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Christian news coverage unfair...
**helen**
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To be honest the media reports bad news about every one... you know how all teenagers run riot and smash things up and drink 24/7 and steal old ladies handbags... and how all politicians are liars and get tax payers to pay for duck houses... and how all people on benefits are just scrounging off the state and not wanting to even consider working.... and how all young single mums are a disgrace... (I hope sarcasm was obvious there...)
I think every group gets unfair coverage on a regular basis to be honest.
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No one wants to hear good things, good News, is bad News.
When people hear bad things, there's a general level of interest.
But no one wants to read good things, as it can make you feel bad.
Considering depression is the disease of the 21st century.
I dont feel too sorry for it when it gets some bad press for having rather outdated ideas and practices that just wouldnt be accepted in any other business. If its out of touch its going to get some flak, rightly so.
This. But "the church" is a bit of a sweeping statement in itself. Which church? The CofE, the Westboro' Baptist Church? I agree that Christianity isn't portrayed in a good light (for all of the "bad news makes good News" reasons mentioned above) but maybe those of us who call ourselves Christian should get out there and make the good news stories.
Don't ask me how, I'm just saying that until churches start playing the media circus themselves they can't be in control of the news.
Her main problem seems to be about all Christians being lumped together, but then she proceeds to do this herself, by mentioning a vast number of differently affiliated Christian groups as examples of "Christians" doing good things. The press about women bishops was about the CofE only, and I don't remember it being portrayed as anything but, so I don't see how it's relevant that the Baptist Union has had women leaders. In fact, the overwhelming thing that I got from the press on this issue was how there's widespread support for women bishops in the CofE community, but that a ridiculous voting system is what prevented it from going through. The reality is that the two biggest churches in the UK are the CofE and the Catholic church, and they're obviously going to get the most press. And in the case of the latter, there really is very little to defend it with. Even their charitable work is usually tainted in some way.
But let's look at the wider portrayal of Christianity outside of the news. Christian when used as an adjective still has overwhelmingly positive connotations. Most jokes about Christians are still based on an assumption of someone who is very charitable, forgiving, kind, etc. Christianity is still given regular BBC programming time. When someone needs an example of someone who represents everything good and selfless, they inevitably refer to a religious figure like Mother Teresa (despite all evidence to the contrary) or the Dalai Lama. Maybe Gandhi occasionally gets a look in.
So while the news media may overwhelming focus on the negative policies or actions of individual churches or religious people, the status quo is still one of Christianity and faith in general being a positive thing, as well as the assumption that they have some unique insights or expertise in the fields of ethics and morality.