Christian Perspective on News Media

Unless we withdraw to some sort of spiritual ghetto where we could sever ourselves off completely from the persuasion of the media, we have to learn how to deal with the challenges produced by it. The media may not have the political authority to embody the views and concerns of the people, there is still a position in our budding culture for a further relaxation of government control over the media. Of immense significance to us as Christians is that if we allow the sinfulness of humankind as we should, there are more grounds for us to increase extra checks, through other media sources. If being obvious is what we want our political structure to be, an independent media can contribute to a more transparent society where no public servant and political leader can conceal his or her sins. It should be our Christian concern to defend truth and honesty. While vigorous rivalry among the extended (and hopefully expanding) media factions should be encouraged, there is a need to insist that truth will not be surrendered in the name of convenience when information is published without giving enough adequate time for determining correctness and reliability of the account. I think in the past, the truth has been compromised when the major media groups in the United States reported on the results of the presidential elections. The television stations tried to outdo each other by announcing unconfirmed results which turned out to be a political soap opera rather than a reliable news reporting. I think that in the most recent elections, this has become a thing of the past. But there is a place for the Church to recognize the mechanisms of the media and use the media to have a say to the shaping of public values and ethical vision for the sake of the common good. This ultimately means that the Church must be apprehensive about the downside of being fed by media that are closely linked with any particular interest group, including the government. When we as a