Note: I recently posted an edited version of the below on my Facebook feed, and a lot of people said it was really helpful, so I am reposting it here on our blog so that it can be shared more widely.
Many Christians are concerned with social justice, but seem to have a serious blind spot where the news media is concerned. Yet, the news shapes our awareness and understanding (or lack thereof) and attitudes toward many serious issues, and our trust or lack thereof in our world leaders.
If power corrupts, consider the massive power (and money) that the media hold and ask yourself why we don't consider that members of the media can be corrupted or pressured or manipulated, or, being that journalists are as human as the rest of us, at least mess up sometimes.
While one part of me this year was watching U.S. news shows which repeatedly stated that the refugees coming out of the Middle East were all "single young men of fighting age," another part of me was listening to people I know personally working in refugee camps who said that most people they met were families, the elderly, or women with children. Any single men they met said they were going ahead of family to secure refugee status and housing in safe places so they could bring vulnerable family members to join them later. For many people who didn't know someone working in the camps, what they heard in the U.S. media would have wholly shaped their understanding of the refugee situation in a way that I believe did not reflect the complete reality.
One day I watched a morning BBC news program here in the UK for several hours, and at least 5 different times in the span of the program, a single 5-second clip of Donald Trump was played in which he said something that sounded alarmingly extreme. But never then or anytime since have I seen, when casually watching BBC like most people, any reporting on the serious corruption and injustice charges and alleged criminal actions plaguing his presidential candidate opponent Hillary Clinton.
While it is certainly right for the first clip to be shared (although I would argue a longer clip would be more helpful), it is against journalistic ethics regarding balanced reporting for similarly alarming information about the opponent to be ignored in the same broadcasts. In doing so, they deliberately or inadvertently shape public opinion in the UK about the US candidates.
These are just two of many examples I can point to where sometimes what is reported in the media -- or not reported -- causes me to question whether I can trust those who claim to be objectively reporting the news.
Having served as a reporter at two different newspapers myself, I know firsthand how easy it is for us imperfect humans to make mistakes or even be coerced or convinced to omit some information while highlighting others in an unfair way.
As Christians, it's important that we use our God-given critical thinking when we consume news media so we are not deceived or uninformed. Yet, I don't think many of us realize we need to. Busy people put a lot of unwarranted trust in what they hear in news broadcasts, and don't spend time following up with more reading and research. We run the danger of being complicit in social injustices.
In my view, the media perpetrate some of the great social injustices (while also successfully battling others, so it's a complex issue), by:
1. failing to make the public aware of countless great injustices occurring around the world on a daily or weekly basis (when you regularly spend time with people from around the world and they inform you of things happening in their country THAT WEEK or over many years and you realize you have never heard a thing about it, you recognize the media have seriously failed);
2. disrespecting the intellectual capacity and critical thinking of the public by presenting complex and multi-layered controversial issues as overly simplified with only one or two possible viewpoints, reinforced by featuring the most extreme views in interviews and soundbites, robbing viewers of the opportunity to employ critical thinking and to recognize there are many different possible views on an issue, not just one or two, many of them more moderate or reasonable than those that have been presented (i.e. the recent Brexit vote in the UK;)
3. exaggerating issues in order to whip up public frenzy and manipulate opinions and reactions to the news, which directly translates into increased ratings, which means more advertising, which means more money;
4. allowing themselves to be pressured by powerful forces (i.e. advertisers, politicians, mobs, corporate owners) to leave out key facts and information the public need to understand the news, ignoring important stories about corruption, injustice, slavery, abuse of power, war and many other wrongs in our world (read CBS reporter Sharyl Atkisson's book for more on how this happens);
5. being complicit in slander and character assassination, destroying reputations in order to achieve certain ends such as increased access to certain groups or individuals, to boost ratings or revenue and to mislead the public about certain public figures due to editorial bias.
To be a responsible Christian member of the public and to fight social injustice effectively (and to avoid participating in injustice), one should never take all the information presented in the media at face value, but employ critical thinking and investigate the stories and issues for oneself by examining various different opinions and sources for information.
Ask yourself:
1. What is the possible agenda behind the way this news was reported?
2. What have they not told me that could possibly change the way I feel or view this?
3. Is this issue more nuanced and with more angles than the media have led me to believe?
4. What stories have not made it into my local or national media today that are important and I need to know about?
5. Who might have been hurt by this story or by the lack of reporting of a story?
6. If you have noticed that the media has spent a lot of time reporting and analyzing a situation or current event, then suddenly stops, pay attention and ask yourself why. Has the political leadership changed? Does silence on this matter benefit anyone?
This is not a "hate media" rant, as I have been a member of the media, some of my best friends are journalists, and I know that journalists are human and many do their best and many times simply make mistakes despite their best efforts (I made my fair share). However, I also have seen the many times the media have not only failed to examine injustices, but have also perpetrated injustices through unconscious bias, sloppy and lazy or deliberate actions. This is simply an appeal to think for yourself where the news is concerned and question what you hear.
Employ your own critical thinking, and don't just accept what you hear or read as the whole story and the only stories worth your attention. Watch many different news stations. Read many different newspapers and websites. Don't participate in injustice by being deceived or misled or uninformed. Speak out when the media ignore injustices -- or perpetrate them. Write polite letters/emails. Make polite phone calls.
