Daily News, Sojourners magazine, and the McClatchy-Tribune news wires.

Always curious about the intersection of global politics, religion, and human rights, Michael participated in a summer study and cultural immersion program in Bogota, Colombia — then a hotspot for liberation theology — through the University of Dayton Center for Social Concern. After graduation, Michael interned full-time for one year at Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Program through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Upon completing that internship, Michael moved to Washington and worked as a typesetter and writer at Sojourners, a nonpartisan magazine on religion and politics. He wrote the magazine’s first article on antigay hate crimes in America — back in 1989, when the mere recording of such crimes by the FBI was stridently opposed by social conservatives.

At the dawn of a new decade, Michael detoured from journalism to the corporate private sector, learning about world trade during a three-year stint as project assistant at the World Bank Group headquarters. During that time, he helped the International Finance Corporation implement economic development projects in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turkey.

In the mid-1990s, Michael returned to the field of journalism, beginning a 10-year run as senior editor and content manager for McClatchy-Tribune‘s news wires in Washington.

In 2005, Michael became product manager and then director of publisher services for Newstex, a major aggregator of blog and news content. He recently relocated to Rhode Island. Opinions expressed on this site are those solely of Michael and do not necessarily reflect the views of his employers, past or present.

Michael has been an active volunteer in local and online communities. He has been:

• a volunteer writer and HIV/AIDS buddy team administrative assistant for Whitman Walker Clinic in Washington
• co-founder of Men Can Stop Rape in Washington
• a contributor to efforts to bridge the divide separating factions in a culture war
• contributing writer to Ex-Gay Watch.

Michael may be contacted via e-mail: michael at mikeology.net