Fox News Covered Coming Out Of Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman (Just Barely) (UPDATED)

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by Colby Hall | 11:04 pm, August 28th, 2010

» 27 comments

Earlier this week, former RNC chair Ken Mehlman made a bit of news when he acknowledged being gay. This was covered rather extensively by the cable news outlets, save one notable exception – Fox News only covered the story once, during the end of Bret Baier‘s show Friday evening. However, this contradicts reports in Think Progress and Politico, that incorrectly claimed that Fox News has completely ignored the story.

Writing for Think Progress’ “Wonk Room,” Igor Volsky reported:

When Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, Fox News barely mentioned the story and its most prominent conservative commentators ignored it entirely. Yesterday, after the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder reported that former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman — who had orchestrated President Bush’s gay-bating 2004 re-election campaign — was coming out as gay, Fox News Channel remained similarly mum and as of this posting has yet to run a single segment on the story.

…

It’s unclear why Fox News ignored the story, since some Republicans have embraced Mehlman’s coming out. Current Republican Party chairman, Michael Steele, for instance, issued a supportive statement: “His announcement, often a very difficult decision which is only compounded when done on the public stage, reaffirms for me why we are friends and why I respect him personally and professionally.” Mehlman has also said that President Bush has been “incredibly supportive” of his coming out.

Ignoring stories which undermine conservative causes, however, is the norm at Fox. Earlier this month, Fox News refused to run a single segment on Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s racially-charged rant, after which she resigned from talk radio.

While mentioning it just once doesn’t necessarily change the larger point of Volsky’s report, covering once is better than ignoring it. And one could easily make the argument that mentioning this story once is all the attention it deserved. The NY Times‘ Brian Stelter astutely points out that this Friday afternoon coverage of the Mehlman story is very similar to the method by which Fox News reported the $1 Million donation to the Republican Governor’s Association by News Corp. (FNC’s parent company.)

Update - Johnny Dollar points out that this story was also covered during the GrapeVine segment of Special Report

Update #2: Yahoo’s Michael Calderone points out that Bret Baier’s mention aired after the Politico and ThinkProgress pieces had been posted, thereby making them correct at the time. [GM]

Bret Baier, Johnny Dollar, Ken McKay, Politico, Think Progress

Constantly

Colby why you so interested in where he puts his dick and is it news?
StewartIII

FOX News barely covered the story because nobody cares, expect the far left. I agree with the panel. Unless Mr. Mehlman was a gay basher, this is a non-story. What’s next, attacking FOX News for not report that Stephanie Miller came out of the closet a few weeks ago?
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

None story. Hillary is a lesbian, now that is a story that nobody covers.
puck30

However, this contradicts reports in Think Progress

Think Progress?? I’m shocked I tell you. Shocked!
Fox News: We proudly pander to Teabaggers

Colby,

The ThinkProgress post was made Thursday evening. As of Thursday evening, Fox News had not made single mention of the Mehlman story. Since Brett Baier finally mentioned it on FRIDAY, there is NO contradiction.

Puck30,
I am never shocked at your stupidity and dishonesty.
puck30

Little Johnny ‘T’ as Fox News: We proudly pander to Teabaggers said:
Colby, The ThinkProgress post was made Thursday evening. As of Thursday evening, Fox News had not made single mention of the Mehlman story. Since Brett Baier finally mentioned it on FRIDAY, there is NO contradiction. Puck30,I am never shocked at your stupidity and dishonesty.

Well at least I don’t have a FNC drangement syndrome and I think I would have a hard time shocking brain dead people.

BTW: Did you blow a little gasket because they mentioned Johnny Dollar on this site today?
da-wdc

Colby, ThinkProgress was not incorrect. At the time they made their report, which was soon after this story made news, Fox had not covered it. Do you understand how news works? When news is broken, news organizations cover it. If they ignore a story until several days after other news organizations have covered it, and watchdogs and other media organizations (Politico) ask why they’ve ignored it, and finally cover it a couple days after the news has broken, that’s strange – and it certainly doesn’t mean that those who asked why they ignored a news story when it was news, are incorrect.

