CNN's 'Objective' Don Lemon Appeared at Two Events Featuring Sebelius, Received 'Visibility' Award at Pro-Gay Gala
If you were wondering about CNN's objectivity on liberal issues like
gay rights, the lines became a whole lot more blurred recently as anchor
Don Lemon received a "Visibility" award from the pro-gay Human Rights Campaign at its North Carolina gala, where Obama's HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke and stumped for the President's re-election.
Then on Friday, Sebelius addressed middle school students at an anti-bullying event
where Lemon served as the moderator of an anti-bullying panel. His
appearances at events with an Obama cabinet member blur the lines of
objectivity and his receiving an award from a gay-rights organization
makes his liberal bias all the clearer.
At
the anti-bullying event, Lemon asked Sebelius about combating bullying.
She responded that kids should tell bullies they're being jerks, after a
film had been presented telling the audience of kids not to call others
jerks.
And at the HRC gala, Lemon quoted
Martin Luther King in his acceptance speech that "There comes a time
where silence equals betrayal," in reference to his own coming out as
openly-gay. Could he also have been referring to his colleague Anderson
Cooper's widely-discussed silence on his own personal lifestyle?
Lemon's words echo his statement from last May, where he professed his hope to "change minds"
by coming out – as in, by coming out as openly-gay and not remaining
silent, he hopes that will change people's minds on the issue. Contrast
that with his telling Joy Behar that he would remain "objective" as a reporter.
And who was one of the corporate sponsors for the HRC gala? Time Warner, Inc., which owns CNN.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center
