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National Organization for Marriage Calls for Balanced News Media Coverage for Same-Sex 'Marriage'

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)


"An important new study proves that the news media is overwhelmingly biased in favor of same-sex 'marriage,' leaving viewers to wonder if they are trying to shape the news rather than cover it." — Brian Brown, NOM president —

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C. — Citing an independent news analysis, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today criticized the national news media for their overwhelming bias in favor of same-sex 'marriage.' According to the study released by The Pew Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, stories with more statements supporting same-sex 'marriage' outweighed those with more statements opposing it by a margin of roughly 5-to-1.

"Those of us on the front lines of defending true marriage have experienced first-hand the news media's bias in favor of redefining marriage," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "But this important new study proves that the news media is overwhelmingly biased in favor of same-sex 'marriage,' leaving viewers to wonder if they are trying to shape the news rather than cover it."

The Pew Center journalism research project studied nearly 500 news stories published from March 18 through May 12 and found that nearly half (47%) primarily focused on support for same-sex 'marriage,' while only 9% primarily focused on opposition. In contrast to the news media treatment of the issue, the Pew Center study found that comments by the public via Twitter were evenly split (31% in favor; 28% opposed), reflecting the close division of the country on whether marriage should be redefined to accommodate same-sex couples.

"This is a fascinating study that reveals the underlying bias of the media in support of redefining marriage," Brown said. "Yet despite that, the public isn't buying it at least based on reported Twitter comments. We call on editors, producers and reporters to carefully study their own coverage in light of this proven bias, and ensure that the voices of NOM and other supporters of marriage are fairly and adequately reflected in their coverage. This is especially important in covering the upcoming Supreme Court rulings expected by the end of the month, and their aftermath."

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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), eray@crcpublicrelations.com, or Jen Campbell (x145), jcampbell@crcpublicrelations.com, at 703-683-5004.

Video: Brian Brown on Hannity: "We're Going to Fight This"

Our president was recently on a special segment of Hannity on FOX News and shared his story. When he said "Our donors are not going to be intimidated, we're going to fight this" the studio audience broke out into applause:

NCRegister: Hollywood's 'Gay Culture' Reshaping America

The National Catholic Register:

HollywoodThe entertainment industry centered on Hollywood has helped reshape Americans’ views on sexuality, family and marriage.

But this change results from Hollywood’s powerful homosexual culture, whose ideological leaders tolerate no dissent — even from other homosexuals — and who have filled a vacuum in the industry left by the absence of faithful Christians.

... More than 5,000 members of the rich and famous attended the Los Angeles GLAAD Media Awards in April, which honored President Bill Clinton with the Advocate for Change Award. Clinton has apologized for signing into federal law the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which now faces a constitutional challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court.

However, GLAAD has made known that not all homosexuals in Hollywood are welcome, especially when they step out of line with GLAAD’s agenda. Bret Easton Ellis, screenwriter and author of the book American Psycho, took to Twitter to claim that GLAAD had banned him from the awards ceremony over controversial tweets criticizing what he called the “politically correct gay agenda.”

GLAAD's vice president of communications, Rich Ferraro, told the Hollywood Reporter that GLAAD did not want Ellis and his tweets overshadowing an event “advocating for equality in the Boy Scouts, marriage and across the country.”

Video: NOM's Eastman on Fox News Greta Van Susteren

Last night our Chairman John Eastman appeared on Greta Van Susteren to discuss the IRS leak of NOM's documents:

Politico, The Hill, Fox News, Breitbart, HotAir Cover NOM's Announcement on Suing the IRS

More and more top news outlets are drawing attention to this important story!

Politico:

IRS-NOM News"...In April 2012, the Huffington Post and the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, posted IRS documents indicating GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had given $10,000 to the anti-gay marriage group. While the same inspector general who uncovered the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups was investigating the case, NOM has been frustrated with the pace of the investigation."

The Hill:

"...For over a year, NOM has argued that the IRS directly leaked confidential tax information, which included a list of private donors. With the IRS back under harsh scrutiny after it apologized for targeting Tea Party groups, NOM is taking legal action, and inviting other conservative causes to do so as well."

