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2000: The year Canadian journalists had to report religion Amazing what a funeral and a federal election can do. For Canadians in 2000, the two events finally pushed religious issues onto the front-page and top story slots. |
Newspapers
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Reporting private and public religionIt's difficult to imagine anything more personal than a near-death experience, or more public than a United Nations human-rights challenge. Yet both stories ended up as front-page religion news in Canadian newspapers during the month of February. But guess which one of the stories got more attention...
Goodbye Charlie Brown! The hype surrounding millennium problems fizzled. But the disappointment which met news that Charles Schulz was to publish his last daily strip on January 7th was real. What is it about certain comic strips that attracts such a devoted audience? In part, some of their popularity may lie in the appeal to familiar religious messages and narratives. God in the Press Box Professional athletes are getting saved, and sports writers are getting annoyed. These days, it seems, the only place in the daily paper where you can find open season on religion is the sports page. U.S. newspapers expanding religion coverage: ReportReporters and editors say they are giving readers more issue-driven stories, covering faiths out of the mainstream and pushing the issue to page one. Clashing perspectives on U.S. newspaper coverage of religionIn the eyes of some, religion never had it so bad when it comes to U.S. newspaper coverage. For others, religion never had it so good. Sins of OmissionSix out of 10 Canadians say religion is an important part of their lives. By ignoring spiritual perspectives, Canadian newspapers have broken faith with their readers. From the Ryerson Review of Journalism, Summer, 1999. Newspaper Coverage of Religion and How it Can Be Improved:A 1994 address by American evangelist Billy Graham to the American Society of Newspaper editors Religion Content in Ontario's Daily Newspapers (1986) Do journalists pay insufficient attention to the role of spirituality and organized religion in Canadian society and culture? A 1996 study by Susan Wilson Murray for Simon Fraser University The Ottawa Citizen mixes the sacred and the secular Once relegated to the "religion page ghetto," faith issues have moved into the paper's news line-up. Bob Harvey, the section's editor for seven years, couldn't be happier. |
Radio
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They’re turning the dial to GodIn Winnipeg, mainstream radio finds spiritual talk lights up the ratings. |
Television
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Finding the blessed on the TV beach A lot has been written about the runaway popularity of the CBS summer hit Survivor. What was the secret of its success? An otherwise slow schedule? As the show progressed towards its finale, the producers became increasingly blatant in their methods: Survivor was religious television, and its audience followers with varying degrees of devotion. In Secular TV Land, Spirituality on RiseCNN's "Prime Time Prophets" offers new view of TV spirituality. Churches Try Television: Virtually no TV news programs which treat religious events and issues as something which Canadians want to know about Peter Jennings on Faith and the media "We must stop treating religion as if it were like building model airplanes, a hobby, not really fit for intelligent adults." On Edge: Coverage of Religion by Canadian Television News TV "a wasteland as far as religion specialists go" |
All media
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When the Pope comes calling
The pope-mobile, cheering crowds, a charismatic leader, flowing
vestments, ethnic dress, high pomp and circumstance -- if any religious event is “made-for-TV,” it's a papal visit. In March, Pope John Paul II completed what he himself viewed as the crowning of his papacy: a trip to the Holy Land. Covering the trip was a difficult assignment, and for the most part, journalists did well to capture the multiple political and religious aspects. Throwing down the gauntlet by Joyce Smith (March 2000) Where are the interesting religion angles in 'mainstream' news? Some story suggestions from cloning to restaurant cleanliness. Magazine covers and the millennium by Joyce Smith (December 1999) After enormous build-up, and earlier concentration on the Y2K computing bug, news outlets seem to be turning millennial attention to the meaning of the year 2000 itself. When Religion Makes the News Media mediocrity is not the whole story... editorial by Doug Koop April 23, 1996 ChristianWeek Coverage of religion falls short But religious groups need to do better job of communicating with media, by John Longhurst, Special to the Winnipeg Free Press, June 5, 1996 Trying to bridge gap News coverage of religion is 'a great failure' in Canada By Tom Froese, Special to the Toronto Star, April 20, 1997 |
Anglicanism
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My Lambeth Hell A religion reporter reflects on the 1998 gathering of Anglican bishops Who'd be a press officer? A response to Ruth Gledhill's "My Lambeth Hell." A view from the other side of the 1998 gathering of Anglican bishops |
Islam
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We're not all terrorists, Muslim leaders tell media:Canadian media are fostering hatred against Muslims by wrongly labelling Islam as a religion of violence, says the Canadian Islamic Congress. A report from the Ottawa Citizen. Anti-Islam in the media: A case study of five top Canadian newspapers by the Canadian Islamic Congress. An assertive new voice for Muslims:A new organization speaks out against injustices. A report from the Ottawa Citizen. What do we really know about Islam?:Muslim organizations become proactive on media relations. The distorted images of Islam:The cumulative effect of western media coverage is to instill fear of "Islam" in American and Canadian minds, and perhaps also to foster feelings of mistrust toward those practicing or orthodox Muslims who live in our midst and are identifiable by their dress. West uses double standard on Islam:Canadian media coverage of Islam and Muslims poses a real threat to Muslims in this country. The words Muslim and Terrorist are not synonymousMedia outlets are frequently criticized for painting crude caricatures of certain groups. Nowhere is that more evident than in stories about Muslims, write Sheherazade Hirji and Noordin Nanji, who say it's time for journalists to strive for more context when writing stories. |
Last modified: 22 January 2001