By: Cliff Kincaid
Accuracy in Media

As the next phase in the Kardashian campaign for big bucks from reality TV gets underway, with former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner declaring himself “Caitlyn,” the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) went into action. The gay lobby quickly issued an “Open Letter to Our Colleagues” on how to “accurately” cover “Caitlyn Jenner.”

The verdict from this special interest lobby is that Bruce Jenner can call himself anything he/she wants to, and the media are obligated to go along with whatever or whoever he says he wants to be.

There is no evidence that Jenner has changed his male DNA or even that his name has been legally changed to Caitlyn. Nevertheless, the NLGJA declared that “Now that Jenner has publicly announced a gender identity, the best practice is to refer to Caitlyn Jenner by the name she announced.”

On this basis, journalists are supposed to disregard reality and accept whatever various sexual minorities or psychologically disturbed individuals claim to be the case.

This flies in the face of normal rules of objective reporting, which require that things be covered in the way they are, not as people wish them to be.

By this standard, Jenner can claim to be a man one day and a woman the next, and the media are supposed to adjust their coverage accordingly.

The major problem with the NLGJA’s instruction to the media is that “Caitlyn Jenner” is still a “he.” There is no evidence that “he” has actually become a “she” in any physical or biological sense.

What’s more, there’s no way a “he” can actually become a “she,” since DNA determines whether a person is male or female. One is born a male or female and this information is recorded on a birth certificate.

“Today,” the NLGJA said in its Monday “open letter” to the media, “the person we have previously known as Bruce Jenner revealed preferred pronouns, and her new name, Caitlyn.”

So that’s it. A man wants to be called a woman and the media are supposed to fall in line.

The NLGJA informs the media that “Transgender people should be referred to by the name and gender with which they identify. Some transgender people choose to take hormones or have medical procedures, but that’s not what determines the right name and pronoun to use. It is stating one’s gender identity that is what should guide word use. Jenner should be referred to as she and her.”

How does growing one’s hair long and wearing a dress make Bruce Jenner into a woman? Some might say it makes him appear to be crazy, a pervert or a lunatic.

The issue of Vanity Fair featuring the photos of “Caitlyn Jenner” has not yet hit newsstands, but the photos are appearing everywhere in the media, including on the Fox News Channel, where Megyn Kelly declared “Caitlyn Jenner” to be a “courageous” figure.

The rest of the media are also falling into line. “She has finally made her debut,” reported CNN. “Caitlyn Jenner, Formerly Bruce, Introduces Herself in Vanity Fair” was the headline in The New York Times. The paper now calls her “Ms. Jenner.”

But where is the evidence that this is anything but a hoax?

“To get special early access to the revealing story and stunning photographs now, before it hits newsstands on June 9, subscribe to Vanity Fair’s digital edition on the iPhone or iPad,” the magazine’s website declares.

Hence, Vanity Fair is financially exploiting the “transgender” figure in the same way that he/she is doing, in preparation for a new reality show about Jenner declaring himself as somehow becoming a new gender.

Jenner has been a character in the E! reality series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” along with wife Kris Jenner. A new show on the channel will feature Jenner in the “transition” to being a woman.

All the advance publicity guarantees curiosity seekers tuning in to see how strange the show is going to get. It means big bucks from advertisers.

The photos in Vanity Fair that have been released publicly seem to be heavily doctored or airbrushed, in order to make Jenner appear to be more feminine than he really is.

Rather than be skeptical of this publicity stunt, the major media are following the instructions of the NLGJA and taking the whole thing seriously.

The NLGJA, a group funded by all of the major media organizations, works to manipulate news coverage on behalf of various self-declared sexual minorities, the latest being so-called transgendered individuals. “We are not an advocacy group,” NLGJA claims. “Our mission is to ensure fair and accurate coverage of issues that affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.”

This is nonsense, of course. The NLGJA is a major component of the gay rights lobby.

As AIM reported earlier this year, the NLGJA held a New York City fundraiser featuring day-time talk show host Meredith Vieira, who described pushing acceptance of so-called transgenders as the next phase of the gay rights campaign. “The transgender community continues to make strides to gain greater acceptance with more portrayals in the mainstream media,” she said.

Vieira referred to Jenner’s April 24 interview with Diane Sawyer as an important phase in the campaign.

The Vanity Fair photos and a video are the next phase.

“In this exclusive video filmed at our Annie Leibovitz photo shoot,” Vanity Fair proclaims, “the Olympic champion discusses her inspirations and how she hopes to encourage others.”

But rather than “encourage” others, the effect of the coverage could very likely be to confuse young people into thinking that one’s gender can, or should, be changed.

While we expect the liberal media to trumpet this new progression in the never-ending campaign for new rights for sexual minorities, it is troubling that conservative media personalities have jumped on the bandwagon, contributing to the idea that one’s sexual identity can be decided on a whim, from day to day, depending on the circumstances or how someone feels.

During a period when America desperately needs strong families grounded in the traditional male-female relationship, this message of sexual confusion can have an extremely damaging impact on young people who may be going through challenging periods in their lives.

But for reporters to even consider this possibility runs the risk of being declared “homophobic,” or somehow biased against sexual minorities.

It is way past time for the major media, including such outlets as CNN, NBC and Fox News, to stop pouring money into the NLGJA. This funding represents a major conflict of interest for the media. Why not start covering this issue of “sexual identity” in a manner that begins to approach objectivity by letting the viewers and readers know that there is at least a controversy over people choosing their sexual identities and disregarding science?

The truth is that the media have already bought into this hoax and are too far gone, and the United States may be on the inevitable decline as well.

The “courage” we really need is that which stands up to this decline and affirms the traditional relationships based on America’s founding values. But it appears it is just too much to ask for this kind of courage from the media.

America’s families will pay the price. The nation may not survive, as it becomes a laughingstock before self-destructing or becoming easy pickings for a determined foreign adversary.