FoxNews:

"...Accusations of improper IRS behavior surfaced again in 2012 when a prominent anti-gay marriage group accused the agency of leaking private tax files that listed then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney's group as a contributor. The National Organization for Marriage documents were later published by a group whose president was tied to the Obama re-election campaign.

NOM claimed that someone from the IRS fed the liberal Human Rights Campaign documents listing its 2008 contributors. On that list was a $10,000 donation from Romney’s political action committee. The Human Rights Campaign then published the documents online, saying it had uncovered one of the group’s “top secret donors,” and accused Romney of attacking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality."

Breitbart.com:

"...The National Organization for Marriage, a conservative organization whose confidential records were leaked by the IRS to its left-wing critics, announced on Tuesday it will sue the tax agency for damages. NOM’s 2008 tax return was, according to a press release the group sent out on Tuesday, taken by the IRS and subsequently leaked to its primary political opponent the Human Rights Campaign."

HotAir.com:

"...Matt Lewis reported on the leak at the time, which culminated in HuffPo trying to make political hay of a Romney-affiliated donation to NOM. In 2012, NOM requested an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the same office that authored the draft report on the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups, which is to be released this week. They were interviewed, but never heard anything of an investigation’s process: “Nothing has come of the investigation if there is indeed one, and the agency has refused to answer any questions about the status of its examination,” NOM said in a press release."

Cringe-Inducing: MSNBC Host Uses Young Daughter to Push Gay Marriage

The Blaze:

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of gay marriage, few will likely agree with MSNBC host Krystal Ball's decision to use heryoung daughter to promote gay marriage during a segment titled "Political Playground" on Thursday.

"What if you were in love with a girl? Would you marry a girl?" Ballsasks her daughter.

The little girl seems to be well versed in New York law, as she replies by saying girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys in New York but not in other places.

... Ball went on to explain how "strange" it was that other states haven't decided to allow gay marriage.

"They should change that, shouldn't they?" Ball says.

CNN, MSNBC Refuse to Interview Gay Son After He Refuses to Bash Father

The Blaze reports on the media bias against those who hold traditional views of marriage -- as we know all too well:

During an interview Sunday, Rep. Matt Salmon's (R-Ariz.) gay sontold KPNX-TV that CNN and MSNBC cancelled interviews with him after he told them he would not bash his father for his stance againstgay marriage.

Matt R. Salmon told KPNX-TV that he is disappointed that his father has not changed his position on gay marriage, however, he still enjoys a good relationship with him and supports him. He also said his father is not a "bigot."

"People want controversy," Salmon said.

Accused of canceling the interviews are MSNBC's "The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell" and CNN's "Piers Morgan Live."

The younger Salmon said MSNBC cancelled his scheduled interview because "they had intended to be critical of him and" he was unwilling to do so. Additionally, he claimed CNN was "very gung ho" about doing an interview but then became disinterested when he reiterated he wouldn't attack his dad.

Video: All the March for Marriage Speakers!

Did you miss the March for Marriage? Now you can watch the whole program of our rally on the National Mall!

This playlist plays the individual speakers one by one, as well as the introduction and closing remarks by our President Brian Brown:

What's the next step? Signing our citizens petition to the Supreme Court!

Video: Jeremy Irons Shares His Reservations About Redefining Marriage

Movie star Jeremy Irons, in a moment rarely scene in interviews of celebrities, speaks honestly and intelligently about his concern that redefining marriage will have serious consequences:

Academy-Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons raised questions about same-sex marriage in an interview yesterday with HuffPostLive.

“Could a father not marry his son?” asked Irons.

“Well, there are laws against incest,” said the host.

“It’s not incest between men,” Irons replied. “Incest is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don’t breed.”

“It seems to me that now they’re fighting for the name,” Irons said. “I worry that it means somehow we debase, or we change, what marriage is. I just worry about that.” (First Thoughts)

WorldTribune: The Newsworthy March for Marriage that Did Not Make the News

Cliff Kincaid, Director of the Accuracy In Media Center for Investigative Journalism, on what he saw at the March for Marriage -- and what you won't see if you only get your news from mainstream media:

Significant news came out of last Tuesday’s March for Marriage demonstration in Washington, D.C. But it didn’t make “news” in the major media.

