When religion makes the news

When religion makes the news

Media mediocrity is not the whole story By Doug Koop, Editorial from the April 23, 1996 ChristianWeek People who take Christian faith seriously are generally unhappy with the way religion is reported in the mainstream media. Many feel that media coverage does not accord their faith the prominence it deserves in Canadian society. Then, when it does make the news, it's apt to be negative. There are reasons for this disgruntlement. What people see on the tube or read in the papers is not what they normally encounter in their religious life. A Fraser Institute study, which monitored television news treatment of religion on CBC and CTV throughout 1994, concluded that the religious character of Canada was not properly represented. Disproportionate coverage was given to smaller or fringe groups, and controversy was the surest way to gain media attention.

On a more personal level, virtually anyone who has seen something they hold precious subjected to media treatment has a horror story to tell. Late last month (March 1996), for example, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix gave front page prominence to a story involving accusations of sexual exploitation against a minister. Although he has yet to have his day in court, the pastor's picture has appeared alongside lurid headlines and tantalizing details of a trust betrayed. Public censure is not inappropriate if the charges are true, but this exposure seems premature and prejudicial. A person and a congregation have had their reputations besmirched, and the reading public's level of trust in pastors undoubtedly has taken a dip.

While the mass media's thirst for sex and scandal stories contributes to this mediocre treatment of religion, other factors are also at work. It happens in part because reporters assigned to cover religion stories are too often ignorant of, uninterested in and unsympathetic towards their subject. Unlike sports or business where background knowledge or personal involvement is seen as an asset, fear of bias makes most editors wary about putting reporters with faith commitments onto religion stories.

Another reason for shoddy faith reporting is the relative godlessness of mainstream journalists. Newsrooms are not the most hospitable environment for people of profound religious conviction. Various studies have shown that media personnel are less likely to go to church than people in the general population. Indeed, one of the qualities that makes journalists good at what they do--a relentlessly questioning mind--also makes them likelier candidates for cynicism than for faith.

A third reason for this less than stellar performance in religion reporting, however, has to do with the failure of many religious groups to engage the media in professionally appropriate ways. Many of the devout misunderstand the media's role in society, apparently expecting promotion and devotion rather than ordinary reportage.

But horror stories, documented imbalance and other shortcomings notwithstanding, there are some hopeful signs. Religion is still under-reported, but there are more reporters working the religion/ethics beat than a decade ago. Though still often over-looked or trivialized, religious angles in regular news stories are recognized more often. Religion is less ghettoized, and less likely to be stereotyped as news about church bazaars and ladies' teas. Media disdain towards explicitly religious perspectives also seems less automatic than just a few years ago.

In the late 1980s mainstream journalists continually parroted their allegiance to objectivity. Today there appears to be better awareness that this is both an arrogant claim and an impossible objective--better awareness of the fact that all journalists have biases that colour their reportage. Why the change? One reason relates to the tough economic times which affect media institutions along with the rest of us. This is especially critical to the daily newspapers, most of which have been losing readers and watching revenues decline. One result is that news purveyors are becoming more responsive to their publics. A second reason has to do with the moral chaos in society, evidence of which is the stuff of countless news stories. The stark facts of human conduct run counter to long-prevailing notions that people are inherently good, and that proper education on any given issue will lead to enlightened behaviour. Even jaded news hacks are searching for a more profound basis on which to anchor beliefs about right and wrong. Religion is being consulted more often and taken more seriously.

The good news is that these changes are opening doors for people of faith to influence the improvement process. In my city, for example, the Winnipeg Free Press recently responded to public input by revamping its weekly Faith page in a way that is making it more attractive to the devout. And the paper is now working with a group of interested citizens to sponsor a public forum on media coverage of religion. The June 12 panel will feature ChristianWeek and Free Press columnist John G. Stackhouse, Jr., alongside a Free Press editor and others. A question and answer session will be moderated by a local CBC broadcast personality. [The event was a success, with over 200 people out on a beautiful June evening to interact with reporters and editors.] Each of us will have something to learn from the complaints and encouragement the public will bring to the gathering.

As media institutions struggle to come to terms with perplexing and difficult times, they are hungry for fodder to fuel the constant demand for new information and for ideas inspired by loyal listeners and readers. The unending collage of images and fragments of knowledge delivered to the public will include religion stories and spiritual perspectives for as long as such things are important to media consumers. People of faith should not expect print and broadcast news reports to adopt or even endorse a particular faith agenda. But we can expect civility and demand fairness. And we can develop positive relationships with media insiders, working to become trustworthy and reliable sources for news gatherers.

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