Confession time -- I was a UPI reporter in the late 1980s and early 1990s. My bureau was closed when the Saudi businessmen bought it in 1992. And yes, I met Helen Thomas at a company picnic one time. At that time she was sort of a mythic figure in wire service history. Thomas is an obvious exception, but a lot of the older desk guys who handled reporters' copy were really fairly conservative and they were tough as nails. Most I knew were big Reagan fans. A fair number were vets or covered Korea or Vietnam.
I'm sure Thomas couldn't stand the thought of working for somebody extremely conservative, but most folks I know who left UPI did so because of Moon's kooky "church," not his political views.