Greedy Trial Lawyer
Christian Right May Not Be Right, But It Is Heard And Heard And Heard
Category: News Defused
How important is it to be quoted, mentioned or interviewed as a religious leader? Apparently, conservative religious leaders have found it to be very important. And, the news folks are helping them become the dominant voice of religion in America.
LEFT BEHIND: The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media
It would surprise few people, conservative or progressive, to learn that coverage of the intersection of religion and politics tends to oversimplify both. If this oversimplification occurred to the benefit or detriment of neither side of the political divide, then the weaknesses in coverage of religion would be of only academic interest. But as this study documents, coverage of religion not only overrepresents some voices and underrepresents others, it does so in a way that is consistently advantageous to conservatives.As in many areas, the decisions journalists make when deciding which voices to include in their stories have serious consequences. What is the picture of religious opinion? Who is a religious leader? Whose views represent important groups of believers? Every time a journalist writes a story, he or she answers these questions by deciding whom to quote and how to characterize their views.
Among the study's key findings:
*Combining newspapers and television, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed in news stories 2.8 times as often as were progressive religious leaders.
*On television news -- the three major television networks, the three major cable news channels, and PBS -- conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed almost 3.8 times as often as progressive leaders.
*In major newspapers, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed 2.7 times as often as progressive leaders.
Despite the fact most religious Americans are moderate or progressive, in the news media it is overwhelmingly conservative leaders who are presented as the voice of religion. This represents a particularly meaningful distortion since progressive religious leaders tend to focus on different issues and offer an entirely different perspective than their conservative counterparts.
Source: MediaMatters
Could all of this have anything to do with the decreased acceptance of evolution? Or, the embryonic stem cell blockade at the federal level? Or, the restrictions on sex education in our schools? What good is a free press if it consciously or unconsciously favors one brand of religion in our media?
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