More than 20 conservative leaders joined Media Research Center president Brent Bozell in raising their voices in support of religious freedom and our Constitutionally protected right to free speech as part of the Coalition Against Religious Bigotry (CARB).
The leaders said the controversy over Chick-fil-A exposed the rampant anti-Christian bias and First Amendment double standard characteristic of liberal media in several ways:
1. On Wednesday, August 1, the night of Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, CBS Evening News ignored the story entirely while NBC Nightly News aired five different clips of anti-Chick-fil-A protesters to offset the hundreds of thousands who showed up in support of traditional marriage and freedom of speech.
2. On Thursday morning, the networks continued their smear campaign against Cathy as an anti-gay bigot and Chick-fil-A’s Christian principals as hate speech. CBS This Morning’s anchor Charlie Rose vilified patrons as anti-gay, stating that “thousands went there to eat and to make a statement - a statement against same sex marriage.” On Friday morning, Good Morning America’s Steve Osunsami similarly slandered Chick-fil-A and its leadership, mischaracterizing Chick-fil-A’s pro-traditional marriage stance as a “fight against gay Americans and gay marriage.”
3. The media underplayed gross government overreach by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Boston Mayor Tom Menino when they pledged to ban Chick-fil-A from doing business in their cities. If a conservative mayor had tried blocking a pro-gay marriage business from opening through the threat of government reprisal, the media would be calling for his resignation.
4. When the media-hyped “Kiss-in” counter protest planned for Friday fizzled, the media omitted any substantial coverage of its embarrassing failure. If a large-scale Tea Party rally had been such a flop, the liberal media wouldn’t be able to talk about it enough.
“It’s a double standard as old as the liberal media itself,” stated Media Research Center President Brent Bozell. “If it’s part of the liberal agenda, it’s protected free speech. If it isn’t, it’s bigotry. The media smeared anyone who lined up for a chicken sandwich as an anti-gay bigot instead of a proud Christian or free speech patriot, and when the counter-protest flopped, they were predictably silent. Thanks to Chick-fil-A, the media’s liberal bias was stark naked for all to see.”
Read the statements from other conservatives leaders at MRC.org.
