By John Dart and Jimmy Allen, First Amendment Center, 2000

When this study was first published in 1993, religious leaders were expressing dissatisfaction with news coverage of religion, and the complaints were grabbing the attention of media professionals like never before. From churches to temples, conservatives and liberals alike spoke of shoddy, simplistic reporting and anti-religious bias. They complained of the widespread underplaying — even  ownright
avoidance — of religious influences in news events.

The most telling question asked was this: Why does an exceptionally religious country like the United States see so few of its religious perspectives and events conveyed adequately in the news?

We think our study answered parts of that riddle. We found, in general, that rather than exhibiting an overt bias or disinterest in religion stories, most news professionals were simply reluctant to go much beyond familiar-formula stories on religious celebrities, sectarian tragedies, sexual scandals and offbeat claims of supernatural activity. We determined that one primary obstacle to good  eligion reporting was the lack of expertise and experience in handling this complicated topic in a news framework.

We detected a lack of confidence, even fear, among news executives reluctant to commit serious resources to covering such a subtle, sensitive subject. Many journalists seemed to feel that covering the religious world wasn’t worth the trouble, given religion’s arcane terminology, endless numbers of sects and denominations, claims and myths nearly impossible to handle objectively, and touchy believers ready to pounce en masse on errors committed by print and broadcast journalists.

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About the First Amendment Center:

The First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., is an independent operating program of The Freedom Forum. The Center was  established on Dec. 15, 1991, the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. The Center’s mission is to foster public  understanding of and appreciation for First Amendment rights and values, which comprise freedom of religion, speech and the press, the right to petition the government and to assemble peacefully. The Center serves as a forum for dialogue and debate on free-expression and freedom-of-information issues.

The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation pursues its priorities through conferences, educational activities, publishing, broadcasting, online services, fellowships, partnerships, training, research and other programs.

The Freedom Forum funds only its own programs and related partnerships. Unsolicited funding requests are not accepted. Operating programs are the Newseum at The Freedom Forum World Center headquarters in Arlington, Va., the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., the Media Studies Center in New York City and the Pacific Coast Center in San Francisco. The Freedom Forum also has operating offices in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and London.

The Freedom Forum was established in 1991 under the direction of Founder Allen H. Neuharth as successor to the Gannett Foundation, which was created by Frank E. Gannett in 1935. The Freedom Forum does not solicit or accept financial contributions. Its work is supported by income from an endowment now worth more than $1 billion in diversified assets.

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