Religion and Media 2002 Abstracts
Religion and Media Interest Group
The President and the Marketing of American Civil Religion • Andrea Allen, Texas at Austin • Since 911, President Bush, like other presidents before him, has used religious rhetoric when publicly addressing the American people. This paper examines Bush’s use of civil religion, as described by Robert Bellah, through the frame of the seven devices of propaganda outlined in the 1939 book, The Fine Art of Propaganda. Content analysis of major newspapers two months before and after September 11 supports the increasing prominence of the presidential religious rhetoric.
“Molympics”? Journalistic Discourse of Mormons in Relation to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games • Chinng Hwang Chen, Brigham Young University • During the 2002 Winter Olympics, many made the argument that attention on Salt Lake City provided an opportunity to reshape the Mormon image. Using discourse analysis of newsmagazine and newspaper articles, this paper assesses whether media portrayals of Mormons shifted during the Olympics. It argues that a model mority discourse used by journalists in past decades to describe Mormons persisted in most fundamental respects. Some details changed, but larger stereotypical images were not challenged.
Inventing a Nation: Political Consequences of Quaker Missionary Education, Literacy and Publishing in Colonial Kenya • David N. Dixon, Azusa Pacific University • Among almost every group in Africa, missionaries wrote down the language, then taught people to read and write. To accomplish this they created school and churches in which self-governance was taught, practiced and eventually demanded. These became key sites where national identity was forged. Using the Friends Africa Mission in colonial Kenya as a case study, this paper examines how institutions play a part in Benedict Anderson’s model of creating nations by imagining communities.
Portrayal of Religion in Reality TV Programming: Hegemony and the Contemporary American Wedding • Erika Engstrom and Beth Semic, Nevada-Las Vegas • The authors examined the treatment of religion in reality TV programming, namely, The Learning Channel’s “A Wedding Story,” by conducting a content analysis of 85 recently aired episodes. Results support a hegemonic portrayal regarding religion: most weddings were somewhat religious, Christian, held in a church, involved traditionally worded vows and few religious rituals, and included mention of the word “God.” The authors discuss the program’s potential to provide viewers with more diverse religious portrayals.
Ramadan Advertising in Egypt: A Content Analysis With Elaboration on Select Items • Kevin L. Keenan and Sultana Yeni, The American University in Cairo • Factors related to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan are discussed. A content analysis of 508 Egyptian television commercials is described. Comparisons of ads run during Ramadan and those run during a non-Ramadan period are made. Findings show fewer ads during Ramadan, more emphasis on charity messages during Ramadan, and more conservatively dressed characters in ads during Ramadan. Results concerning family orientation are mixed. The content analysis is supplemented with details elaborating on individual advertisements.
A Slow Death of the Self: A Trend Reflected by the National Advertising Campaign for “Religion in American Life” During 1949-1970 • Annisa Lee, North Carolina at Chapel Hill • By analyzing 80 ads launched in a national advertising campaign, Religion in American Life, during 1949-1970, this paper explores the effect of the changing landscape in aspects of religion, family, and authorities on the identity or self for individuals and society as a whole. Results show marked disintegrations in all three aspects of life and a threat posed to redefine the self amidst chaos.
Framing Reality: Shaping the News Coverage of the 1996 Tennessee Debate on Teaching Evolution • Cynthia A. McCune, San Jose State University • This study triangulated research methods to analyze how the public debate on a controversial issue was framed, and by whom, as a means of understanding the process and outcome of that debate. Its findings support the idea that public debates are framed by all involved parties, not just the news media. It also considered how the relative power position held by each side in this debate may have affected their interactions with the news media.
Children’s Media Coverage Of Critical Events: The Case Of The Aftermath Of The Assassination Of Yitzhak Rabin • Edith Manosevitch, Washington • This study explores the role of children’s news media in establishing meanings of critical situations and promoting notions of active citizenship. A content analysis of three Israeli children’s magazines coverage of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin is conducted. Findings suggest differences between religious media and secular media in terms of coverage of values related to democracy. Findings also reveal a variety of ways by which democratic practices of giving voice and notions of empowerment can manifest themselves within children’s media.
