Newsbusters Wants to Be Disney's Knight in Shining Armor

 January was a pretty heady month around these parts. Thanks to a number of stories we broke at the Television Critics Association tour last month, our traffic reached all time highs as our articles got picked up literally around the world. (Just last week the Sydney Morning Herald wrote up our article about Star Trek.)

But what really got my attention was the fact that the rightwing looney tunes "news" outlet NewsBusters — Exposing & Combating Liberal Media Bias — got wind of my interview with Disney Channel president Gary Marsh at last month's Television Critics Association Press Tour.

If you don't remember, that was the interview where Marsh defended his previous position that it was just peachy if gay teens had to settle for "interpreting" gay teens on Disney programming. You know, rather than having actual gay characters kids could watch and identify with.

That prompted NewsBuster journalist Tim Graham to pen Why Can't Disney and Nickelodeon Push the Gay Agenda? that was a response to both my article and Entertainment Weekly's recent cover story on gay teens on television.

The article was your pretty standard rightwing screed, but for a supposed journalist, Timmy played pretty fast and free with the facts. First, despite only having my interview to base his conclusions off of, Timmy writes, "But in the AfterElton interview, the aforementioned Michael Jensen just kept angrily pressuring the Disney Channel boss Gary Marsh to surrender to the demands of the gay left,"

Gee, Timmy, I had no idea you were there with me watching! Oh, wait, you weren't because if you had been, you wouldn't have seen any anger on my part. Hmm, perhaps you should stick to the facts.

Speaking of stretching the truth, Timmy also claims I'm demanding a Disney character deliver an "eleven-minute leftist lecture from the GLAAD Training Handbook to the six-year-olds in the audience" and "... that unless you push sexual-orientation issues on six year olds, you're 'treating gay people as second class.'"

This is basically Timmy's "Won't someone think of the children!" moment, as he tries to scare his readers into thinking I'm coming for their toddlers.

First of all, Timmy, you're fibbing! I never mentioned six-year-olds. My discussion with Marsh was all about teen viewers, as was our article on the subject. Second of all, I prefaced everything by saying that gay content should be included in an "age appropriate way."

No doubt that's a distinction lost on you.

Naturally, the comments on NewsBusters fall right in line with Timmy's way of thinking. To wit:

It isn't enough that we treat gays with equality. Now it's our responsibility to "represent" their point of view? We have to do that? For our kids? To hell with them.

When the "gay" activists are going to acknowlege my right to exist as a heterosexual male Christian without being put down on a daily basis by their propaganda.  Their intolerance is completely unacceptable in the 21st century.

I've got a great idea!  Why not launch a gay kids' network?  They can do cartoon versions of King and King, Daddy's Boyfriend, and Heather Has Two Mommies.  They can send pre-teen reporters to Pride festivals for special reports.  They can even have intimate interviews with some of the participants. 

The point of this post isn't try and change anyone's minds over at NewsBusters. Their minds seem pretty well made up and sealed off.

Nope, the point is to make sure Disney knows exactly what sort of people agree with them on this issue.