Media reporting and the new Islam controversy
Published September 18th, 2006 in GeneralI was watching Sky News at the weekend and one segment caught my attention when they were interviewing one of the Vatican’s spokespeople about the controversy over the Pope’s recent comments.
He pointed out that much of the controversy has stemmed from how the media are reporting it, specifically pointing out a headline from one of the US papers. Rather than look at the pope’s speech as a whole or at least put his comments into context, the media have opted for the flashy headlines and as a result shown the red flag to a bull.
To illustrate this he highlight other comments from the Pope’s statement which could be deemed critical of the Lutheran faith, something I hadn’t heard up until now. Of course, those comments don’t sell newspapers, so no front page coverage.
I’m not saying that the Pope’s comments weren’t insensitive, but as much as he has a responsibility to bring about positive dialogue with other faiths rather than being controversial, the media has a responsibility to make sure that their reporting is balanced instead of fanning the flames.
Technorati Tags: Islam, Media, Piaras Kelly, Pope
Search
Categories
- Books (4)
- Buzz (6)
- E-PR (210)
- General (389)
- Ideas (8)
- Personal (109)
- PR in Ireland (153)
- Resources (12)
- Technology & PR (8)
Archives
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
be fair to the media piaras - i know that the text of the pope’s speech barely even runs to 7 pages, but (seriously) how far did you get through if before you began skimming and looking for something quotable in it?
We all, including the fourthestate, have a responsibility towards the society- thats how a society is run. In a free world, we are free to do what we wish, as long as we do not harm others. The media can write whatever they want as long as they do not try to make people’s lives their sales tools. Misquoting anything out of context for frontpage headlines is not reporting news at all, it is only providing tiltilation to readers.