As one who covered the event, it was significant that there were so many members of minority groups. This was not a mostly white crowd. In addition to the presence of black, Hispanic and Asian supporters of traditional marriage, there were some notable Democrats, such as New York State Senator Ruben Díaz, and he let people know he was several minorities in one.

... J.C. Derrick of World magazine has a good analysis of how the major media, led by The Washington Post, virtually ignored the March for Marriage. But unless you actually see what happened on the ground, as the thousands of traditional marriage supporters held their demonstration, you would miss the true significance of how dishonest the media’s coverage of this issue has become. (World Tribune)

Video: NOM's Peters on MSNBC: Marriage Should Be Decided by the People, Not the Court

Over the weekend our Communications Director Thomas Peters went on MSNBC to stand up for the rights of pro-marriage people to have their votes and voice respected by the Supreme Court:

On whether gays and lesbians are "politically powerless" he said:

"I think what John Roberts was asking was a really fascinating question because currently gay marriage activists are claiming that they are politically powerless and that's why we have to strike down laws defending marriage like the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8. Whereas what the Chief Justice is saying is that actually gays and lesbians are very politically powerful -- the President supports them, the Democratic party platform supports them -- and so the idea that we need to strike down laws protecting marriage is absurd. What we need to uphold is that people have the ultimate right to decide marriage laws. The states, the democratic process is working, and we hope the Supreme Court will acknowledge the votes of over 45 million Americans who have voted to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

On the question of whether Americans who are pro-marriage are akin to those who opposed interracial marriage he said:

"Laws against interracial marriage were meant to keep the races separate so they wouldn't have children together and they were wrong, marriage is meant to bring men and women together so they have children which is right. You cannot compare these two things at all and furthermore, I think it's really important what she brought up, the 45 million Americans who have voted to protect marriage are not motivated by animus towards gay people, they're motivated out of love for the institution, and [crosstalk] if the Supreme Court were to rule that laws defining marriage are akin to bigotry, then every person in this country who believes that children have a right to a mother and father will be treated as bigots under the law, that's why Steve and others might agree with me that the Supreme Court's not going to go there. We can work this out through the political process. The debate can continue. Questions as central as marriage should not be decided by the Supreme Court they should be decided by the people."

Video: Thousands March for Marriage, Media Reports 'Dozens'

The Family Research Council, which co-sponsored the March for Marriage, has posted a video calling out the media for under-reporting the march and for under-estimating its numbers:

Shame on Piers Morgan and Suze Orman -- I Stand With Ryan!

Earlier this week Piers Morgan and Suze Orman conduct one of the most rude, condescending "debates" I've ever seen. I've seen dozens of debates on marriage where rudeness and incivility were directed towards those with pro-marriage views but this takes the cake.

Ryan Anderson, a fellow at Heritage and co-author of "What is Marriage?" patiently gave lucid answers to their questions, even as Piers peppered him with questions without giving him time to respond.

It wasn't a conversation, it was a trial.

They didn't even allow Ryan to sit at the same table as them. Orman went so far as to call Anderson "uneducated" on the question of marriage and insultingly called him "sweetheart".

On the "uneducated" remark, consider what Denny Burk points out:

"Ryan Anderson graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Princeton University and he’s a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Notre Dame. He just co-authored a book that is probably the definitive case for traditional marriage. He’s a fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an all-around brilliant guy. "

At the 12 minute mark, Orman loses control and lashes out at Anderson, pointing her finger at him, etc.

Piers did nothing to intervene or stop her, even as he continually interrupted Anderson.

Then, as if that was not enough, she called on the audience to express their disapproval of Anderson personally by booing, etc.

This is a travesty and Piers Morgan and Orman owe Anderson and pro-marriage Americans an apology.

That's why I'm proudly proclaiming I STAND WITH RYAN on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch the video and see for yourself:

Some Early Media Coverage of the March for Marriage

Some are noting the lack of mainstream coverage of our march for marriage including one blogger who attended and posted their own photos to prove it was happening. Many outlets, however, did cover the thousands who showed up to show their strong support for marriage! Here are a few.

