Media glances over landmark decision

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 6/17/2008 7:30:00 AMvar addthis_pub = 'onenewsnow';

It's not surprising, says one pro-family activist, that the mainstream media has virtually ignored the recent appeals court decision upholding the ban on homosexuals serving in the military.

Robert Knight with the Media Research Center (MRC) says he was very pleased with the recent ruling by the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston -- which said the 1993 law was completely constitutional. But the pro-family leader says the mainstream media barely reported the story. (See earlier story)
 
He says only the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald ran the story. "... [T]he Associated Press did not cover the ruling," Knight continues. "But two days later the Associated Press carried an article that was highly critical of the Democrats for not moving faster to overturn [the] 'don't ask, don't tell' [policy]."
 
The MRC spokesman also points out that the mainstream media jumped all over a story in May about a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that favored a lesbian woman who was suing for reinstatement in the Air Force.
 
"What they did was reinstate a particular lawsuit. They didn't overturn the military's ban, but they let a case go forward," Knight details. He contends that the Ninth Circuit's decision was nowhere near as important as the recent court ruling that upheld the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
 
"That's what the media should have reported," Knight maintains. The family advocate says when it comes to reporting on the military's ban on homosexuality, the media seems to have its own "don't ask, don't tell" policy.