Bishop Alan’s Blog: Keeping the Faith in High Wycombe:
SMSG featured on one UK TV news channel after the arrests of nearby alleged terrorists in 2006, as an extremist mosque! OK, it’s got a green dome. It’s also got a 9 ft Cross on top. You'd think that would be enough to make a UK TV editor question whether it really was a mosque but, er, you’d be wrong..
Just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on TV, especially when they're reporting on religion. A reminder, if one were needed that the media don't get religion.
3 comments:
I don't think the media has a problem with religion specifically, it's just many of the people who work for the media nowadays are not experts on any subjects and rely too heavily on others to construct stories leading to bias and, as in this case, major errors when those they rely on are wrong.
To believe it is intentional or only affects religion verges on paranoia. You should read book called Flat Earth News, it's absolutely fascinating and really gets into detail on what is wrong with the media today.
Jae, I'm with you that this is about ignorance not hostility, and have enjoyed reading, as well as reviewing, Flat Earth News. I also think the problem is more pronounced in the UK, where ignorance about religion is a badge of honour in some media circles...
Jae,
I didn't attribute it to hostility, at least in this case - sometimes one could say that it's not so much a matter of the media not being able to "get" religion, but they are actually out to "get" religion.
But as I said, not in this case. Ignorance abounds. A few years ago an Anglican bishop told of taking his teenage niece and nephew to see Jesus Christ, Superstar and was mildly shocked to learn that they didn't know the plot. So if journos don't know that a mosque is unlikely to have a cross on top, it shows they haven't really learnt their trade. Journalists don't know everything about everything, but to do their jobs they need to know something about everything.
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