When Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong
Back to the Political Correctness Page
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 1, 2004; Page C01When San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied state law by allowing same-sex marriage licenses, a New York Times profile reported him sporting "a wide grin," "describing his motives as pure and principled," and cited his "business acumen, money, good looks and friends in the right places."
But when Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore also defied the law -- by installing a Ten Commandments display in his public building -- a Times profile said that "civil liberties groups accused Justice Moore of turning a courthouse into a church," while allowing that he had also become "an Alabama folk hero."
On the editorial page, the Times criticized Moore, likening him to George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, but supports Newsom's protest and gay marriage.
The paper has plenty of company. Hundreds of news accounts have provided an upbeat portrayal of Newsom as a pioneer and the San Francisco weddings as a happy occasion, even as partisan rhetoric hardened last week over President Bush's endorsement of a constitutional amendment to ban such marriages. While those opposed to gay marriage and Newsom's maneuver are certainly quoted, the media spotlight has shone most brightly on the mayor and those (including Rosie O'Donnell) tying the legally disputed knot.
"Call it 'wedded blitz' in San Francisco," reported NBC's Matt Lauer. "As if reliving its glory days as a counter-culture mecca in the 1960s, San Francisco was again the place to be," said Newsweek. A front-page Washington Post story yesterday celebrated the marriage of two elderly women.
"It's a piece of political theater designed to prove these couples are harmless," says Andrew Sullivan, an online columnist and one of the nation's most prominent gay journalists. "I don't think it's unfair for the press to cover symbolism, even though it's an advantage for one side. . . . You can't spin a picture."
But San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders says Newsom's "lawlessness" is "just unbelievable. . . . Most people in the newsroom, particularly in the Bay Area, believe in gay marriage and aren't overly worried about how it becomes legal." And while Saunders personally supports same-sex marriage, she says, "so many people in the media act like this is a brave, noble act on the part of Gavin Newsom when it is really a political grab."
Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham says Newsom "is being treated as a modern-day Rosa Parks. He's a nice guy and a very eloquent public speaker, but he's also not following the law. When Judge Roy Moore wasn't following the law, people were trashing him. He was just ridiculed in the press. . . . If you have a politically correct view and violate the law, you're a hero."
The mayor has not been universally portrayed as a hero. But it's hard to avoid noticing that Moore's defiance (for which he was ultimately removed from office) appealed mainly to Christian conservatives, while Newsom's flouting of California law has been welcomed mainly by liberals and gays.
Times reporter Dean Murphy says his profile of Newsom "wasn't really meant to be sympathetic or not sympathetic. The story started to become, who is this guy and why is he doing this?"
While polls show a majority of Americans oppose gay marriage, some of the country's top editorial pages support it. "Same-sex marriages pose no threat to anyone but rather affirm a commitment of love, an emotion that is universal," says the Boston Globe, published where Massachusetts' highest court has ordered such marriages legalized. "We believe that extending the benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples would be fair and beneficial; we understand that many Americans feel otherwise," says The Washington Post. "Clearly those who claim that it signals the end of civilization need to get their outrage odometers adjusted," says the Los Angeles Times.
Deb Price, a Detroit News columnist who married her partner, Joyce Murdoch, in Canada last year, says the coverage has been out of context.
"The news media tends to take this major civil rights movement and turn it into a game of politics, not a look at why gay people want to marry," Price says. "Something remarkable is happening here, and it's being covered as a political football." Few newspapers cover the gay community as even a part-time beat, she says, "which reinforces the pariah status of gay people."
Saunders found herself being mistakenly applauded when she and another female Chronicle reporter emerged from the site of the wedding ceremonies. "When you go to city hall and see all the couples getting married, there's an infectious joy, and that's going to rub off on the media," she says.
People who believe marriage is between a man and a woman, of course, may not have the same reaction to those pictures.
"Some people look at it and feel horrified," Sullivan says. "It's impossible to write a story that accommodates both reactions. It's another example of the culture wars in which the press really can't win."
Never Mind
The New York Times editorial page declared Jan. 28 that Dennis Kucinich, with his "minuscule vote tallies . . . should not be allowed to take up time in future candidate debates." Nor should Al Sharpton, who, the paper said, "is running to continue running, not to win."
So why were Kucinich and Sharpton invited to yesterday's presidential debate in New York, sponsored by the Times and CBS? A spokeswoman says the newsroom, which handled the debate, operates independently from the editorial board.
Harsh Words
Mild-mannered CNN anchor Aaron Brown led off his newscast Thursday with a stinging attack on House Speaker Dennis Hastert, saying it was "unconscionable and indefensible" for him to deny a 60-day extension for the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks and urging viewers to contact his office.
"I felt strongly because this was the single most important event and worst national day in my lifetime," Brown says of the commentary. While he usually begins "NewsNight" with an essay, he says, "clearly this was stronger and more pointed." Hastert reversed his position the next day.
"It's good that Aaron has decided to make the jump from news to advocacy," says Hastert spokesman John Feehery, calling the program "a left-wing version of the 'O'Reilly Factor.' "
Feeling the Pain
The Orlando Sentinel series on the painkiller OxyContin that failed to mention the criminal background of its featured patient has claimed its first victims. While an internal inquiry continues, the reporter, Doris Bloodsworth, has resigned, and Sal Recchi is stepping down as city editor.
Bumped by a Billionaire
The news has been trumped on CNBC.
The business network, which is nudging its prime-time lineup toward entertainment, is preempting the Monday night broadcasts of "The News With John Seigenthaler."
The reason? As first noted by thenationaldebate.com, CNBC will air reruns of Donald Trump's reality show, "The Apprentice," in that time slot for the next several weeks -- this following the debut of comedian Dennis Miller and the signing of ex-tennis champ John McEnroe.
The Trump show "is also a program about the business world," says spokeswoman Amy Zelvin, and "its upscale audience on NBC fits with the core CNBC audience of business leaders and executives."
Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
