I was discussing anti-Christian/Catholic media bias with a friend.
I relaized for the first time - firsthand - media bias, when it comes to Christian/Catholic news reporting. It was years ago at the pro-life rally in the Ocala Town Square, Flroida. It was probably my first year attending this event. The pro-life people had about 300 marchers, they were conservative in their approach, prayerful…
There were also about 12 pro-aborts. They were noisy, trying to disrupt the rally speakers. When all the pro-life people marched around the square at the end, praying and holding signs, the pro-aborts sat on steps near one corner and cursed and spit at people. I saw all this first hand, not ‘word of mouth’.
That night I watched the news, I was still naive in those days and I actually watched news programs but this was an ‘eye opener’ on the veracity of news reporting.
Channel 2 Ocala, the station is right across the street from the square, showed about 12 pro-lifers and 12 pro-aborts. They made it look like equal numbers showed up for both sides and they showed the pro-life people shouting at something one of the speakers said and at the same time showed the pro-aborts talking and standing quietly.
They made it look like there were equal numbers of people on both sides and that the pro-lifers were the rowdy ones!
Not a word on the pro-aborts spitting and cursing people!
That wasn’t the beginning of my disenchantment with the news media but it was a ‘BIG STEP’ so to speak!
I figured that if I can’t trust the news media on something I know for sure, then why should I believe anything they say at all? Mt 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”
The following is an article from LIFENEWS.COM http://www.lifenews.com/, on the most recent ”March for Life” in Washington D.C.. The Post is anti-Christian/Catholic.
“The story was illustrated by color photos, but in a far too common tactic, the Post balanced a picture of four pro-life demonstrators … against a photo of four or five feminists,” he explained. “One side turns out tens of thousands, and the other turned out tens.”
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2896.html
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February 2nd, 2007 at 7:35 p02
I fully understand your concern with media bias. The question that arises though is how you arrive at the decision on which media you can trust? After all your article did come from a media outlet. How is one to know who they can trust and who not to trust?
February 2nd, 2007 at 7:35 p02
Thank you for your comment and question. Your question is thought provoking.
I am particularly referring to Media Bias against Christianity/Catholicism.
If I find that a media “outlet” is responsible for untrue statements, whether by accident or on purpose does not matter, I do not go to them for news in the future.
This is not to say that everything they report is incorrect but with so many avenues of receiving the news, I simply find those that I trust and for the most part, stay with them.
February 4th, 2007 at 7:35 p02
Do you think there is a difference between “untrue” and “misleading”, or perhaps “poetic license.” Using the article from life news above, there seems to be some discrepency there, in the stated number of marchers. my point is not to get into specifics but rather how wording can mean different things to different people. Say there are 75,000 at a rallly. That could be written as “tens of thousands”, or over 50,000, or “almost a hundred thousand. All would be accurate, yet depending on the “side” you are on, you might be disappointed by the way it is written. so I guess my question is do you consider the above variations inaccurate and if so, do you translate that into untrue, and hence label that news site bias?