I’m beginning to wonder why Mediaite writers spin things for no reason other than to make Fox look like they’re right. Did their PR people hand you this story or what?

Regarding Mehlman, I think his private life is his own business and no one else’s, up until the time he chooses to make a statement about it to a journalist, which he did last week. So it’s news.
puck30

So let me get this straight, according to the wing-nuts FNC was bad because they didn’t cover it. Then when it was discovered that FNC did mention it on Brett Bair’s show, foxnews.com, and another mention in an opinion section of foxnews.com. The wing-nuts cry, “You didn’t mention it soon enough!”

Okay

da-wdc says:
August 29, 2010 at 4:30 am

“Regarding Mehlman, I think his private life is his own business and no one else’s, up until the time he chooses to make a statement about it to a journalist, which he did last week. So it’s news.”

In other words, we would have respected Ken Mehlman if he was one of us. But we could care less that the guy came out except to use it as a way to bash FNC.

Fn’ Brilliant!

The man had to make a really hard (no pun intended) decision, even though the guy is a Republican why don’t you give him a little space and put down the Fox Derangement Syndrome and show the man a little respect.
sarainitaly

It’s not news, and shouldn’t be treated as newsworthy.
mcf1757

Sorry sarainitaly but this is news, stories like these do not fit the Fox narrative or audience and the scant coverage clear evidence! Rachel Maddow is right!!
dummy123

He is gay.
What is the big news story???
dummy123

Does Ken want to get married??
How does our president feel about that??
How do the minority voters in California feel about that??

A no win situation for FOX.
If they led the networks in coverage they would be accused of exploiting Ken!!!!
BatBoy

Progressives have to make a “big spectacle” of being gay and then hammer conservatives because … Conservatives … Like to Live and Let live!
sarainitaly

mcf1757 said:
Sorry sarainitaly but this is news

why is it news?
TfT

Gosh Colby; I don’t recall seeing these types of headlines:

ABC DIDN’T COVER THE ACORN STORY
NBC DIDN’T COVER THE ACORN STORY
CBS DIDN’T COVER THE ACORN STORY

Or similar headlines about how the mainstream networks IGNORED the story when Hillary’s main fundraiser was fined a gazzillion dollars for violating laws.

Oh well, somethings never change.

The mainstreamers get a pass when they ignore news, and FNC gets criticized when they report news, but not to the level that the left things it should.

Unbelievable.

Furthermore, I thought after the whole Clinton womanizing debacle, it was stated that sex lives are off limits (unless of course, they are about a republican).

Give it rest.
moriarty70

sarainitaly said:
why is it news?

This man signed off on ads that tried to demonize homosexuals during the 04 election cycle and it rings as dishonest that he “didn’t know” he was gay at that time at least on some level. Some circles ar looking for him to explain his actions.
notsofast

I guess someone’s sexuality is a big deal to libs.

Not surprising- now they will attack him for being gay.
notsofast

moriarty70 said:
This man signed off on ads that tried to demonize homosexuals during the 04 election cycle and it rings as dishonest that he “didn’t know” he was gay at that time at least on some level. Some circles ar looking for him to explain his actions.

Wrong! He never did gay bashing.

Keep making things up, sonny boy!
notsofast

And the OTHER media didn’t report on this:

Obama, Democrats got 88 percent of 2008 contributions by TV network execs, writers, reporters
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/27/10 3:45 PM EDT

Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Democratic total of $1,020,816 was given by 1,160 employees of the three major broadcast television networks, with an average contribution of $880.

By contrast, only 193 of the employees contributed to Republican candidates and campaign committees, for a total of $142,863. The average Republican contribution was $744.

Disclosure of the heavily Democratic contributions by influential employees of the three major broadcast networks follows on the heels of controversy last week when it was learned that media baron Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. contributed $1 million to the Republican Governors Association.

The News Corp. donation prompted Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association and son of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, to demand in a letter to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes that the cable news outlet include a disclaimer in its coverage of gubernatorial campaigns. Fox News is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

The data on contributions by broadcast network employees was compiled by CRP at the request of The Examiner and included all 2008 contributions by individuals who identified their employer as one of the three networks or subsidiaries. The data does not include contributions by employees of the three networks who did not identify their employer.

