{"id":17349,"date":"2012-10-03T13:01:07","date_gmt":"2012-10-03T17:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=17349"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:04:46","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:04:46","slug":"what-the-media-doesnt-get-about-the-catholic-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/10\/what-the-media-doesnt-get-about-the-catholic-church\/","title":{"rendered":"What the media doesn’t “get” about the Catholic Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Well, there are a lot of things. But here\u2019s one take, from the great Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the USCCB, who offers some important distinctions about the media, balance, and covering the Catholic Church: \u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Margaret Sullivan now wears the public editor hat at\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0and with a\u00a0recent ombudsman column<\/a>\u00a0took on a huge media problem: False balance\u00a0aka<\/em>\u00a0false equivalency. False balance reports are those that appear fair because they have two sides, except that one side reflects neither knowledge nor a right to speak. <\/p>\n

Reports on Catholicism are especially vulnerable to false balance, and often it is achieved through manipulation of the name \u201cCatholic\u201d and religious symbols such as veils and Roman collars. More media than The New York Times fall prey to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Some agenda groups who oppose one or more Catholic teachings, for example, use the name \u201cCatholic,\u201d even when there seems little evidence of Catholics in their ranks and no evidence that they represent Catholic teaching. Catholics for Choice, once known as \u201cCatholics for a Free Choice,\u201d comes to mind. When some reporters, especially inexperienced ones, cover a story with a Catholic angle, they presume a mere use of the\u00a0\u00a0term \u201cCatholic\u201d means knowledge. They will turn to any group with \u201cCatholic\u201d in its name to respond to an issue. Catholics for Choice is happy to talk whether it\u2019s about abortion, nuns, pedophilia or the pope and AIDS. Apparently this satisfies some sleepy editor\u2019s quest for balance. However, going to Catholics for Choice for a so-called Catholic view is like asking Catholic Atheists (yet to exist, I think) to opine on the meaning of God.<\/p>\n

Surely the Catholic Church has a right to its \u201cbrand\u201d which includes getting to say who validly can use its name. Be assured that a group such as Catholics for a Free Choice, founded by the former director of the National Abortion Federation, a trade association for abortion clinics, and funded by pro-abortion foundations specifically to neutralize the Church on abortion, doesn\u2019t qualify as a legitimate Catholic group. It is hard to imagine how anyone can take seriously a group whose founder celebrated the first anniversary of Roe v Wade by having herself crowned pope on the steps of St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral in New York City.<\/p>\n

However, religious clothing drew attention then, and, even today, religious clothing draws reporters. Media love veils and collars and attribute to them infused knowledge. For a picture, any nun in a veil will do. One sister who has been sans veil for decades, for example, donned one and drew cameras last February to lobby the Maryland statehouse for same-sex marriage. Her remarks about being a Catholic sister since 1961 were more crass in-your-face than Catholic as she stood against the Church on this issue.<\/p>\n

A Roman collar, imagined or otherwise, also works for media. Once I got a call from a reporter who wanted to interview a priest. With none available, I suggested he speak with a knowledgeable layman. The reporter said that if he couldn\u2019t have the priest, he wanted me. Asked why, he said he wanted a collar. I explained gently that in the Catholic Church I would not be wearing a collar anytime soon. Clearly he was less after an informed opinion than a stereotypical image.<\/p>\n

Margaret Sullivan has her work cut out for her at the Times. I hope she can stand up to reporters and doesn\u2019t opt to do her job the easy way, and that she can stand fast in her fight for coverage that\u2019s a fair reflection of reality. It\u2019s a great goal for the nation\u2019s newspaper of record and for all media.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, there are a lot of things. But here\u2019s one take, from the great Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the USCCB, who offers some important distinctions about the media, balance, and covering the Catholic Church: \u00a0 Margaret Sullivan now wears the public editor hat at\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0and with a\u00a0recent ombudsman column\u00a0took on a huge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,29],"tags":[11178,11182,870],"class_list":["post-17349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journalism","category-media","tag-journalism","tag-media","tag-usccb"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the media doesn't "get" about the Catholic Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Well, there are a lot of things. 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