Author Archives: js143902

With the Supreme Court looking at the Defense of Marriage Act this week, there was a lot in the news about gay rights, and everyone had their own take. I was surprised because at first, I thought that any bias in journalism would just be about word choice, and actually showing an opinion one way or another. I’ve come to learn, however, that media outlets are much more crafty than this. I have found that it is not the word choice that differs so much as it is the actual topics that these sources write about. Lets take the Defense of Marriage Act. Both the Washington Times and the San Francisco Chronicle published articles about it. In both cases, a short overview of the issue was given, but then each source went in a completely different direction, and didn’t even focus on the issue, deciding to find their own “sub-issues” to tell the public about. The Washington Times, conservative, came away with the headline “Obama Administration under fire in gay marriage arguments”, focusing only on the fact that the administration has not defended the law, but still enforces it. There were a lot of snippets from the hearing of justices questioning whether or not the federal government should be the ones to regulate marriage, but it does not specify their actual opinions. On the flip side, the San Francisco Chronicle decided to focus on the fact that tax payer money is being spent by House Republicans to defend DOMA, and costs have reached 3 million. The headline is “DEMs criticize GOP support of fed marriage act” and it has as little to do with the real issue as the Washington Times piece did. As with the other sources like Red State, they are less reputable sources and can be way more openly opinionated, especially if they are a blog. I have posted a few articles that show a disparity.

SF Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Dems-criticize-GOP-support-of-fed-marriage-act-4392387.php

Washington Times:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/27/supreme-court-hears-second-day-gay-marriage-argume/

Red State:
http://www.redstate.com/2013/03/28/same-sex-marriage-is-not-the-same-as-opposite-sex-marriage/

Gay rights seems to be an issue that gets reported with completely different perspective depending on where you go for your news.  Its all about little words that make a difference.  One example was in the San Francisco Chronicle.  Their headline was “Minn. gay marriage bill survives GOP move to block”
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Minn-gay-marriage-bill-survives-GOP-move-to-block-4351839.php#ixzz2NRyRAkKg)

Emphasis on the word ‘survive’.  In another publication, one that is more conservative, this could be written as “GOP unable to block gay marriage bill”, which makes it sound more on the side of the GOP.

There was also one huge anti-homosexual editorial in the Washington Times, an extremely conservative paper.  Titled “Gay Scouts of America” it strongly holds that gays should not be allowed in boy scouts, as it represents a threat to the moral integrity of the organization.  In the Seattle Gay News, this move to consider gays in boy scouts is being hailed a tremendous move.

1. San Francisco Chronicle

2. Washington Times

3. Seattle Gay News

4. AMERICAblog

5. Red State

I will be covering gay rights

Jared Swedler