Religion and the Media
In the world we live in today people have revolutionized the image of
religion, so that it is now regarded as a pastime instead of it solely
being about God. In today's world media has evolved to be much more
powerful than religion, and therefore some say that media is taken
more seriously.
After observation of the TV channels broadcasting specific religious
programmes, I saw that all terrestrial TV channels had at least one
hour a week of religious programmes. The government issues the license
enabling TV companies to broadcast, and has a significant role in
deciding on what has to be shown. In each TV channels broadcasting
charter it is stated that they must "provide an average of at least
two hours a week of religious programmes." This means that if a TV
channel does not show this minimum amount their license could be
evoked.
It is very obvious why the government is concerned about religion in
the UK since only 48 per cent of UK residents claim to belong to a
religion, compared to 89 per cent in the United States and 92 per cent
in Italy. Also two-thirds of 18-24 year olds in the UK, say that they
have no religious affiliation compared to just a quarter in Spain.
Nearly all religious programmes are aired at non-prime time slots,
with the exception only being Songs of Praise on Sundays from
17.45-18.15. This suggests that the TV companies see broadcasting
religious programmes as something they must to do, and not something
they wish to do. We see further evidence of this by Reverend Ernest
Rea words, who was the head of religion and ethics at the BBC. Revd
Ernest Rea explains that "religion is...
... middle of paper ...
...e put more thought on deciding how
to end this moral issue, so there is a fair equilibrium on what the
Soap represents. I am not suggesting that they should exalt religion
and not take into consideration the moral side of things, but what I
am saying is that there has to be a fine balance.
Christians believe that life is sacred and that no one has the right
to take away this gift that God has given us. The sanctity of life is
first described in Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them".
From this biblical quote we can conclude that if God has created us in
the image of Himself, then therefore each human exists as an
expression of God and his character. Then this would surely mean that
human beings cannot destroy this sacred image in anyway.
Over the centuries, the media has played a significant role in the shaping of societies across the globe. This is especially true of developed nations where media access is readily available to the average citizen. The media has contributed to the creation of ideologies and ideals within a society. The media has such an effect on social life, that a simple as a news story has the power to shake a nation. Because of this, governments around the world have made it their duty to be active in the regulation and control of media access in their countries. The media however, has quickly become dominated by major mega companies who own numerous television, radio and movie companies both nationally and internationally. The aim of these companies is to generate revenue and in order to do this they create and air shows that cater to popular demand. In doing so, they sometimes compromise on the quality of their content. This is where public broadcasters come into perspective.
Taras examines the commitments and values of CBC with the Canadian government and the citizens. He looked at a particular case of when CBC clashed with the government, and how CBC struggled to keep their TV programs running (Taras, pp.4-5). Next he talked about how the media industry is being taken controlled by powerful corporation and claims that PSB have the responsibility to protect the minorities (Taras, p.6). Subsequently, Taras discussed the ups and downs CBC had gone through until this day. Lastly, Taras explores the complex and intimate relationship between public broadcasters and the government; how they take advantage of each other to accomplish their goals. Ultimately, Taras believes that PSB will continue to have an impact in society despite living in a generation of digital media.
In this paper, I will explain why public support is important, but not essential for the Public Broadcasting Service to fulfill its mission to provide alternative programming to the American public. I will show how public broadcasting would exist without the support of the federal government, and then explain why the positive externalities created by public broadcasting lead to market failure and suggest that government support of PBS is in the best interest of society.
Newspaper, radio, film, television. These are only a few of the various forms media can take. From the moment we open our eyes to the instant we shut them, we are surrounded by media and absorb the information it hurls at us in an osmosis-like manner. The news ranges from the latest terror attack and political scandals to supposed UFO sightings and scandals involving sandals. We as an audience tend to focus more on the message the media relays rather than on the medium in which it is presented to us.
Tremblay tackles this issue by comparing the broadcasting policies by authorities in Canada , Quebec and United States . The policies in Canada clearly exist to maintain their national identity and cultural sovereignty. It is encouraged to use the “Canadian ways” to carry out functions which would be Canadian a...
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
Finally I'm going to write about if Christian comedies are "out of touch" or "in touch" and I'll be analysing father Ted and the Vicar of Dibley Firstly the general content of Songs of Praise was hymn singing and interviews with Christian believers not only from a British background
Although James is religious, he is shown to be in touch with the modern world. Moreover, another programme that portrays a religious character is the Vicar of Dibley, in which Geraldine, the Vicar (played by Dawn French), is conveyed as the only normal person in Dibley. This BBC sitcom is set in a small country village called Dibley, and focuses on the characters' involvement in church activities. Although a female, Geraldine is portrayed as a respectable down to earth vicar who likes chocolate, sex and music. Geraldine is depicted as a modern character, although religious, she is able to stick by her religious beliefs and live her life to the fullest, and is in touch with the contemporary world.