It's not just politicians who need to be held to account.
Many Christians are concerned with social justice, but seem to have a serious blind spot where the news media is concerned. Yet, the news shapes our awareness and understanding (or lack thereof) and attitudes toward many serious issues, and our trust or lack thereof in our world leaders.
If power corrupts, consider the massive power (and money) that the media hold and ask yourself why we don't consider that members of the media can be corrupted or pressured or manipulated, or, being that journalists are as human as the rest of us, at least mess up sometimes.
While one part of me this year was watching U.S. news shows which repeatedly stated that the refugees coming out of the Middle East were all "single young men of fighting age," another part of me was listening to people I know personally working in refugee camps who said that most people they met were families, the elderly, or women with children. Any single men they met said they were going ahead of family to secure refugee status and housing in safe places so they could bring vulnerable family members to join them later. For many people who didn't know someone working in the camps, what they heard in the U.S. media would have wholly shaped their understanding of the refugee situation in a way that I believe did not reflect the complete reality.
One day I watched a morning BBC news program here in the UK for several hours, and at least 5 different times in the span of the program, a single 5-second clip of Donald Trump was played in which he said something that sounded alarmingly extreme. But never then or anytime since have I seen, when casually watching BBC like most people, any reporting on the serious corruption and injustice charges and alleged criminal actions plaguing his presidential candidate opponent Hillary Clinton.
While it is certainly right for the first clip to be shared (although I would argue a longer clip would be more helpful), it is against journalistic ethics regarding balanced reporting for similarly alarming information about the opponent to be ignored in the same broadcasts. In doing so, they deliberately or inadvertently shape public opinion in the UK about the US candidates.
These are just two of many examples I can point to where sometimes what is reported in the media -- or not reported -- causes me to question whether I can trust those who claim to be objectively reporting the news.
Having served as a reporter at two different newspapers myself, I know firsthand how easy it is for us imperfect humans to make mistakes or even be coerced or convinced to omit some information while highlighting others in an unfair way.
As Christians, it's important that we use our God-given critical thinking when we consume news media so we are not deceived or uninformed. Yet, I don't think many of us realize we need to. Busy people put a lot of unwarranted trust in what they hear in news broadcasts, and don't spend time following up with more reading and research. We run the danger of being complicit in social injustices.
In my view, the media perpetrate some of the great social injustices (while also successfully battling others, so it's a complex issue), by:
1. failing to make the public aware of countless great injustices occurring around the world on a daily or weekly basis (when you regularly spend time with people from around the world and they inform you of things happening in their country THAT WEEK or over many years and you realize you have never heard a thing about it, you recognize the media have seriously failed);
2. disrespecting the intellectual capacity and critical thinking of the public by presenting complex and multi-layered controversial issues as overly simplified with only one or two possible viewpoints, reinforced by featuring the most extreme views in interviews and soundbites, robbing viewers of the opportunity to employ critical thinking and to recognize there are many different possible views on an issue, not just one or two, many of them more moderate or reasonable than those that have been presented (i.e. the recent Brexit vote in the UK;)
3. exaggerating issues in order to whip up public frenzy and manipulate opinions and reactions to the news, which directly translates into increased ratings, which means more advertising, which means more money;
4. allowing themselves to be pressured by powerful forces (i.e. advertisers, politicians, mobs, corporate owners) to leave out key facts and information the public need to understand the news, ignoring important stories about corruption, injustice, slavery, abuse of power, war and many other wrongs in our world (read CBS reporter Sharyl Atkisson's book for more on how this happens);
5. being complicit in slander and character assassination, destroying reputations in order to achieve certain ends such as increased access to certain groups or individuals, to boost ratings or revenue and to mislead the public about certain public figures due to editorial bias.
To be a responsible Christian member of the public and to fight social injustice effectively (and to avoid participating in injustice), one should never take all the information presented in the media at face value, but employ critical thinking and investigate the stories and issues for oneself by examining various different opinions and sources for information.
Ask yourself:
1. What is the possible agenda behind the way this news was reported?
2. What have they not told me that could possibly change the way I feel or view this?
3. Is this issue more nuanced and with more angles than the media have led me to believe?
4. What stories have not made it into my local or national media today that are important and I need to know about?
5. Who might have been hurt by this story or by the lack of reporting of a story?
6. If you have noticed that the media has spent a lot of time reporting and analyzing a situation or current event, then suddenly stops, pay attention and ask yourself why. Has the political leadership changed? Does silence on this matter benefit anyone?
This is not a "hate media" rant, as I have been a member of the media, some of my best friends are journalists, and I know that journalists are human and many do their best and many times simply make mistakes despite their best efforts (I made my fair share). However, I also have seen the many times the media have not only failed to examine injustices, but have also perpetrated injustices through unconscious bias, sloppy and lazy or deliberate actions. This is simply an appeal to think for yourself where the news is concerned and question what you hear.
Employ your own critical thinking, and don't just accept what you hear or read as the whole story and the only stories worth your attention. Watch many different news stations. Read many different newspapers and websites. Don't participate in injustice by being deceived or misled or uninformed. Speak out when the media ignore injustices -- or perpetrate them. Write polite letters/emails. Make polite phone calls.
It's not just politicians who need to be held to account.
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