On Wednesday, NBC’s “Today Third Hour” made time to promote a new series on Peacock called, “It’s Ok to Ask Questions.” Eye-rollingly obvious, it’s a promotional push for LGBTQ issues and clearly a run-up to Pride Month starting June 1st.
Set to air this Saturday, the show features Matthew Rodriguez, familiar to anyone who catches “Chicago Today.” Rodriguez uses this platform to engage with various left-leaning personalities and talk about their experience with (and impact on) the LGBTQ movement.
In a recent highlight, which “Today Third Hour” eagerly spotlighted, Rodriguez chatted with actress Rosie O’Donnell about raising a non-binary child. And another segment had swooning over Rodriguez’s tete-a-tete with pop sensation Jojo Siwa about her role in inspiring young people to march under the banner of gay pride.
Rodriguez’s lack of in-depth knowledge on the subject didn’t seem to bother anyone over at NBC, as evidenced by the invite he received to talk about the series itself on Wednesday morning.
Recalling how the show was born out of his boss’s suggestion to do something for Pride, he admitted he hadn’t initially felt ready to represent the community. His confusion about non-binary and transgender identities provoked the core concept of the series – it was ‘Okay to ask questions.’ It’s a pity this show seems to focus more on normalizing fear of offending than on finding definitive answers.
The segment ended with the hosts narrowly skirting the pitfall of objective journalism by tossing politically correct, soft-ball praises to Rodriguez for hosting the show and his unfaltering support to the LGBTQ agenda.
In amongst the mutual back-patting, Rodriguez shared his own journey of coming out to his conservative parents, stating the show has been therapeutic for him. He giggled at anecdotes about interviews with his high-profile guests, such as O’Donnell and her “they” tattoo — a hardly subtle reminder about the pronouns to use for her child, Clay.
The show’s success, Rodriguez feels, comes from lessons learned from his progressive guests, like Siwa. Despite being half his age, she braved the storm of negativity after making her stand.
NBC’s “Today Third Hour” clearly sees value in showcasing content explicit in its affirmation of the LGBTQ lifestyle, promotion, and agenda. However, one has to question the need for such blatant bias and loaded ‘tell-all’ style broadcasts, rather than focusing on fair and balanced journalism ensuring all facets of our society get represented. Dedication to your job should signify more than just nodding your head in agreement and pushing just one side of the story. There’s nothing wrong with being impartial, nothing unprofessional about being balanced. We have to ask, is NBC truly serving its diverse audience through this imbalanced promotion?