ABC 7 "Thousands march on mall":

Thousands marched from the National Mall to the U.S. Supreme Court to say that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

“What God has instituted man does not have the power, right or authority to alter,” says Lalita Smith of Nashville. “We need to not play with the thing God has instituted.”

The marchers came from all over the country, from pro-family and church organizations.

Politico:

Opponents of same-sex marriage walked in the “March for Marriage,” organized by the National Organization of Marriage, eventually coming down to the street in front of the Supreme Court.

Catholic News Service:

Thousands of people who gathered at one end of the National Mall March 26 in support of traditional marriage took their message to the U.S. Supreme Court as they walked and held aloft placards with signs saying: "Kids do best with a mom and dad."

The court began hearing oral arguments that morning on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, the law banning same-sex marriage, the day before hearing oral arguments in a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Hours before and up to the minute the hearings began, the street in front of the court was filled with protesters on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue. Those in support of traditional marriage came to Washington with church or parish groups from nearby or had traveled alone or with one or two others from states across the country, including Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota and Florida.

When the groups dispersed, those supporting traditional marriage continued their march back to the rally point on the mall where numerous speakers echoed the message that marriage should not be redefined.

National Review Online:

Families gathered on the mall after marching to the Supreme Court to insist that the Court at the very least leave the future of marriage policymaking to the people rather than judicial fiat. Speakers from the National Organization for Marriage, the Heritage Foundation, Concerned Women for America, and others were in an encouraging mode. One got the sense that this was but a beginning of a conversation, a bit of a wake-up call.

Catholic World Report:

“Marriage is not about what adults want; it’s about what children need,” Teetsel said.

The march, which took place under clear but chilly skies, was held as the high court considered the constitutionality of California’s Prop. 8. On Wednesday, it hears oral arguments about one section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Marchers—estimated by organizers to be about 10,000 people—walked with placards and banners past the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court, where same-sex “marriage” supporters listened to a rally of their own and packed the sidewalks between the court and capitol.

Online Media Promoting the March for Marriage

In addition to scores of national TV, cable and radio news covering the March for Marriage, online media is promoting it as well:

Chicago Examiner.com:

Tuesday, March 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to determine if Proposition 8 – the citizens initiative approved by the people of California in 2008 to protect marriage – is constitutional or not. This is an extremely important case because the question of whether Americans in general have the right to protect traditional marriage will be decided. As such, the March for Marriage is being organized to take place on Tuesday. The March is being organized by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) along with a broad coalition of pro-family organizations and groups, as well as African-American, Latino, Catholic, and Protestant leaders. The Archdiocese of Chicago is encouraging Chicago Catholics to attend the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C.

Patheos.com:

History is coming at us so fast it’s hard to keep up. But we need to remember that this week, above all weeks, is a time for extra prayer and penance. I don’t want to make too much of it, but it seems poignant that so many points of history are converging on this one week. Proponents of traditional marriage are also staging a march in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

ChristianNewsWire:

It is a question that should be addressed this week by the U.S. Supreme Court as oral arguments begin Tuesday, March 26th on California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage, followed by arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal government benefits. Coinciding with the opening case will be the "March for Marriage" in D.C. as a show of support for traditional marriage.

Heritage Foundation's The Foundry blog:

"...we have continued to give unique status in law to the union of a man and a woman—the only relationship that produces children—as a permanent, monogamous, and exclusive relationship. We uphold this ideal in the interest of children, of limited, constitutional government, and of America’s future.

That’s a message Heritage will convey at an event today featuring Ryan Anderson, Kellie Fiedorek of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and tea party activist Doug Mainwaring, a gay man committed to maintaining the definition of marriage because of its importance for children. Tomorrow, we’ll be joining many other Americans gathering on the National Mall for the March for Marriage."

CatholicWorldReport:

Supporters of both traditional marriage and same-sex unions will converge on the nation’s capital toward the end of this month as the Supreme Court takes up two cases that could do to marriage what Roe v. Wade did to unborn human life.The National Organization for Marriage is holding a March for Marriage on Tuesday morning, March 26, as the high court hears oral arguments in the first case, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which changed that state’s constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Arguments are expected to be heard the next day in a case contesting the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

There is still time for you to participate!