The pattern in the British press on religion too often seems to be “shoot first and check the facts later.”
Explaining why this is the case would require a degree of cultural literacy about the U.K. I don’t possess. All I can say is that a disproportionate percentage of misleading religion stories surface in the British press.
In Britain we have rather a different attitude to newspapers than in the States.
Stateside the newspaper is see as an importnat and integral ppart of the semocratic process. Here we see newspaper reports as largely trash and journalists as not real professionals. Popular papers are full of bingo cards and bare-breasted women.
However generally newspapers get it right. Almost always when a company manager complains about exaggerated or malicious newspaper reports about impending redundancies or bankruptcy, the event occurs within a few weeks. Our Vicar General complained about a sensational report that “up to one third of Bradford’s Catholic Churches could close”. Nine months later, the bishop announced plans to merge about half of all Bradford parishes.
Not only in the British Press, but in the Presses of other countries as well. Until they smarten up and stop being pseudo-tabloids, I’m only reading conservative Catholic newspapers. At least they check their information and get approvals before publishing.
Its sickening how newspapers have fallen into the same dire muck that commercials have fallen into. I love seeing babies and unrealistic stunts as much as the next person; but when sins are trumped as “normal” and women talk to their cleaning products as if they’re getting a divorce because they’re in love with Swiffer, its clearly immoral advertising.
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