Topic: NewsBusters
In a Feb. 26 NewsBusters post, Tim Graham is unhappy that the Washington Times will stop using "homosexual" as a preferred reference and will instead use "gay," and well as replace "illegal alien" with "illegal immigrant." New Times editor John Solomon, Graham writes, "wants the Times to join the 'mainstream' in using sensitive terminology on homosexuality and illegal immigration," adding that "whatever the reigning liberal sensibilities are in our news template, often defined by minority journalist groups, are defined as 'neutral.' "
It would have been instructive for Graham to note what the stylebook of sister MRC organization CNSNews.com says on the subject. For instance, it's pretty clear that preferred use of "homosexual" is CNS house style, as this article's cumbersome use of "homosexual leader" and "homosexual activist group" illustrates; nowhere does the word "gay" appear outside quotes or organization names.
Similarly, a search for "illegal alien" at CNS brings up 334 hits, indicating that it's a favored term there as well.
If Graham is so proud of using those terms -- and he certainly appears to be -- why not fully defend use of "homosexual" and "illegal alien"? Why not proclaim that the MRC's news division is the last bastion of it? It's how they roll; they ought to embrace it.