“Those of us who trust sexuality must not allow ourselves to be controlled by those who fear it (Marty Klein).” In America censorship has affected various mediums: print, art, television, and internet, as it pertain to sexuality. However the first amendment “protects” the right to free speak, and press. Congress has tried to pass bills to outlaw pornography, (but have failed) ban books for sexual content, and dictate what can be said on TV and radio. If the government is allowed to censor these ways of communication then we, as citizens of a democracy, will be treated as citizens under a dictatorship. “Censorship may even suppress new and different ideas, keeping them from being made public. It may also set limitations, which stifle the creativity of authors and prevent them from thoroughly expressing their ideas (anonymous)”. The religious groups, parent groups and feminist, are the factor in pressuring governments to implement stricter moral codes. The problem is that these groups view sex as a means of procreation. Yes we are mammals, but we do not have sex just to mate like hors...
It's clear to see the media focuses on various reports, television shows, and even sitcoms regarding all forms of psychology. While watching television one can say media basically relies on psychology. The media of psychology views psychology through means of common sense versus an actual science. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processed. Behavior is anything you do that can be observed. In the media we can observe people through the television screen. Through our observations we learn from their behavior. For example in a famous experiment conducted by Albert Bandura called, "Bobo Doll Experiment," a preschool child is working on a drawing. An adult in another part of the room is building with Tinkertoys. The child is watching this adult through a television screen and watches as the adult gets up and for nearly ten minutes pounds, kicks, and throws around the room a large inflated Bobo doll, while yelling hurtful sayings such as, "Sock him in the nose" or "Hit him down" and even "Kick him". After the adult was done, the child was taken to another room and demonstrated the same actions as they have seen through the television screen to the Bobo Doll. It's clear to see from the experiment the media teaches society many aspects of psychology. From a psychological aspect we see a child observing violent behavior from what the media has presented. Humans learn through observation and in a world where technology is advancing, the media plays a large role.
For many years we have heard about the separation of church and state. Despite being written as part of the First Amendment in the Constitution, can the two really be separated? What law actually dictates the separation of church and state? The truth is that the government has never passed a law implementing a separation of church and state. What is actually written in the Constitution is: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." America is one of the few nations in the world whose sole existence is due to religion. The pilgrims were the first to settle in America. They came in search of religious freedom, as did many others after them. Many of America's early documents, laws, and freedoms were based on religious beliefs. We could look at several similar examples. The fact is that freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, and to petition the government are all covered in the First Amendment. The first of these firsts is the freedom of religion. This most likely means that when the authors of the Bill of Rights prepared the first ten amendment to the Constitution, the first thing on their minds was protecting or possibly creating a freedom of religion; but what about the separation of church and state? If our founding fathers intended the separation we are now levied with would their earliest documents contain phrases such as "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…" This is part of the Declaration of Independence. Here is another example from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, "…that is this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." Even in the Pledge of Allegiance the nation is referred to as "…one nation under God…" Religion also plays an important role in politics. As once stated by Ronald Reagan "politics and morality are inseparable, and as morality's foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related.
Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.
In times of War, the media plays a crucial role both in reporting, monitoring and giving updates. During the Vietnam War of 1955-1975, the American press played crucial roles of reporting until it ended up shifting its tone under the influence of occurrence of some events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the bombing of Cambodia and leaking of Pentagon papers resulting into lack of trust in the press (Knightly 1975). From the beginning of the war up to present times there have been undying debates over the role of media in the war. The have been various criticisms over the American News Media’s actions and influences on the outcome of the war. The debate is embedded on the particular political assumptions perceived across the American political spectrum. Those criticizing the media for its role are of the opinion that the media misunderstood the United States military effort hence hindering succession of the American will in a war which was to be won.
Media is used by dominant powers to spread their ideological beliefs and to help maintain social control. Althusser (1971) explains that, as an ideological state apparatus, media doesn’t use pressure as a way to bind society together under one dominant ideology, but instead uses the will of the people to make them accept the dominant ideology. However, media is also used as a way for people to challenge the dominant ideology. Newspapers, for example, will have articles that openly criticise and oppose the dominant ideology for what it is, whilst at the same time providing perspectives and opinions on different ideologies (such as feminism) that society can believe in. Although these alternate ideological perspectives exist, they are usually overlooked and only ever reach small audiences. Ideology can also help us understand the media because of the way in which it distributes ideology. A lot of different types of media, such as film and TV; reflect different ideologies, though we are not always aware that they are doing so. An example of this would be action/adventure films, which shows that using force or violence to solve problems is acceptable and reflects upon certain ideologies. This helps us to understand the media because the ideology that is reflected in these films is capable of reaching big audiences through the use of TV and film, thus allowing for it to become a more common belief within
The history of mass media started with the invention of technology. The moment technology was invented; media has used it as an opportunity to expand to a wider audience. As technology develops it’s just a matter of time before the media becomes involved. There is no limit as to how involved the media will become.