Do journalists pay insufficient attention?
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Do journalists pay insufficient attention?
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A 1996 study by Susan Wilson Murray for Simon Fraser University |
In order to research this hypothesis, a questionnaire was drawn up and a telephone survey of nineteen major newspapers was conducted. The phone survey was used to determine what kind of coverage, the form and content the coverage took and who did the reporting. Included in the survey were questions concerning the reporter/editor's personal religious beliefs and practices and educational background. As well an examination of four months of the Globe & Mail was done to cull all articles relating to traditional religions and analyze them qualitatively and quantitatively.
The research would indicate that the largest percentage of the reporters assigned full or part time to religion are affiliated with some religious body, are educated, and follow the same journalistic practices in their reporting of religion as they would for any other assignment. The material in The Globe and Mail however, would indicate that news is news and the same news values apply to religion as any other news story. The Globe did have one hundred stories over a four-month period, more than 70% of which were in the A section. Religion was covered from all aspects - news, travel, the Arts, business and was the subject of many columns. However, the content of 52% of the articles was negative.
These findings would indicate that religion is being covered, but it being done in what can be considered a traditional manner - a page or two, once a week is devoted to religion news - community offerings and events, in-depth articles on various religions. But it is like the Style pages in the newspapers--if you're not interested in fashion you're not going to turn to the page. The articles that appear in the main section of the newspaper deal by and large with the more problematic aspects of religion today and leave little room for discussion, which tends to support the hypothesis.
Introduction
For more than sixty weeks "The Celestine Prophecy,"
a spiritual mystery, has dominated the New York Times Bestseller List .
While essentially a mystery, readers are buying the book more for the underlying
message - how to attain spiritual satisfaction. This is the driving force
behind the success of the book. While it might seem odd a book of this
sort would engage so many readers, Marcia McDonald in “The New Spirituality”
notes people are dissatisfied with the materialism of today's society and
are seeking to rediscover a deeper and more profound meaning to life. They
are looking for their religious and spiritual roots.
Although statistics support the notion that Canadians are not attending church in the numbers they once did, statistics also indicate Canadians have an abiding interest in and continuing connection to their religion. A report by Statistics Canada on Religions in Canada, 1993, indicates 87.5% of Canadians have some form of religious affiliation or belief ranging from mainstream religions to para-religious groups (sects and cults). Clearly, there is an interest in religion in Canada.
However, it has been suggested that the news media do not provide an unbiased, well reasoned, articulate view of religion in the mainstream media. In 1995 a questionnaire was sent to members of religious organizations across Canada by Project Censored at Simon Fraser University's Department of Communications. It indicated a growing unhappiness with the way religion is covered in the mainstream media. Many of the respondents indicated newspapers did not cover religion or did not cover what religious groups did well because religion news was not sensational, was not constructed to provide 'sound bites', or entertaining. One respondent to the questionnaire noted that "selling is better than telling".
Another factor which seemed to dominate the responses was the media's lack of knowledge and understanding of the issues and the role of religion in today's society, and of the religions themselves. "Their objectives [selling] do not lead them to staff [that are] qualified to understand issues," said one respondent. The respondents also indicated they felt the media were unwilling to learn. Many of those who answered the questionnaire were aware of the constraints of producing a news show or a newspaper daily; however, on the whole they felt that the media were largely biased in their presentation and worked to support the status quo rather than to question and analyze what is happening in the world. In this way it was felt journalists are failing to do their jobs well.
Peter Steinfels, senior religion correspondent for The New York Times, in his address to the June, 1994 Chicago Forum at the Commonweal Conference on Religion and the Media , suggested a reason for this apparent lack in the coverage of religion by mainstream media. He stated:
"There are three standard explanations for the media's shortcomings. First, ideology: journalists are ideologically opposed to religion or unusually influenced by negative stereotypes of most faiths and believers.
"Second, the three "i's": ignorance, incompetence, insufficient resources.
"Third, the framework of journalism itself, the working definitions of news, and the practical conditions under which it is carried out."
Steinfel's comments would seem to support the view that the secular background of journalists are instrumental in shaping news coverage of religion.