Uncivil Religion and Uncivil Science: A Case Study in News Framing and the Sociology of Knowledge • Rick Clifton Moore, Boise State University • As part of his overall argument in the book Unsecular Media, Mark Silk claims that acts of “uncivil” religion — when one religious body openly disparages another — are consistently condemned by the media, but in a way that affirms religion. Herein, I investigate whether Silk’s perspective is able to theoretically distinguish religious incivility from other forms. I propose that Peter Berger’s work in the sociology of knowledge can offer insights that Silk’s more narrow approach cannot. To investigate this possibility, I engage in a case study of two news stories that occurred in at approximately the same time and place.
Using My Religion: An Analysis of Religiosity Manifest in the Profiles of Mormon Singles Seeking Relationships Online • David W. Scott, South Carolina • This study represent a seminal analysis of the convergence of religious culture and technology (Internet culture) from the perspective of religious individuals, adding to Zaleski’s (1977) findings by demonstrating how one particular religious community is fostered and sustained on the Internet — not by doctrinal tenets, but rather by a common search for relationships with others.
The Modern Media As Surrogate Shaman • Gregory M. Selber, and Salma I. Ghanem, Texas-Pan American • In times of severe crisis, when societal foundations are shaken along with the confidence of the people, the collective society searches for its bearings, seeking to regain its composure and strength. Traditional socialization devices such as family, school and church were once the institutions which individuals and segmented collectives turned to for explanations, reassurance and hope. In today’s secular, fragmented, diverse American society, these formerly vital institutions have become outmoded.
Removing Epistemological Blind Spots: Interdisciplinary Foundations for the Study of Media and Religion • Daniel A. Stout, Brigham Young University and Judith Buddenbaum, Colorado State University • While religion is an established focus of research in the social sciences and the humanities, it is only beginning to emerge in the field of mass communication. The study of media and religion has been hindered by the misconception that there is little or no foundational literature to build upon. This paper removes such epistemological ÔÔblind spots” by identifying fields where religion is conceptually developed as a credible means of studying society. The paper ends with a discussion of opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary studies.
Newspaper Coverage of Religion in the 2000 Presidential Election • Mike Trice, Louisiana College and Charles Mayo, Southern Mississippi • According to many observers of the 2000 presidential election, religion was prominent during the campaign, from George W. Bush’s faith-based “compassionate conservatism” to the outspoken morality of Al Gore’s running mate, Joseph Lieberman. This content analysis seeks to examine whether religion, both corporate and personal, found its way onto the pages of four of America’s most prominent newspapers; We find that, despite such general impressions, inclusion of religion and religiosity in actual news coverage of the campaign and its candidates was minimal.
Media Framing of Islam and Terrorism: A Method of Analyzing Perceptions of Religious Portrayals in News Reporting • Robert H. Wicks, Jan L. Wicks, Ron Warren and Todd Shields, Arkansas • Religion, like politics and economics, has an enormous impact on the evolution of peoples, societies and nations. News reports, however, often fail to adequately or accurately frame the religious dimensions of information that involves conflict. This report urges mass communication scholars to consider religion as an important explanatory sociological variable that is often neglected or misrepresented in the course of reporting on geo-political conflict.
The Detroit Newspapers’ Coverage of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Before and During the Newspaper Strike • Geri Alumit Zeldes, Michigan State University • A content analysis of the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press showed that coverage of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit during the Detroit Newspaper Strike (July 13, 1995 to February 20, 1997) increased, and the tone of the coverage was more favorable during the strike than before the strike. The findings contrast with claims by members of the Catholic Church in Detroit that the newspapers had an institutional bias against the church.
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