By Rick Pearcey
"Before Fox News Channel was born," writes Cal Thomas in his latest column ("Rupert Murdoch: Satan or Savior?"), "I met with several network news presidents, telling them that someone was going to go after a demographic that felt shutout by the mainstream media.
"These people, I said, go to church, fly the flag, respect the nation's traditions and institutions and hate the liberal media. They feel censored, or stereotyped, by the media elites. I told them the person who recognizes that demographic and gives them a voice would reap a huge reward.
"That person is Rupert Murdoch. He is not the media Satan, as the left likes to portray him. Some of the offensive (to me) tabloid stuff notwithstanding, he just may be the media's savior. The elites hate him, but growing numbers of people are buying his products."
Murdoch may not be the "media Satan," but who today would place him on the side of the angels, given his deep involvement in broadcasting pornography (See "Murdoch Pastor Gets Heat for Mogul's Porn Channels," WorldNetDaily)?
The point here is not a simplistic moralism. One can appreciate the competition in news and opinion that Murdoch brings to the table. This is very hard work and should be respected. Not to mention the creativity and risk-taking that reflects so much of what it means to be a human being. This is for the good, even though the product can stand improvement.
How unfortunate, however, that Murdoch also trafficks in unloving entertainment offerings so barren in thought, humiliating to the human person, and harmful to the family. It reflects a profound alienation from a nation whose ethos is rooted in verifiable information given by the Creator as a map to humane living in a broken world in all spheres of life.
Let me suggest two marks that will attend a structural reformation of journalism and entertainment: 1) respect for the objectivity of truth, 2) respect for the dignity of the individual.
This kind of reformation won't yield a perfect society, people, or media, but the core principles won't be corrupt and it will be a hedge against fascism and nihilism. That would be a good beginning.
Neither Man, news, or entertainment lives by market share alone.
The entire Cal Thomas column is here.
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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report (archives).
Showing posts with label Rupert Murdoch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rupert Murdoch. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Warren, Murdoch, Porn, and WND
By Rick Pearcey
In a post titled "Rick Warren's & Rupert Murdoch's Porn Problem," Kevin McCullough, author of Musclehead Revolution, writes at his Townhall blog, "One thing is certain, [WND Editor] Joseph Farah and Rick Warren will never be buddies."
Should the two Christians be "buddies"?
McCullough's comment is occasioned by today's story at WND, titled "Murdoch pastor gets heat for mogul's porn channels."
"Mega-pastor Rick Warren is being challenged by other Christian leaders for not disciplining a prominent member of his California Saddleback Church flock for being one of the world's leading pornographers," the WND report begins.
The "prominent member" at Saddleback "would be Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., which, in addition to building a media empire on the chests of topless models and edgy, pushing-the-envelope Fox TV network shows, recently began building a stable of hard-core porn channels for its BSkyB subsidiary."
Comment: As Christians move out into the culture and into "full-time ministry" as reporters in newsrooms (as they should), it is important to understand that the Christian journalist has an obligation to report the news objectively and factually.
If being a "buddy" means you are someone who can be trusted to shave the truth to protect a powerful figure or a celebrity minister's image, then, of course, that kind of friendship is out of bounds both ethically and professionally. Neither ministry staffers nor reporters should corrupt themselves in this way.
Instead, there is to be a critical distance from personalities in the news (even likeable ones), and the coverage must be rooted in facts and evidence. Just as the Judeo-Christian worldview gives a philosophic basis for rationality, evidence, and objectivity, even so the biblical information calls for a journalism committed to rationality, evidence, and objectivity.
The primary challenge is to report truth. The aim is not to become buddies with the rich, famous, influential, or powerful. It certainly is not to cultivate friendships among the celebrities of Evangelicaldom who can then endorse your media product. Or help sell your books.
That kind of inbred corruption of vision, whether applied to personalities or issues, is part of what is leading to the decline of so-called mainstream journalism. Of all people, Christians in journalism should avoid it like the plague.
Friendship for journalists and nonjournalists alike should always be on the basis of truth. Genuine love and friendship always operate within the circle of truth. Unfortunately, there are other kinds of relationships and other kinds of reporting.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor & publisher of The Pearcey Report (archives).
In a post titled "Rick Warren's & Rupert Murdoch's Porn Problem," Kevin McCullough, author of Musclehead Revolution, writes at his Townhall blog, "One thing is certain, [WND Editor] Joseph Farah and Rick Warren will never be buddies."
Should the two Christians be "buddies"?
McCullough's comment is occasioned by today's story at WND, titled "Murdoch pastor gets heat for mogul's porn channels."
"Mega-pastor Rick Warren is being challenged by other Christian leaders for not disciplining a prominent member of his California Saddleback Church flock for being one of the world's leading pornographers," the WND report begins.
The "prominent member" at Saddleback "would be Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., which, in addition to building a media empire on the chests of topless models and edgy, pushing-the-envelope Fox TV network shows, recently began building a stable of hard-core porn channels for its BSkyB subsidiary."
Comment: As Christians move out into the culture and into "full-time ministry" as reporters in newsrooms (as they should), it is important to understand that the Christian journalist has an obligation to report the news objectively and factually.
If being a "buddy" means you are someone who can be trusted to shave the truth to protect a powerful figure or a celebrity minister's image, then, of course, that kind of friendship is out of bounds both ethically and professionally. Neither ministry staffers nor reporters should corrupt themselves in this way.
Instead, there is to be a critical distance from personalities in the news (even likeable ones), and the coverage must be rooted in facts and evidence. Just as the Judeo-Christian worldview gives a philosophic basis for rationality, evidence, and objectivity, even so the biblical information calls for a journalism committed to rationality, evidence, and objectivity.
The primary challenge is to report truth. The aim is not to become buddies with the rich, famous, influential, or powerful. It certainly is not to cultivate friendships among the celebrities of Evangelicaldom who can then endorse your media product. Or help sell your books.
That kind of inbred corruption of vision, whether applied to personalities or issues, is part of what is leading to the decline of so-called mainstream journalism. Of all people, Christians in journalism should avoid it like the plague.
Friendship for journalists and nonjournalists alike should always be on the basis of truth. Genuine love and friendship always operate within the circle of truth. Unfortunately, there are other kinds of relationships and other kinds of reporting.
_______________
Rick Pearcey is editor & publisher of The Pearcey Report (archives).
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