However, Ernest C. Hynds in his research paper entitled "Large Daily Newspapers Have Improved Coverage of Religion," suggests journalists who cover religion are generally well-educated, with a background in theology and are experienced writers. He further suggests that the quality and quantity of coverage has improved over the years. However, he adds, "more recent studies indicate continued improvement but continuing need. They suggest coverage is too often superficial or sensational and that more knowledgeable editors and reporters are needed."
It has been hypothesized that although a major portion of the Canadian population have religious beliefs and/or affiliations, “the mainstream news media, perhaps because of their own secular backgrounds and the constraints of common news practices do not provide a balanced, informed view of religion in the media.” This study will attempt to determine the validity of the hypothesis. This study will address, in part, the issues of "ignorance, incompetence and insufficient resources" which would seem to be related to the secularization of the media, and the way in which religion is covered in the press.
A phone interview was conducted to determine the extent and type of coverage in the mainstream Canadian press, as well as the religious and educational background of the journalists and/or editors. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of religion coverage in The Globe and Mail will also provide insight and information as to the extent and type of coverage of religion and what determines religion news.
Previous Research
Studies of the media and religion are not uncommon,
especially since the advent of television and particularly tele-evangelism.
Over the years the debate about the presentation of religion in mainstream
media has been constant and often vocal. The media are seen to be adversarial
in their coverage of religion, uninformed, and secularly biased. A research
project done in 1980 by Lichter and Rothman surveyed 240 journalists, at
seven national news outlets and three TV networks in Washington and New
York, concerning their religious affiliations and church attendance in
the belief that if one attended church or were affiliated with a religious
group one was more apt to report knowledgeably about religion. The results
of the poll indicated that 50% of the respondents did not profess to having
a religious preference, and 86% stated they never went to church.
However, a study done in 1985 by Ernest C. Hynds would seem to refute the findings of Lichter and Rothman. In Hynd’s study, 78% of the journalists and editors polled indicated they were members of a religious organization. Almost 95% of Hynd’s respondents were college graduates and several had advanced degrees in religious studies. A study done in 1993 by Dart and Allen supported Hynds research findings, as did a study conducted by M. Buddenbaum of Colorado State University in 1992 which surveyed 1,400 religion writers and journalists with virtually the same results as Hynds. The Religion News Writers Association is currently conducting another study of journalists. Part of the study surveys the journalist's religious and educational background. (The results will be available in September 1996).
Each study was conducted in order to determine whether the personal religious beliefs of the journalist helped or hindered them in the performance of their jobs,. It was supposed that those who had personal religious beliefs would have more insight and understanding of religion as opposed to those journalists without a background in religion. The studies also examined the journalist's level of education, again to determine what, if any, effect this would have on a journalist's ability to present the news on religion in an informed manner.
Carol Marion, in discussion at the Chicago Forum of Commonweal's Religion and the Media Conference made an interesting point. She states:
"What troubles me is the litmus tests, such as Peter (Steinfels) talked about, where it's judged meaningful if [a reporter or editor] regularly attends religious services, whether you consider yourself religious, whether you belong to an organized faith. I take the position that one of your obligations as a journalists is to give up, for the time that you're a journalist, some of your rights and privileges as a citizen in order to have the privilege of being a reporter."
This paper, however, reverts to the standard practice of attempting to see who is doing the reporting and what they believe, and if that belief system helps or hinders a journalist in the performance of their job.
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Methodology
A two-tiered examination of the presentation
and representation of religion in Canadian newsprint media was necessary
to determine whether or not Peter Steinfels "three standard explanations"
for the inadequacies of coverage of religion in the media were valid. As
noted, Steinfels, senior religion correspondent for The New York Times,
suggests journalists' ideological opposition to religion, and/or the influence
of negative stereotypes of most faiths or believers, on a journalist prohibits
a fair, reasoned and articulate presentation of religion in the news. He
further suggests the three "i's" - ignorance, incompetence and insufficient
resources - are a contributing factor to the coverage of religion.
"Third," he states, "the framework of journalism itself, the working definitions of news, and the practical conditions under which it is carried out" are responsible for the media's "shortcomings." The first tier of this research paper is an attempt to address, in part, the first two of Steinfels three statements - ideological influences, and the three "i's": ignorance, incompetence and insufficient funds. To determine what kinds of coverage, by whom, and the format and content of the newspaper coverage, a short questionnaire was drawn up. The survey was conducted by phone over a three week period (March 19 - April 4, 1996) and was modeled on the work of Ernest C. Hynds from his paper "Large Daily Newspapers Have Improved Coverage of Religion," in which he does a demographic survey of religion editors from all newspapers in the U.S. having a circulation of over 100,000.
