What is the role of the Catholic press?
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Liz Quirin and Tom Sheridan Catholic News Service
This edition of Viewpoints looks at the question: What is the role of the Catholic press? Liz Quirin, editor of The Messenger, newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., says the Catholic press should be the standard-bearers for justice. Tom Sheridan, former editor of the Catholic New World, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and a deacon ordained for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., says the Catholic press should provide the faithful with good quality news -- and the Good News of Christ.
Making a difference, acting as a bridge
By Liz Quirin
We're not wearing fedoras, and smoke isn't curling up around us as we pound out our latest stories, but journalists everywhere are still looking for a good story. Times have changed since Walter Cronkite signed off and Edward R. Murrow's documentary "Harvest of Shame" has faded in people's memories.
However, we in the Catholic media sometimes find ourselves lost in a sea of words and visuals that clamor for the shorter and shorter attention spans of readers and viewers.
We've advanced to the Web, some tweeting, others Facebooking (who knew that would become a word?) and others starting conversations with blogs of every shape and form, just to talk about the good news.
February is Catholic Press Month, a time when Catholic newspapers ask subscribers to renew, to continue to support Catholic publications, to help us tell stories that promote the Gospel.
On the secular side of the aisle, broadcasters' conversations have become more strident and certainly have contributed to the polarizing effect in journalism and perhaps in society as well. Because people can access the news and opinion that fits with their religious and/or political views, we have many options.
Balanced news suffers, and certainly electronic broadcasters and sometimes print columnists have become "personalities," thus moving news programs over to the entertainment realm.
Telling the truth is tough under any circumstance because it is generally a many-faceted thing. More often than not, the truth in any story is complicated and multilayered, not easily told from one perspective.
Think of the Gospel story of the prodigal son. How many perspectives can we find? We think we know the story, and maybe we do, but our perspective can change depending on whether we align ourselves with the son, the father or the brother. Perhaps it depends on our age and where we are in our own lives as to which truth cuts more deeply.
Reporters in the Catholic media must be reporters of record and tell truths as they are able. Catholic reporters and editors have a more difficult task than others who are not held to the same standards of making sure not only that facts are accurate but also that they are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
We share the stories of faith and commitment of the people of God, and we also point out the struggles and challenges people face as they live out the Gospel in their lives and as members of their parishes and local communities.
Our jobs are sometimes difficult because we want to be the standard-bearers for justice; as we share the stories of injustice and prejudice, we can clarify a path for someone looking for ways to make a difference.
That's one of our goals: to make a difference, to act as a bridge from one people to another.
That is a remarkable gift that we have to share, and we dare not waste the gift or jeopardize the trust we have established with the people whose stories we have been permitted to share. We have a wondrous role and grave responsibility to tell the truth as we can and try to be sensitive to any hurt that our stories may cause, since that can sometimes happen.
We also must have integrity, a rare commodity in some circles today. If we have no personal integrity, we can hardly speak to the good news of the Gospel. In telling readers' stories, we are explicating the truths of the Gospel or at the very least retelling the age-old stories of faith that we now tell anew.
The Gospel is ever the same yet different, depending on the eyes that can see it and the ears that can hear it -- now and into new generations.
Comments are welcome. Contact Liz Quirin at [email protected]
Bold Catholic media can share good news best
By Tom Sheridan
In a single generation, the media -- Catholic as well as secular -- have undergone earthshaking changes. In the secular world, it has not been a change for the better -- from mostly serious and largely objective to much more trivial, partisan, argumentative and manipulative.
February, Catholic Press Month, is a good opportunity to look not only at Catholic media but at all media affecting Catholics.
Despite shifts in secular media, one thing hasn't changed: "If it bleeds, it leads."
Translated, that means violence, anger, controversy and scandal gets top billing. And these days, it doesn't even have to be the truth.
No wonder Pope Francis wonders aloud, as he did again recently, where's the good news? "Good things," he lamented, "don't make news."
It's a valid, if not easily remedied, observation.
I've had a ringside seat for media's changes: Nearly 35 years in secular major-market newspapers, almost 10 years running archdiocesan publications and, since the 1980s, an author and freelance Catholic columnist. It has been quite a ride.
One of my first jobs was as an editorial assistant for a diocesan newspaper where, in addition to parish news, we printed papal documents. Verbatim. What fun to proofread those.
This isn't the first time the pope has asked for good news. He has wished several times that media would dispense from doom and gloom and share more uplifting stories.
But that'll be difficult. Any veteran journalist knows the sad truth: Good news doesn't sell.
The media are a business. You know, profit and loss. Publishers discovered in the 1980s that serious newspapers weren't selling, but gossip and fluffy entertainment were. Things have gone downhill since then. Culture warriors gripe that a less-than-serious media has dumbed-down Americans and contributed to a lack of substance in society. But that's what readers who plunk down their money want.
The Internet and social media have followed right along. Sure, there's plenty of serious information available, but you often have to wade through partisan opinion offering half-truths.
While the Catholic media have morphed from mostly newsprint to all manner of slick magazines and electronic offerings, the goal hasn't changed: provide the faithful with good quality news -- and the good news of Christ.
