Some Fox News personalities do not hate gay people. What's up with that?

Fox News has been sliding a bit on toeing the official party line, but only on one particular issue. But is it intentional, or accidental?

[L]ike the Republican Party, whose leaders have begun to step away from anti-gay positions that are deeply unpopular with younger voters, Fox appears to be feeling pressure both from its younger staff and key audience segments to reflect what polls suggest is a rapidly shifting consensus. And over the past year, Shepard Smith, the host of afternoon news show Studio B, has emerged as a vocal champion of same-sex marriage. After President Obama's announcement in support of gay marriage, Smith looked into the camera said that the Republican Party was 'on the wrong side of history' on the issue.

'In television people are worried about the demo,' said Margaret Hoover, a former Fox News contributor and former Bush administration staffer who left the network last year, referring to television advertisers preoccupation with viewers between 18 and 49. ''Are you getting the demo?' And the demo supports gay rights.' [...]

Smith hasn't stopped since then ' quipping recently that 'Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day' was 'the national day of intolerance.' And he's been joined by Megyn Kelly, while other voices on the network ' John Stossel, Andrew Napolitano ' have shied away from conservative dogma on gay marriage.

The last I checked, the average Fox viewer was 10 years older than Methuselah, so I'm not sure how much of "the demo" really listens to Shepard Smith or Megyn Kelly in the first place. It is perhaps notable, however, that even at Fox News it is now officially acceptable to not be publicly terrified of gay people. Does this mean that their anchors are being given more freedom? That Fox has decided as a company that their focus on hardline corporate conservatism means they can afford to be more lax on social conservative issues? Hmm, perhaps not:

'Shep is on really thin ice,' the former employee said. 'If he wasn't so popular and highly rated (and highly paid) Roger [Ailes] would have yanked him off the air months ago.'

Oh well, I guess we've already overstepped the bounds of which opinions are acceptable to have as an employee of Fox News. Shep should probably just enjoy his momentary not-being-terrified-of-gay-people freedom, because I imagine if Obama wins reelection Fox News will take another dive to the right so severe that it'll make Glenn Beck look sane in comparison.