John Hinderaker, who blogged for NBC on election night, recounts an encounter with an assistant producer:
Early in the day, a very young woman who was working as an assistant producer leaned over to me and whispered, "Are you the conservative?" I said Yes. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered, "but I'm on your side." I asked whether it is tough to be a conservative at NBC. She said that she tries not to talk about it, but every once in a while a co-worker gets wind of the fact that she is a Republican. The universal response, she said, was "You should be working at Fox."
Which tends to confirm what you always thought about the networks. If you're a Republican, the only home for you is at Fox. Here at ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN? It's Democrats Only.
I've said it before, it's not easy being a conservative in the newsroom. There was more gnashing of teeth last night as Sen. John Kerry conceded and networks finally made the call for President Bush. (It's my understanding that CNN didn't call enough states for Bush -- Ohio -- until after Kerry had called to concede. That's right, Kerry called his own loss before CNN.) Another reporter suggested moving to Canada, and some editors expressed concern about what Bush might do with a mandate.
At times, it seems that a newsroom is a borderline hostile work environment. If Hinderaker's assistant producer wants to continue her journalism career, she'd better get used to it.
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