A list of nineteen mainstream newspapers was generated based on the population of each province in Canada (the Territories were not included as they did not meet the criteria). The papers chosen publish in the capitals and major cities of each province. One newspaper was chosen from each of the Atlantic provinces; three from Quebec (an English and French paper from Montreal and a French paper from Quebec); three from Ontario (two from Toronto and one from Ottawa); one from Manitoba (Winnipeg); two from Saskatchewan (Saskatoon and Regina); two from Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary); three from British Columbia (two from Vancouver and one from Victoria); and finally The Globe and Mail. Although The Globe and Mail originates out of Toronto it was chosen as it is Canada's national newspaper. The newspapers all publish under the classification of general news, as opposed to tabloid or special interest newspapers. Each paper publishes at least six issues a week, Monday to Friday, and/or Saturday and Sunday. Seventeen of the newspapers publish in the morning, two publish in the evening. The population base of the city and the circulation rates were collected and included as a general reference point.
The questionnaire was broken down into three parts. The first part focused on determining whether or not a newspaper has a specific section for the coverage of religion. Included were questions on format and content: how often, what day, number of pages, the section of the paper, types of articles, wire service use, levels of coverage.
The second section dealt with the individual reporters and/or editors. This section was used to determine whether or not a paper had someone assigned to religion and if so, their level of experience and knowledge. The respondents were asked how they got the position, if it was full or part-time, how long they had been working the religion desk, their years and range of experience as a journalist, their educational background and personal religious affiliation. They were further asked if they considered a religious affiliation necessary to performing their job.
The final section of the questionnaire was for comments from the respondents. This section was included to collect anecdotal information concerning the types of coverage, comments on the coverage of news, and personal information relevant to the journalist's views and beliefs.
The second tier of the research process was a quantitative and qualitative analysis of religion articles published in The Globe and Mail. It Globe was chosen as it is Canada's national newspaper and therefore should be generally representative of Canadian interests and concerns. The Globe and Mail does not have a religion section. It does have a religion reporter, Joan Breckenridge, and other reporters and columnists who report on religion. This part this part of the research attempted to determine if and how religion is treated in the news - examining the third part of Peter Steinfel's proposal: the framework of journalism itself, the working definitions of news, and the conditions under which it is carried out as a detriment and shortcoming of the coverage of religion in the news. The quantitative and qualitative analysis was modeled on a study of new religious movements done by Barent van Driel and James T. Richardson, "Print Media Coverage of New Religious Movements: A Longitudinal Study", and Bob Hackett's "The Depiction of Labour and Business on National Television News" from Critical Studies of Canadian Mass Media (59-82). The methodology for analyzing keywords and content was drawn from these articles.
The quantitative analysis included each religion article found in The Globe and Mail CD ROM database during the period March 1, 1995 - June 30, 1995. The articles are full text and include statistical classifications. The time period was randomly chosen. Articles relating to cults and New Age spirituality were not included as they represent .01% of the population (Statistics Canada) and the focus of this paper is on traditional religious denominations.
The articles were coded for day of the week, date, placement in the newspaper (section and page), length of article (short, medium, long), if photos were included, the service used (staff, CP, AP, Reuters, New York Times, Specials), and the journalist. These codes were used to determine frequency of coverage, amount of coverage and type of service used.
The data for the qualitative analysis was coded for type of article (news, column, editorial, letter to the editor, arts, business, travel). The articles were also coded for geographical location and the religion referred to. It was hoped that coding for religion would reveal any trends to unusual amounts of coverage of any one religion out of proportion to the numbers of Canadian adherents, or if certain groups were marginalized.
As well, the content and tone of the articles was analyzed for positive, negative and neutral attributes. The content was considered positive if it reflected a welcome change, a pleasant, hopeful or encouraging experience, the good works of the church or the positive presence of the church in the community, country, world. Negative articles included any items which related to unwelcome change, violent or abusive behaviours and practices, negative portrayal of a religious group, and stereotyping, illegal or immoral activities. Neutral articles were merely the reporting of an incident, historical information, news releases concerning events.
