Media Leave LGBT Voters Out of the Equation in NC, IN Primary Coverage

LGBT viewers will notice that the media are reporting on today’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana a bit differently than their predecessors. The coverage so far has given little or no time to LGBT issues or LGBT voters.

When the Ohio and Texas primaries took place on March 4, we saw Sen. Barack Obama take out large-scale advertisements in Ohio’s and Texas’ LGBT press, and publish an open letter to the LGBT community. The week before, we saw Sen. Hillary Clinton also reach out, giving interviews with publications like the Gay People's Chronicle. Though coverage of this phenomenon was largely relegated to LGBT newspapers and blogs, by the time the Pennsylvania primary rolled around, mainstream press picked up on the voices of these voters.  National cable TV outlets, as well as local Pennsylvania press, picked up on Chelsea Clinton’s trips to local gay bars, and her campaigning for LGBT votes in the state.  The Patriot-News featured a story on why LGBT voters were voting for one candidate over another.                                                                                                      

The coverage today of the presidential primaries has neglected the LGBT community as a segment of the voting population, despite both Clinton and Obama’s outreach to North Carolina and Indiana LGBT press.  For answers on why LGBT voters were given much more attention in the Pennsylvania primary versus those happening today, one simple suggestion from The Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr., may suffice: “The gay vote is not a priority for Clinton in today's primary [in North Carolina] or in Indiana.”  During last Tuesday’s debate, the media ignored LGBT issues that came up. Perhaps journalists are not viewing the LGBT community as a viable voting bloc.  However, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times did spend time discussing the anti-gay implications of North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley’s use of the word “pansy” in his speech in support of Clinton.  Stay tuned for media coverage of LGBT voters in the May 13 primaries in Nebraska and West Virginia.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy