A tale of 2 channels

The first channel: Local 12. As jk pointed out in a comment on an earlier post, Local 12 is running this story where the entire RSS feed is:

Subject: Four arrested in Attempted Abduction from Park

Police say two suspects were former lesbian lovers
Read more...

If you do read the full story, you'll have to go all the way down to the fourth graf (it's a five graf story) to find that

Officers on the scene yesterday said two of the women involved in the incident were former lovers in some kind of dispute.

And jk is a 100% right when he asks:

Would they say they were "former straight lovers"? Or mention it at all "above the fold" in the RSS feed if they were straight lovers?

Of course, not! Being gay is newsworthy only when it is absolutely... irrelevant to the story.

Which brings us to the second channel: Channel 5. The good folks there are running a story about a suspended priest returning to active ministry:

Rev. Clarence Heis was restored to the ministry Thursday after three years on administrative leave.

Heis, 54, was arrested in October 2005 on charges of public indecency and resisting arrest after an incident at a park in Fairborn, Ohio, near Dayton.

So what was the "incident" that caused the priest to be sentenced to 10 days in prison, five years of probation and a fine? Mr Heis engaged in "illegal sexual activity with two men in a Dayton-area park" and got caught. A closeted priest having public sex with not one but two men. But somehow WLWT thinks this little piece of information is not relevant to the story?

Of course, Mr Heis is now magically cured (just like Ted Haggard!):

The Cincinnati Archdiocese said Heis received counseling to address the issues related to the incident and has fulfilled the terms of his probation.

Again, it's "the incident," because WLWT doesn't see it fit to speak the truth: that there's a closet-case back in active ministry.