The CRP is the organization behind OpenSecrets.org, the web site that for more than a decade has put campaign finance data within reach of anybody with an Internet connection.

President Obama received 710 such contributions worth a total of $461,898, for an average contribution of $651 from the network employees. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain received only 39 contributions totaling $26,926, for an average donation of $709.

Ninety-six contributions by broadcast network employees to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate and House campaign committees totaled $217,881.

Thirty-eight contributions by broadcast network employees to the Republican National Committee and the Republican Senate and House campaign committees totaled $23,805.

Among the individuals in the data are ABC News president Lloyd Braun, who contributed $1,000 to the Our Common Values PAC, which is associated with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and ABC Radio Networks president Jim Robinson, who gave $250 to GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Other individual givers found in the data include ABC reporters Sarah Amos, who gave $1,285 to Democratic presidential aspirant Bill Richardson, Clarisa Ward, who gave $500 to President Obama, and Kristina Wong, who gave $400 to the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Notable contributors found in the CBS data include “journalist” Seth Davis, who gave $2,750 to Obama, CBS Corporation vice president and editor-in-chief Jane Goldman, who contributed $250 to Obama, CBS Radio “host” Mike Omeara, who gave $1,471 to Obama, and “journalist” Beverly Williams, who donated $200 to Obama.

Among NBC contributors were Saturday Night Live producer Jeffrey Ross, who contributed $500 to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CN, former NBC Today Show weatherman Willard Scott. who gave $500 to the Republican National Committee, NBC Universal CFO Jennifer Cabalquinto, whose donations to Obama totaled $1,200, and NBC Universal “editor” David Mack, with $250 to Obama and $2,300 McCain.
jk76

did that say FNC barely covered it and it’s most prominent ignored it? Well I kept reading even though that was the usual lie from The Institute for Propaganda and Aristocracy (comprised of several “different” companies)

I don’t know if it was shown about Mehlman, but I thought it was. This whole thing is stupid though, the Right has already been labeled homophobes, do they think the Right is gaining ground? Oh right this is what they were hired to do, nothing else.

Is it a rite of passage to be gay? People yell for equality but then want to be celebrated for their differences. Let me announce I AM STRAIGHT!! YAY ME!! where’s my cake.

more population, more fracturing. The obnoxious Left will tear this country apart, then say oops, umm pass a law.
zumpano

Nice article NotsoFast. Now, let’s see how much EMPLOYEES of Newscorp have contributed to the GOP.
zumpano

This is news because it exposes Mehlman as a hypocrite. Fox doesn’t like to have to explain that their side is made up of a bunch of hypocrites (see: Al-Waleed bin Talal). Where’s Al-Waleed bin Talal on Fox? Where’s his picture and name being repeated over and over?
writer

Ken is putting off getting married until the new mosque is built.
notsofast

zumpano said:
Nice article NotsoFast. Now, let’s see how much EMPLOYEES of Newscorp have contributed to the GOP.

Next time read it:

President Obama received 710 such contributions worth a total of $461,898, for an average contribution of $651 from the network employees. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain received only 39 contributions totaling $26,926, for an average donation of $709.

Ninety-six contributions by broadcast network employees to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate and House campaign committees totaled $217,881.

Thirty-eight contributions by broadcast network employees to the Republican National Committee and the Republican Senate and House campaign committees totaled $23,805.
da-wdc

puck30
In other words, we would have respected Ken Mehlman if he was one of us. But we could care less that the guy came out except to use it as a way to bash FNC.

Dude, you can’t add “in other words” to the start of a sentence and then say something completely and totally unrelated to what I actually wrote.

This became a news story when Ken Mehlman decided to tell a journalist so that he could write a news story about it. This isn’t hard to understand.
newzmaker

We need a huge announcement when someone comes out? LOL.
Fox News: We proudly pander to Teabaggers

“We need a huge announcement when someone comes out? ”

And I guess it was also irrelevant when that Family Research Council official was caught using that Rent-Boy service.

P.S. Cop out by Colby Hall. Hat tip was mine, not Michael Calderon’s. Don’t expect me to make any efforts correcting your lazy research in the future.