Kevin Jennings is in the crosshairs of the conservative media and blogosphere. He’s been the subject of a Washington Times editorial and countless other conservative takedowns. So why is the story being ignored by the mainstream and LGBT press?
Jennings, the Obama administration’s “school safety czar,” is accused of encouraging a high school student to have a sexual relationship with an adult and not reporting the incident to authorities when he was a closeted teacher at a Massachusetts prep school. Jennings is the former head of GLSEN.
Here’s what the WT said in its editorial:
A teacher was told by a 15-year-old high school sophomore that he was having homosexual sex with an “older man.” At the very least, statutory rape occurred. Fox News reported that the teacher violated a state law requiring that he report the abuse. That former teacher, Kevin Jennings, is President Obama’s “safe school czar.” It’s getting hard to keep track of all of this president’s problematic appointments. Clearly, the process for vetting White House employees has broken down.
In the past few weeks, the WaPo’s Ombudsman Andy Alexander and the NYT Public Editor Clark Hoyt have both examined why their papers failed to “get” the ACORN story that was the buzz of the conservative press. The conclusion was that the newspapers’ staffs just aren’t tuned into the conservative chatter and dismiss stories that appear only in conservative outlets.
That usually isn’t a problem for the LGBT press and blogosphere, yet this story seems to have largely fallen under the radar. Progressive media watchdog Media Matters analyzed the Washington Times editorial and accused the paper of mis-stating Jennings’ comments.
So why isn’t anyone covering this story? Is it because the story originated in the conservative press? Is there a fear that analyzing the situation could inflame the story? Doesn’t Jennings deserve to have his story told in a fair and accurate way?