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January 4, 2014 8:47 pm - NewsBehavingBadly.com

CT BushS3.JPGItay Hod is an openly gay CBS anchor based in Los Angeles. Early yesterday, he posted a provocative “hypothetical” on Facebook that, not to put too fine a point on it, all but outs GOP Congressman Aaron Schock by name as gay and blasts his congressional voting record as hypocritical:

what if you know a certain GOP congressman, let’s just say from Illinois, is gay… and you know this because one of your friends, a journalist for a reputable network, told you in no uncertain terms that he caught that GOP congressman and his male roommate in the shower… together. now they could have been good friends just trying to conserve water. but there’s more. what if this congressman has also been caught by tmz cameras trolling gay bars. now what if you know that this very same guy, the darling of the gop, has also voted against repeal of don’t ask don’t tell, opposed the repeal of doma, is against gay marriage; and for the federal marriage amendment, which would add language to the us constitution banning gay marriage and would likely strike down every gay rights law and ordinance in the country?

Are we still not allowed to out him?

let me ask another question… doesn’t the media have an OBLIGATION to expose his hypocrisy? if he had done something so hypocritical and he wasn’t gay, wouldn’t we demand journalists do their job? but they can’t… because we won’t let them. you’re not allowed to out ANYONE, we tell them.

we’ve created a situation where even though news organizations know this guy is gay, they can’t report it because he hasn’t said so on twitter.

The whole post is worth a read, particularly for Hod’s deft deconstruction of media kabuki, and it ends with this terrific post-script:

itay_hod_drops_a_hint_about_schock

D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.