When I was a reporter for an Atlanta radio station back in the 1990s, there were several other reporters on staff who happened to also be lesbians. One of them came in upset after attending a political rally where a state level candidate had spewed anti-gay rhetoric. She told me there was no way she could objectively write the story. I told her it was simple. She would report the facts and let the candidate speak for himself. She produced a factual piece, noting the required who, what, when, and where and played several cuts of the candidate spouting his homophobic venom. It was a completely objective piece. I told her those inclined to vote for this candidate would agree with his words, those who wouldn’t vote for him anyway would be reinforced in their decision. Her opinion of the candidate never entered into the story itself.
As someone who believes in the most objectivity as possible within journalism, I am always frustrated when charges of a “liberal” media are raised. Yes, it’s true that many people who choose to become journalists may have more “liberal” views personally, but journalists who understand their job strive to report as professionally as possible despite their personal views.
So, it worries me when evangelical Christians begin to complain that they aren’t “represented” in the newsrooms.
Since the 1980s, when the Christian right emerged as a powerful force in American culture and politics, evangelicals have made significant inroads in law and government by training believers to work inside secular institutions. But while the same universities that helped students launch careers in those fields are offering similar programs in journalism, they haven’t been as successful at changing the nation’s newsrooms.
“The media—journalism—remain one of the hardest fields for them to realize their power,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of “Faith in the Halls of Power.”
It chills me to the bone to wonder what kind of “power” evangelicals want to realize within the media. For all its warts and failures, the media, if it is to remain a viable part of our society, should remain as objective as possible. Not that it has – and not that it does – but if evangelicals truly want a sound media, their goal should not be changing a “liberal” media into a “conservative” media. We’ve already seen the damage done to journalism’s credibility by making it a partisan affair as Fox News has done over the years.
Terry Mattingly, director of the Washington Journalism Center for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, tries to put my mind at ease about all this:
In seeking a greater voice in the media, most evangelical leaders say their goal isn’t to evangelize inside newsrooms, which demand that journalists set aside their beliefs for the sake of objectivity.
“They have to be journalists first,” Mattingly said. “You don’t need more Christian journalists. You need more journalists who happen to be Christians if they’re going to contribute to any real diversity in newsrooms.”
He also says evangelical journalists can bring a range of contacts to the table and can draw on their knowledge to help explain and shape religion coverage.
I’m certainly in favor of widening the number of religious voices speaking out within the media. For too long the media has relied on extreme voices from the religious right like Pat Robertson and his cohorts. However, I still find myself nervous when I hear that evangelicals are seeking more “power” within newsrooms. If they are there to be journalists first, then there should be no problem. But by simply putting the emphasis on the fact that they are “evangelicals,” it makes me wonder if by their very religious nature they can ever put any other label ahead of that.
