Do journalists pay insufficient attention to the role of spirituality and organized religion in Canadian society and culture?
This study examined the nature of religious reporting in a major Canadian daily. The hypothesis being tested is that the mainstream press does not provide a balanced, informed view of religion - despite the fact that 87.5% of the Canadian population holds religious beliefs and/or affiliations, according to a StatsCan report, Religions in Canada (1993). It is posited that under-coverage could be a function of newsworkers' own secular backgrounds and the constraints of news production practices.
Two methods were employed in this research: (i) A telephone survey of 19 major Canadian dailies was conducted to determine whether or not each paper has a section devoted specifically to religion. Included were questions on format and content of the coverage, and who does the reporting (e.g. whether there is a reporter dedicated to a religion beat; their experience covering religion specifically and journalism experience generally). And (ii) religion reporting in the Globe and Mail over a four-month period (1 Mar to 30 June, 1995) was content analyzed.
Both quantitative and qualitative analyses of these data were made. Each news item was coded for day of week, placement in the paper, length, accompanying photo, origin of story (staff or wire), type of article (news, column, editorial, letter to editor, arts, business, travel), geographical location and the type of religion referred to, as well as the 'tone' of the item (positive, negative and neutral attributes).
The study found that a majority of the reporters assigned full or part time to religion are affiliated with some religious body, are well-educated, and say they follow the same journalistic practices in their reporting of religion as they would for any other assignment. For example, all respondents said they treat 'news' as news, whether or not it is religion. In other words, reporters covering religion are first and foremost journalists - one reporter makes an effort 'not to change how I write, apply the same rules, try to cover the facts'; while another 'applies the same journalistic techniques and values, same skepticism, same desire for truth' as for any other assignment.
Conclusions
While religion receives regular coverage, it is not balanced. The majority of articles that appear in the main section of the Globe and Mail deal by and large with the problematic aspects of religion today. At the heart of these negative stories were the breach of faith with the masses. The issues of sexual abuse, religious intolerance, the issues of gay and lesbian women as ministers in the church, celibacy, and even something 'as seemingly simple' as changing the Anglican hymnal - all caused a 'flurry of harsh and critical letters to the editor.'
So - although not all the news items were negative (many dealt with a variety of issues 'beyond hard news'), it still remains the case that most religious reporting in the Globe and Mail seems to be guided by traditional news values - 'if it bleeds, it leads.'
Researcher: Susan Wilson Murray