The tone of the article was determined by keywords used to describe the actions of people, the practices of religious groups, or the events in each article. In some cases a group of words was chosen as it more clearly articulated the concept. Words such as unacceptable, ridiculous, flocking away, sins, propaganda, howling and disingenuous were coded as negative. Enjoyable, much-needed, volunteer, came by thousands, encouraged dialogue, were coded as positive. No code was assigned if the tone of the article was considered neutral.
A final category was that of theme. An analysis was done to determine possible recurring themes, and whether or not a secular bias was evident in the news. Through this analysis it can be seen whether the coverage reflects generally negative or positive images of religion, and what the issues of greatest concern are as presented in the media.
Where and when do they cover religion? All fifteen papers publish the religion page/pages weekly. Of the fifteen, 86% (13) publish on Saturday, one publishes on Friday and one on Sunday. Eight of the papers have a one-page section, five have a two-page section, the other two papers vary between 1 or 2 pages and 2 or 3 pages, depending upon the advertising and the season. Six of the papers have fixed sections in which the religion pages are always placed; A4 in Le Soleil,The Saturday Review in the Vancouver Sun, the Life section in the Toronto Star, the Weekend Edition in the Guardian, the Read section of the Leader-Post, and the Saturday special in the Evening Telegram. The remaining 62% vary the placement of the religion page dependent upon the composition of the newspaper that day.
What do they cover? All fifteen papers regularly cover local news. Three papers; The Gazette, the Evening Telegram and Le Soleil only cover local news and do not use the wire services. Eight (53%) cover regional news regularly, five cover it occasionally. Five papers cover national and international news regularly, seven only occasionally. Twelve of the papers use wire services to supplement their regular offerings. Most commonly used is Canadian Press, followed by Associated Press (including Reuters), New York Times and the L.A. Times.
Only one of the fifteen papers--the Toronto Star doesn't run a column. Three papers run a syndicated column by Rev. J. A. Davidson, while the Chronicle Herald runs a column (in its 30th year) by Rev. Allen Gibson. Thirteen of the papers run general news items - the installation of a new organ, the re-opening of a church, and significant events in the community. All the papers try to 'localize' the news (a standard news practice). Seven of the papers regularly run extended or in-depth articles about people, faiths, significant events, trends and background articles. Only two papers did not run ads - Le Soleil and the Evening Telegram.
The Winnipeg Free Press is taking an innovative approach to their religion page. Each week, besides running their two regular columnists, they run a ‘guest’ column from a member of the community [now discontinued]. Assistant City Editor Gerald Flood says this was done in response to the growing interest in the religion page, and it is considered a financially effective way to increase coverage and engage the interest of the readers. The Free Press is also the only paper that has a "New Age" type column that addresses the more esoteric and untraditional concerns of the readership. It also happens to be the only column regularly written by a woman.
Who has a regular religion reporter, and are they full time? Five of the papers - the Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen, the Telegraph Journal/Times Globe, the Vancouver Sun and the Calgary Herald - have full-time religion reporters. Although Gordon Legge of the Calgary Herald is technically the Religion Editor, he writes the articles. The Times Colonist and the Toronto Star have regularly assigned reporters working part-time on the religion beat. The Edmonton Journal has a full time religion editor, and the Winnipeg Free Press has an editor who covers religion, as well as, other departments. Collectively this represents 60% of the papers, however, only 33% of the papers employ journalists full-time to cover religion. Without exception, the reason for the limited number of religion reporters is financial.
Of the nine reporters/editors, six were assigned their positions, two requested the job and one was hired specifically for the position of religion reporter. The decision is unanimous - all enjoy their jobs.
Six (66%) of the reporters/editors have university degrees, two have high school, and for one of the reporters the information was not available. There was one reporter with ten years experience. The rest have in excess of fifteen. They all have experience in a multitude of areas. Four of the nine journalists have taken courses in religion. Seven of the nine reporters/editors profess to having a religious affiliation. One preferred not to reveal this information, and for one the information was not available.
When asked if having a religious affiliation was necessary to perform their job, all responded no. However, many said it helped them as they were able to "speak the same language" as the people they reported on. As well, many of the respondents believe it gives them a better understanding of others and their involvement in their religion. Two of the respondents believed that it got in the way of their work - they believed people were not as open and forthcoming if they knew the reporter had a professed religion. One of the respondents believed it enriched their work, but they also believed their personal life experience and travels had enabled them to develop a respect for others. This reporter believed it was the quality of human nature rather than religion that helped in the performance of their job.
