By arthur Weinreb
Friday, May 27, 2005On Victoria Day, a demonstration against Bill C-38 that legalizes same sex marriage was held at Queen’s Park in Toronto. Conservative estimates put the crowd at 3,000 with some reports saying it was as high as 9,000.
Much of the media that cover those who oppose changing the traditional definition of marriage (if they cover it at all) do what they can to minimize the legitimacy of the position that is taken by same sex marriage opponents. The media tends to show its biases on this issue probably more than most other matters that they cover.
In the next day’s Toronto newspapers, neither the Toronto Star nor the Globe and Mail reported the demonstration at all. This is in keeping with their belief and their pro-Liberal Party stance that since the matter appears to be a done deal, there is nothing newsworthy in the views of those who oppose same sex marriage. This of course is a departure from the 1990s when the Mike Harris majority Conservative government was a done deal. That didn’t stop these two newspapers from covering the many demonstrations that were held by every special interest group or bunch of misfits that were unhappy with what the duly democratically elected government was doing. Of course those who protested Mike Harris, unlike those who were out on Victoria Day, were on the politically correct side of the issues that were being protested against.
The Toronto Sun, under the headline of "Gay banns bashed" reported the event from the point of view of the few gay and lesbian protesters who were at Queen’s Park to counter protest. The article led with a description of the counter protesters and in large bold letters proclaimed, "ROWDY GROUP". This rowdy group referred to the gays and lesbians and not to the anti-marriage protesters but anyone who merely glanced at the article would think that the mainly religious protesters were the ones who were being rowdy. The Sun’s coverage made it appear that the newsworthy element of the story was the counter protest.
The National Post provided the most comprehensive coverage of the event and put the story on the front page above the fold which gives an indication of how that paper views same sex marriage. The Post gave the most coverage of those who were participating in the rally and not to the counter protesters as the Sun did.
The worst example of bias in coverage of the rally was the way it was reported by CTV. In its short coverage of the event, CTV drew parallels between Canada and the United States, pointing out how those "Christians" in the United States helped reelect George Bush. The report then described the rally as an attempt to influence politics with religion, strongly implying that the beliefs of those who object to laws such as same sex marriage on religious grounds are somehow illegitimate and will inevitably lead to church-run governments.