The McGreeveys' Media Week

The former governor and first lady of New Jersey were media darlings last week, demonstrating that manipulation of the press is still alive and well in America.

The feeding frenzy started on May 1 when Dina Matos McGreevey appeared on Oprah, and then May 2 and 3 on Good Morning America to publicize her book, “Silent Partner,” which tells her side of the “I married a gay American and didn't know it” story.

James McGreevey resigned from his office as New Jersey governor in 2004 when news of a homosexual affair was made public.  When he announced his resignation, Dina stood by his side smiling. While the news media gobbled up the story, very little attention was paid to Dina. 

The release of her book, which coincided conveniently with the start of television's May rating sweeps period, provided Dina the opportunity to publicly proclaim her version of events, and offered the press the opportunity to revisit the scandal.

Not to be outdone by his former wife, the former governor broke into the news on May 2 by announcing that he'd become an Episcopalian and was enrolling in a seminary to study for the priesthood. 

Sorry, Dina.  That's apparently a much better story.

A Nexis search reveals that news coverage of Dina's book had pretty much run its course within two days.  Stories on the homosexual former governor enrolling in an Episcopal seminary continued to make the press five days after the initial report.

And while most of those stories reported on McGreevey being a former and self-described devout Catholic, few reported the broader cultural conflict in the Episcopal Church about accepting homosexual priests.  Several conservative congregations in the United States have split with the Episcopal Church over the issue.  The broader Anglican Communion has told the U.S. Episcopal Church that it must step back from its support of unrepentant homosexuals in church leadership to continue in full membership with the Communion.  

But isn't it nice that Mr. McGreevey has found a new vocation? The media think so.

Kristen Fyfe is senior writer at the Culture and Media Institute, a division of the MediaResearchCenter.