Cliff Kincaid: Democracy, Washington Post Style

From Democracy, Washington Post Style, by Cliff Kincaid, published Nov 27, 2006, by Accuracy in Media:

The Washington Post says that democracy means that the people should be ignored and state legislatures should obey the dictates of the courts. Its October 26 lead editorial in support of a New Jersey Supreme Court decision redefining traditional marriage actually carried the sub headline: “A court’s order on same-sex partnerships leaves plenty of room for democratic decisions.” In other words, “democratic decisions” have to be made in the context of what is allowed by the court. This editorial makes a mockery of true democratic decision-making and is an embarrassment to the journalism profession.

The Post, of course, is in the camp of the radical homosexual movement. As the editorial states, “For those, like us, who support same-sex marriage, such steps are welcome.” Unfortunately, this bias goes beyond editorials in the paper.

Many news organizations, including the Post, contribute big bucks to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. Even Fox News gave the organization $10,000.

Peter LaBarbera of the group Americans for Truth, sent a letter to Fox News chief Roger Ailes asking that he balance that contribution by providing an equal amount of money to a group critical of the homosexual agenda. LaBarbera believes that the media “should play it down the middle on homosexuality and other controversial issues, not serve as a cheerleader for the ‘gay rights’ cause.”

However, a key leader of the NLGJA disagrees. Eric Hegedus, NLGJA national president, says that quoting a critic of homosexual rights is comparable to quoting an official of the KKK when writing about civil rights for blacks.

In addition to Fox News, LaBarbera identified the following media or media-related organizations as financial sponsors of the recent NLGJA convention: Miami Herald, McClatchy Co., CBS, CNN, Gannett Foundation, Hearst Corp., US Newswire, ESPN, NBC Universal, ABC News, Nielsen Media Research, UBS, Los Angeles Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Tribune Company.