It’s what’s missing from mainstream media news coverage that explains a lot about the mindset of those who wield power in America’s newsrooms and the growing number of people who shun traditional news sources.
Arizona for Life March and Rally
Saturday, Jan. 18
- 10:30 a.m.: Gather next to Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza
- 11:30 a.m.: March begins
- 12:30 p.m.: Rally begins at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
- 2 p.m.: Rally concludes
Saturday, Jan. 18For years, pro-life activists have decried the stunning lack of coverage for large-scale protests that seek to draw attention to the continuing slaughter of unborn babies. The annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the West Coast March for Life regularly draw tens of thousands of participants but are often largely ignored by major news outlets. The local event here in Phoenix receives little or no coverage.
As technology advances and ultrasound images of babies in the womb become ever more indicative of the humanity of the unborn child, the justifications for abortion grow increasingly ludicrous. Let’s face it: Abortion exists because larger, more powerful human beings can get away with killing under the guise of “reproductive rights.” And by refusing to acknowledge the violence of abortion and those who oppose it, the mainstream media is complicit.
As someone who has worked for newspapers for years — and not just the Catholic press — I can tell you that pro-life journalists and those who harbor a more traditional, religious viewpoint are rare in most secular media outlets. There’s a silent assumption that opponents of gay marriage are ignorant bigots. The insistence to promote the LGBTQIA ideology is unassailable as editors fret over preferred pronouns and ignore the beliefs of millions of Americans. Who gets interviewed, what gets asked, what’s included and what gets edited out each pass through this biased lens, yielding a myopic, unbalanced view.
I’m reminded of an assignment I had for an East Valley newspaper last year in the wake of controversy at the worldwide meeting of one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations. A local congregation went into public mourning over the denomination’s decision to ban gay marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. My quest was to provide balanced coverage of the clash in values that respected differences of opinion on the topic.
The local pastor went to great lengths to describe his congregation’s support for gay marriage and gay rights in general. Other local news organizations — and there were plenty — left the story there. They didn’t ask the pastor to comment on the historical context of his congregation’s protest. For 2,000 years, Christianity has taught that marriage is between one man and one woman and that homosexual activity was incompatible with Christianity, but you wouldn’t know it from mainstream media accounts.
And that’s where the article I wrote differed: I turned to a local Anglican clergyman for comment. The church he leads was founded in the aftermath of a Tempe congregation that split when its parent church in New Hampshire ordained a gay man bishop. The Rev. Peter Smith’s words have stayed with me ever since.
“Love is not the same as approval, and disapproval is not the same as hate. Jesus loved all those He encountered, but He never called ‘good’ that which was sinful or evil,” Rev. Smith told me — and by extension, all those who perused the article in the community newspaper delivered to their driveway. He went on to talk about the necessity to see all people as human beings worthy of God’s love and to not let rhetoric obscure the humanity of those involved.
Those who support traditional marriage and the right to life are not asking for special treatment by America’s newsrooms. They’re merely asking for respect and fair coverage. Instead, our nation’s secular, mainstream media have chosen to tell stories that neatly fit their template of unlimited abortion forever and unquestioned “marriage equality.”
Want to read about what’s being done to protect innocent human life and uphold Western civilization’s bedrock value of traditional marriage? Care to be informed about the massive, upcoming pro-life protests of Roe v. Wade? Support Catholic media and pray for journalists everywhere, especially those who dare to stray from the post-Christian narrative that continues to control and distort what you read and watch elsewhere.
