Here’s what Candiotti ignored: According to the Broward County Health Department, AIDS Surveillance data, in 2006, 70.2 percent of new HIV cases involved men having sex with men (MSM) and another 2.8 percent involved MSM who inject drugs intravenously, for a total of 73 percent.
On August 13, CNN gave the story another 5 minutes, 12 seconds. Anchor Rick Sanchez affected a skeptical, aggressive tone, but to his credit, Sanchez gave Naugle time to make his case. Sanchez showed no interest in the public health concerns.
The New York Times finally ran an article on August 16. Reporter Abby Goodnough quoted several critics but not a single supporter of Mayor Naugle. Goodnough mentioned Naugle’s claim that Broward County led the nation in new AIDS cases, but again, no exploration of the shocking statistics.
The compassionate media don’t seem to care that homosexual men are dropping like flies. To them, it’s more important to appear “inclusive” and “tolerant.”
Even after The New York Times weighed in, the networks yawned. No story here.
By contrast, ABC, CBS and NBC collectively ran 19 stories on the Craig scandal within the first 48 hours. CNN had 32 segments on it, and Fox clocked in with 12.
Naugle staged a feisty followup press conference on August 21 featuring several local activists and religious leaders, along with Dr. John Diggs, a Massachusetts-based physician. Diggs is the author of a white paper considered threatening by homosexual activists: “The Health Risks of Gay Sex,” which cites voluminous data in major health journals.
On August 23, Bill O’Reilly brought on Naugle for a 4-minute, 47-second interview. O’Reilly treated the mayor respectfully, challenging his premises but allowing Naugle to elaborate on his concerns about the health risks of promiscuous homosexuality.
On August 24, the Miami Herald editorialized that Mayor Naugle’s actions were “contemptible,” noting that police have arrested only a few men for having sex in public bathrooms. The Herald, utterly ignoring the appalling HIV/AIDS statistics, accused the mayor and the “clerics” supporting him of “maliciousness” and said the mayor “refuses to let it die, as it should.”
Perhaps in light of the deadly AIDS epidemic in Broward County, we should rephrase it: “the major refuses to let them die.” The Herald actually called Mr. Naugle a “hate-monger.” Is it any wonder people are losing faith in the “mainstream” press?
In the next few days, as the networks beat the Craig drum, they should also spend a little time with Major Naugle, who was just kicked off the Broward County tourist board. They’d find it instructive. They might even share with their audiences Mr. Naugle’s well-documented concerns for the health of Broward County’s homosexual visitors: the men whose lives Broward County is recklessly putting at risk in the name of tourist dollars.
The story might even generate some compassion for Sen. Craig. Well, we can dream, can’t we?