While the Times Colonist did not think it necessary to increase coverage of religion, all the other reporters/editors believed it was an area that was rich for increased coverage. As well, the reporters and editors interviewed stated that they made a conscientious effort to try and include regular articles on all the major faiths and denominations in their communities.
Finally, all the respondents, including The Globe and Mail (which has a religion reporter but not have a religion page) and the three other papers which do not have religion pages (the Province, the Toronto Sun and La Presse) said they treat 'news' as news, whether or not it is news on religion. By this they mean, any event which takes place, at any time, which meets the standard news values - timeliness, celebrity, negativeness, personalization, unexpectedness - is treated as a news item and runs in the appropriate place in the newspaper, sometimes the front page, sometimes an inside page. Religion, if it is news, is not accorded any special privileges or preferences - it is treated in the same way as any other organized body would be treated by the press.
Reporters who cover religion say they were first and foremost journalists. One respondent makes an effort "not to change how I write, apply the same rules, try to cover facts," while another reporter "applies the same journalistics techniques and values, same skepticism, same desire for truth" as for any other assignment.
Tier Two Results
The second part of this research project involved
culling articles from The Globe and Mail newspaper from the period
March 1, 1995 to June 30, 1995 and do a qualitative and quantitative analysis
of the materials found. While the Globe does not have a section
of the paper devoted to religion, it does have a religion reporter and
several columnists who write on religion, Specials to the Globe,
and wire service stories which they pick up and publish. In speaking with
Joan Breckenridge, religion reporter for the Globe, she indicated
the Globe treats religion as it would any other subject. They apply
the same news values - immediacy (news is now), negativity, unexpectedness,
celebrity, meaningfulness to the stories of religion as for any other stories.
The columnists and special reports have greater latitude in examining the
issues. Yet the conditions under which the news stories are prepared remain
the same, deadlines must be met, decisions about what is, or is not, included
are based upon the same criteria as other news. This establishes the parameters
for the analysis of the Globe articles.
One hundred stories relating to mainstream religions in Canada were published in the Globeduring the four month period; 34 in June, 18 in May, 22 in April and 28 in March. Eight articles were published on Mondays, seven on Tuesdays, 21 on Wednesdays, 24 on Thursdays, 13 on Fridays, and 29 on Saturdays. There was no specific reason for the preponderance of articles on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Globe and Mail generally has two sections; an A section which carries national and international news, the arts, sports, obituaries, Marketplace, the editorial pages, and the back page called Facts and Arguments (which includes the "Fifth Column"). The second section of the paper is devoted to business. The weekend editions expand upon this format, with several extra sections devoted to travel, housing, and more news. Seventy of the articles for this research were in the A section, the rest were found in the business, travel, and extended news sections.
Globe measures their articles by length - short, medium and long. Forty of the articles were short, 25 were medium, and 22 were long. A further 7 were medium length columns, and 8 were long columns. Twenty-two articles inlcluded photos. Forty-two of the stories were generated in-house, 8 were picked up from Reuters, 6 from Canadian Press, 10 from Associated Press, and 8 were 'Specials to the Globe and Mail" from freelancers. Six stories were reprints from other news sources. Twenty-two or the articles were letters to the editors and, as such, were not considered relevant to this specific part of the research.
Thirty-four different journalists published stories during the period. Twenty-three of the stories from the wire services were not attributed to a journalists. Again, the letters to the editor were not considered relevant to this specific part of the research. Most stories (54%) were specific to Canada, while 10 stories were specific to the US, 9 were global in nature, 11 were located in Europe, 10 were about the Middle East, 4 were about the Far East, 1 was from Mexico, and 1 was from Ecuador. News stories dominated the numbers with 48, followed by 22 Letters to the Editor, ll columns and 7 stories based in the arts section.
The largest number of stories related to the Roman Catholic Church (22). A surprisingly large number of stories concerned the Islamic faith (18). Surprisingly few stories were written specifically about Protestants. Christian groups, while classified as Protestant by Statistics Canada, were treated as separate groups and collectively comprised 26 stories. Of these, 6 were about evangelicals and 10 about fundamentalists. Other groups mentioned included Anglican, Jews, Native Indians, Doukhobors, and Mormons.
