Clash of Cultures p. 10

By: Mark Fitzgerald

Freedom Forum study details antagonistic relationship
between the news media and religious leaders
JOURNALISTS AND RELIGIOUS leaders regard each other with a near-pathological mistrust, according to a major new study from the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.
"There's a great chasm of misunderstanding that exists between those who practice religion, who lead religion, and those who practice journalism. It leads to a clash of alien cultures," said John Siegenthaler, chairman of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
At the heart of that mistrust, the study says, is inadequate, ill-informed ? and sparse ? reporting by news organizations on religion.
In this poisoned atmosphere, reporters and clerics approach each other only warily and then with big chips on their shoulders.
"Religious figures fear being misunderstood and misrepresented. Journalists fear making mistakes and incurring religious wrath," write the authors of the study, Los Angeles Times religion writer John Dart and Jimmy R. Allen, founder of the American Christian Television System and former president of the 17 million-member Southern Baptist Convention.
"The resulting apprehensions inhibit the free flow of information and only add to the misunderstanding," the two write in the study, "Bridging the Gap: Religion and the News Media."
This tension persists even though the Freedom Forum survey smashes a decade-old myth that journalists largely are non-believers.
A 1980 survey of the "media elite" based in New York City and Washington reported that half of the newspeople said they had no religion ? and that 86% "seldom" or "never" attended religious services.
However, the Freedom Forum survey of 365 responding editors and religion writers came to a different conclusion.
For instance, three-quarters of the religion writers said religious faith is "very important" in their lives, and 72% of the editors said religion is "important" or "very important" in their lives.
Only 4% of religion writers and 9% of editors responded "none" to the question, "What is your current religion." Most polls of the general public, the survey notes, find about 10% say they have no current religion.
The problem, Allen said at a press conference, is not that journalists are irreligious but that American journalism has a strong bias toward secularization.
From reading a typical newspaper, Allen said, you would never know that more people attend religious services on a weekend than watch sports.
Similarly, issues such as euthanasia and abortion are discussed at length in news stories with little or no attention paid to their religious or ethical implications.
"That isn't irreligious thinking, it's just sorry journalism," Allen said. "Ultimately, if you are going to cover America well, you have to cover the religious dimension of [stories]."
The study documents the two contrasting views of religion news coverage held by journalists and religionists.
For example, by big margins ? 70% of Catholic priests and 91% of conservative Christians ? the clergy believe "most religion coverage today is biased against ministers and organized religion." By contrast, only 18% of journalists agree with that assessment.
Similarly, fully three-quarters of clerics believe that reporters editorialize in religion news coverage; less than a third of journalists believe that.
Clergy and journalists did agree, however, that news coverage of religion is generally inadequate, ill-informed and given short shrift from overly skeptical reporters.
One big stumbling block to better religious coverage, the study says, is the sheer paucity of religion journalists.
Of the nearly 1,600 daily newspapers in the U.S., only about 50 employ full-time religion writers. The study's authors could find only one full-time religion reporter among television news organizations.
In addition to urging the creation of more religion beats, the report suggests that at least one religion-oriented class be required of college journalism majors.
"It was surprising to me to see how little religion or philosophy . . . is on your training track," Allen said.