On the eve of Tuesday’s “March for Marriage” in Washington, to coincide with Supreme Court consideration of court cases on homosexual rights, more explosive evidence of the media bias driving the campaign to change America’s culture and Judeo-Christian foundations has emerged.
Speaking at a “gay journalists” event in New York City last Thursday night, Natalie Morales of the NBC Today Show declared, “Many of us here in this room—the media—we are responsible for opening the world’s eyes to these issues and the stories that have brought about such change. When you think 18 years ago when this organization was founded—think of where the country was back then. And now, 50 percent—according to the Pew poll that we talked about on the news today—support gay marriage, and…some other polls put that number even higher. [This] reflects a change in attitudes in this country.”
This was not just an event where journalists “came out of the closet” for homosexual rights; it was a fundraiser for the cause. Our media paid big money to participate as sponsors and hosts.
My associate Peter LaBarbera and I covered the homosexual rights fundraiser, held in New York City under the auspices of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), and saw first-hand that it was a “who’s who” of media stars from every major news organization in the U.S. They also included Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie of NBC, Gayle King of CBS News, Christine Romans of CNN, Amy Robach of ABC News, and Amanda Drury of CNBC.
The really big star of the evening was Natalie Morales of NBC’s Today Show, who told LaBarbera in a brief interview, “I think what’s happening here is this is a new civil rights movement…And I believe that they should be allowed to get married and love equally.”
In her remarks to the gathering, she joked about getting a lesbian kiss. “Now I have to say I’m a little flustered because on my way in here I was actually in the ladies room, and making out with a woman,” she said at the start of her remarks. “She insisted I was Jane Velez-Mitchell [of HLN]…Seriously she was screaming and shouting, ‘Jane, Jane, Jane!’ And I was like ‘I’m not…’ But I just gave in because we all know HLN stands for the ‘Hysterical Ladies Network.’ And …it was a good kiss, I’ll give her that.” She also commented on the “queens” in the audience of the reception being held in the Prince George Ballroom. CNN’s Javier Morgado introduced her.
While the atmosphere was festive and “gay,” the New York papers were catching up with news about a new strain of bacterial meningitis breaking out in the gay community. This was something that nobody wanted to talk about, at least publicly.
Contessa Brewer, formerly an anchor at MSNBC, was a major star, posing for pictures before declaring her support for homosexual rights and homosexual marriage and denouncing opponents of such as the equivalent of racists. She wanted my associate Peter LaBarbera to know, in a brief interview captured on camera, that she felt this way even though she was the daughter of a Baptist preacher.
Here is the transcript:
Peter LaBarbera: “I’m Peter LaBarbera with Americans For Truth. We’re sort of on the other side of the issue. We’re for traditional marriage and so forth….My question is: for some in the media, are you afraid that there’s not fair coverage for the other side—[that] now it’s veering so far the other way…that sometimes there’s a tendency to—”
Brewer: “You know what’s so funny about this? When we’re talking about racism, nobody ever says, ‘Do you think there’s fair coverage for racists?’ That’s my feeling about the matter. I think that there’s a difference between being objective and being fair. And sometimes wrong is wrong, and the right thing to do is say when it’s wrong.”
LaBarbera: “A lot of Christians, for example, think that racism is a sin, but they also think that homosexuality [is a sin].”
Brewer: “You know what I say? I grew up as the daughter of a Baptist preacher, and you know what my answer always is? If you think it’s wrong, then don’t do it. Thank you [she walks away].”
NBCUniversal was the big host, with other media sponsors Bloomberg, CNN, CBS News, Fox News, BuzzFeed, The New York Times, and Newsday. Company sponsors were Vodka maker Voli, JetBlue, Heineken, Hillshire, Eli Lilly and Company. General Motors, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, and Fleishman-Hillard.
The new president of the NLGJA is Jen Christensen of CNN, who previously worked on CNN’s “Special Investigations Unit.” She says, “We are not an advocacy group,” referring to the NLGJA. But the entire evening was advocacy. There was no pretense of being even-handed in covering the homosexual rights movement, of which they are clearly a major part.
It is worthwhile to examine the nature and depth of the bias as the Supreme Court takes up important court cases on homosexual rights because of the influence of the major media in bringing the country to this point in time. This event was concrete evidence of the bias from those in the media who have driven the campaign for homosexual rights for decades.
Morales was ecstatic: “What a difference a year makes. Think about where we were just even a year ago—all that has happened in the news for the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] community in particular: the repeal of the military’s ban on gays and lesbians, the widening support for same-sex marriage. The world seems to be evolving slowly but surely—from the President changing his position [on same-sex marriage] last year, to most recently this week…former Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton now saying gays and lesbians are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. And last week of course Republican Senator Rob Portman said he now supports gay marriage because he wants his son, who is gay, to have the same rights to love equally. I mean this of course is 2013 but it is happening.”
She went on, “We are at a turning point. I mean could this event be more perfectly timed? …Next week the Supreme Court will start to hear arguments on two major cases addressing gay rights: of course Proposition 8 (California law), and the Defense of Marriage Act. This is an issue at the forefront of our nation’s collective conscience right now, and making headlines all over the world.”
Even though this event featured all kinds of media celebrities, you will not find the media reporting on themselves, because it would blow their cover—and blow the whistle on the bias they are implementing on a day-to-day basis. That is why Peter LaBarbera and I covered the event. We figured the media would not hesitate to pat each other on the backs.
Now that the nature of the bias is evident for everyone to see, however, the bias will take another turn, as journalists will ignore the evidence that the major media have taken one side of the debate. What is significant is the lack of any real major media opposition to this bias.
The “March for Marriage” on Tuesday is one way to get the attention of the public and the media. But if what we heard at the NLGJA event is any indication, the demonstration for traditional values will be treated by most of the media as a gathering of bigots and haters, if it is covered at all.
Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism, and can be contacted at 2096/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=cliff.kincaid@aim.org” target=”_blank” title=”This external link will open in a new window”>cliff.kincaid@aim.org.