This project researched not only the content, but also the tone of the articles. As described earlier the terms positive, negative and neutral were used to classify the stories both for content and tone. The tone of the articles broke down as 37% negative, 20 % positive, and 43 % neutral. Keywords in the negative articles included - end of, mean-spirited, forced underground, allegations, frustration, angry, defaced, not normal and difficult religion. Positive keywords included holy union, from obscurity, and honesty. Fifty-two percent of the stories were rated negative for content, 19% were positive and 29 % were neutral (See figure 6). Negative articles reflected unwelcome change, violent or abusive behaviour and practices, negative portrayal of a religious group, stereotyping and illegal or immoral activities. Positive content, as stated, was welcome change, pleasant, hopeful or encouraging experience, and the good works of the church. Subject matter determined the content and ranged from discrimination, restrictive religious practices, the Pope's encyclical and the resulting effects, the death of a child, and holiday observances.
There were a wide range of subjects but they broke down into a few recurring themes. Dominant among the themes were discussions of the religious practices of several groups: Islamic, Christians, Doukhobors, and others. Not all practices were commented upon favourably. Religious intolerance, from within the Church and from outside; from one group towards another; and for the practices and beliefs of others was another recurring theme. Change was another dominant theme - the introduction of an updated hymnal in the Anglican church; accepting gays and lesbians into the church; the role of women in the church; concerns around celibacy; and decaying state of religion as a whole. The Church and its role in education was another dominant theme.
Conclusion
The questions: Is religion being covered? Is
the coverage influenced by the secular biases of journalists and editors?
Do the constraints of common news practices provide a balanced, informed
view of religion in the media? To the first question, is religion being
covered? the answer is yes. It is covered on a regular weekly basis
by 79% of the 19 newspapers polled. Nine of the fifteen papers with regular
religion pages have reporters/editors who work full-time (66 %) or part-time
(34%). All fifteen papers cover local news, eight cover national, some
cover national and international.
Is there secular bias? The reporters are generally university educated (66%) and 90% have in excess of fifteen years experience in journalism, all with diverse and varied backgrounds. Eighty percent of the reporters/editors were affiliated with a religious body, about 30% attended church regularly. As well, 30% had taken courses in religion. This part of the research tends to support Ernest Hynds findings in his research paper "Large Daily Newspapers Have Improved Coverage of Religion," as well as the findings in the study done by Dart and Allen (1993). It would also seem to refute Lichter and Rothmans study of journalists done 1980. However, the survey sample was small and did not include every journalist who, at any time, has written on religion. To provide fuller and more comprehensive information with which to determine the possibility of a secular bias, an extensive survey of all journalists would have to be done. Within the narrow parameters of this project the research would seem to refute the possibility of secular bias amongst writers of religion.
One question that arises from this research is whether it is necessary for reporters of religion to have a religious affiliation, or to attend church. When asked, every respondent clearly stated they considered themselves first and foremost journalists, not writers of religion. They all said they employed the common journalistic practices in researching and writing a story - the search for facts, the truth and a balanced view. The seeming need to have reporters with a strong religious background is problematic. Do all sports writers play professional sports and do all business writers own their own businesses? A good knowledge of the subject would no doubt be beneficial, but again the respondents to this survey did not seem to think courses in, or an association with, a religion were critical to the performance of their jobs. An insiders view no doubt, but it does bear further research.
Religion as news? Religion is also covered in the standard news format. If a story is a story - is timely, has celebrity aspects, contains conflict or controversy - then it is news. Four of the nineteen newspapers surveyed treat religion as news. The Globe and Mail does have a significant number of stories that fall outside the realm of hard news (48 %). Of these, travel, arts, business, special columns, and reports comprised 30% of the Globe's stories. However, the overall content of the news stories, features, letters to editors was largely negative (another standard news value), 52% of the stories were coded as negative in content, while 29% were neutral and only 19% were positive. At the heart of many of the negative stories were the breach of faith with the masses - sexual abuse, religious intolerance, the issues of gay and lesbian and women as ministers in the church, celibacy and even something as seemingly simple as changing the Anglican hymnal caused a flurry of harsh and critical letters to the editor. On the other hand, Billy Graham's crusade in Toronto was reported in a very favourable light, as was the marriage ceremonies of lesbians in one church. One dominant theme was religious intolerance. While the numbers of adherents to the Islamic faith world wide number in the millions, in Canada the number is slightly more than 250,000 people, yet 18 of the Globe and Mail stories were about Islam. Catholics and Protestant number over 12 million and 9 million respectively (the two largest religious groups in Canada) yet there were only 22 stories about Catholics and only 3 specifically about Protestants. Evangelicals and Christian Fundamentalists (which were treated as groups outside the Protestant faith) were the focus of 16 stories. This would suggest an inordinate amount of coverage of the Islamic faith for a small percentage of the religious population of Canada.
Of the eighteen stories about Islam and Muslim practices, only two were positive, 6 were neutral, but ten were negative and dealt largely with Muslim fundamentalists, often linking them with acts of terrorism and barbarity. This would suggest a reinforcing practice of stereotyping in the press. As well the ten stories about Christian fundamentalists tended to be negative - 6 negative, 4 neutral, no positive. The negative stories were related to the teaching of creationism in schools and the involvement of Christian Fundamentalists in school issues. The issue of creationism, while extremely important to the Fundamentalists, is not part of the accepted scientific ideology today. The battle to bring back the theory of creationism in the schools flies in the face of the status quo and is made to look laughable and archaic by the press--once again reinforcing stereotypes. Further, the press did not present a balanced view of the subject.
Is religion being covered? Yes. Fifteen of the nineteen newpapers surveyed have regular relgion sections and all 19 cover religious issues if they are news. Is it being covered by reporters well versed in religious traditions and background? Yes and no. Most of the respondants professed to having religious beliefs and affiliations and some had taken courses in religion. Is it being covered well? Again, the answer is open to debate. There is consistent weekly coverage and an increasing awareness on the part of reporters, editors and newspaper management of the interest in religion. At one level the needs of the public are being served. At another level the coverage is questionable. Not all the stories were negative, and many dealt with a variety of issues beyond hard news. But if one were to consider the hard news published in the papers it becomes obvious that the coverage of religion is still determined by news values - if it bleeds, it leads, and still tends to work toward reinforcing stereotypes.
Recommendations
One of the most difficult aspects of this research
project was trying to determine whether or not the religious beliefs of
the reporters were critical to the performance of the job or, if in fact,
they resulted in a biased secular presentation of information and news.
The nineteen newspapers, while they covered all major Canadian cities publishing
daily papers, was a very small group. The study was also lacking in that
it dealt only with the reporters and editors who have a regular job covering
religion. It would be more definitive if a large sampling of each of the
major papers was done, asking anyone who wrote an article on religion to
respond. The same questions, and more, could be asked. Without the larger,
more inclusive sampling, it is hard to determine the secularity of the
press.
Another possible avenue of research would be to compare television and print news coverage of religion. The Fraser Institute recently published the results of a study they did on the CBC and CTV coverage of religion (January 1996). Or, simply, do a study of television news. There is certainly a host of projects that can result from this work: a longitudinal study of a major paper; a comparison of several papers - one with a reporter, one without; or an examination of community newspapers compared to mainstream (something of this nature was done by a student Larry Cornies at yhr University of Western Ontario).
Also needed to determine a secular bias would be terms, agreed upon by the press and religious leaders, that would clearly define and determine bias. To date it would appear the leaders of many of the religious groups in Canada feel the press is biased and this in itself would be interesting to research.
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Newspapers Surveyed
Canada: The Globe and Mail; Alberta: The Calgary
Herald, Calgary, The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton; British Columbia: The
Province, Vancouver, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, The Times Colonist,
Victoria; Manitoba: The Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg; New Brunswick: The
Telegraph Journal/Times Globe, Saint John; Newfoundland: The Evening Telegram,
St. John's; Nova Scotia: The Chronicle Herald/Mail Star, Halifax; Ontario:
The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, The Toronto Star, Toronto, The Toronto Sun,
Toronto: Prince Edward Island: The Guardian, Charlottetown; Quebec: La
Presse, Montreal, The Gazette, Montreal, Le Soleil, Quebec City; Saskatchewan:
The Leader-Post, Regina, The Star Phoenix, Saskatoon.
Comments? Questions? E-mail: [email protected]
Last modified: 29 October 1999