Proclaiming good news is more of a daunting task these days, but at least the Catholic media aren't locked into "if it bleeds, it leads."
That's where Catholic media can shine, if leaders are bold enough.
Certainly, the Catholic media have suffered some of the same changes as other media, and for some of the same reasons. Today, diocesan newspapers rarely (if ever) offer dense, lengthy papal prose. And perhaps they shouldn't. These are available online.
Catholic diocesan publications, though, have changed often because they are being treated as a business -- profit and loss, again -- rather than a vehicle of communication and evangelization.
Costs are forcing many dioceses to curtail print publications or reduce them. Others turn to social media or the Internet to get their message out. These are worthy efforts, but neither easy nor complete.
Yes, diocesan budgets must be kept under control, and we know that Catholics aren't as generous donors as many Protestant and evangelical denominations.
Still, this is where Catholic media can surpass its secular brethren. Catholic media must, of course, be staffed with professionals able to get their message noticed in a world swirling with information: newspapers, magazines, websites, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. But informed Catholics are connected Catholics. And connected Catholics will support the church.
It's a difficult and complicated endeavor, and one which -- if the church wants success -- cannot always be seen in terms of dollars and cents, profit and loss.
Evangelization doesn't operate that way; neither should communications. Sure, this is a simplistic notion in a complex world. But isn't good news worth it?
Comments are welcome. Contact Tom Sheridan at [email protected].
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By Liz Quirin and Tom Sheridan Catholic News Service
This edition of Viewpoints looks at the question: What is the role of the Catholic press? Liz Quirin, editor of The Messenger, newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., says the Catholic press should be the standard-bearers for justice. Tom Sheridan, former editor of the Catholic New World, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and a deacon ordained for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., says the Catholic press should provide the faithful with good quality news -- and the Good News of Christ.
Making a difference, acting as a bridge
By Liz Quirin
We're not wearing fedoras, and smoke isn't curling up around us as we pound out our latest stories, but journalists everywhere are still looking for a good story. Times have changed since Walter Cronkite signed off and Edward R. Murrow's documentary "Harvest of Shame" has faded in people's memories.
However, we in the Catholic media sometimes find ourselves lost in a sea of words and visuals that clamor for the shorter and shorter attention spans of readers and viewers.
We've advanced to the Web, some tweeting, others Facebooking (who knew that would become a word?) and others starting conversations with blogs of every shape and form, just to talk about the good news.
February is Catholic Press Month, a time when Catholic newspapers ask subscribers to renew, to continue to support Catholic publications, to help us tell stories that promote the Gospel.
On the secular side of the aisle, broadcasters' conversations have become more strident and certainly have contributed to the polarizing effect in journalism and perhaps in society as well. Because people can access the news and opinion that fits with their religious and/or political views, we have many options.
Balanced news suffers, and certainly electronic broadcasters and sometimes print columnists have become "personalities," thus moving news programs over to the entertainment realm.
Telling the truth is tough under any circumstance because it is generally a many-faceted thing. More often than not, the truth in any story is complicated and multilayered, not easily told from one perspective.
Think of the Gospel story of the prodigal son. How many perspectives can we find? We think we know the story, and maybe we do, but our perspective can change depending on whether we align ourselves with the son, the father or the brother. Perhaps it depends on our age and where we are in our own lives as to which truth cuts more deeply.
Reporters in the Catholic media must be reporters of record and tell truths as they are able. Catholic reporters and editors have a more difficult task than others who are not held to the same standards of making sure not only that facts are accurate but also that they are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
We share the stories of faith and commitment of the people of God, and we also point out the struggles and challenges people face as they live out the Gospel in their lives and as members of their parishes and local communities.
Our jobs are sometimes difficult because we want to be the standard-bearers for justice; as we share the stories of injustice and prejudice, we can clarify a path for someone looking for ways to make a difference.
That's one of our goals: to make a difference, to act as a bridge from one people to another.
That is a remarkable gift that we have to share, and we dare not waste the gift or jeopardize the trust we have established with the people whose stories we have been permitted to share. We have a wondrous role and grave responsibility to tell the truth as we can and try to be sensitive to any hurt that our stories may cause, since that can sometimes happen.
We also must have integrity, a rare commodity in some circles today. If we have no personal integrity, we can hardly speak to the good news of the Gospel. In telling readers' stories, we are explicating the truths of the Gospel or at the very least retelling the age-old stories of faith that we now tell anew.
The Gospel is ever the same yet different, depending on the eyes that can see it and the ears that can hear it -- now and into new generations.
Comments are welcome. Contact Liz Quirin at [email protected]
Bold Catholic media can share good news best
By Tom Sheridan
In a single generation, the media -- Catholic as well as secular -- have undergone earthshaking changes. In the secular world, it has not been a change for the better -- from mostly serious and largely objective to much more trivial, partisan, argumentative and manipulative.
February, Catholic Press Month, is a good opportunity to look not only at Catholic media but at all media affecting Catholics.
Despite shifts in secular media, one thing hasn't changed: "If it bleeds, it leads."
Translated, that means violence, anger, controversy and scandal gets top billing. And these days, it doesn't even have to be the truth.
No wonder Pope Francis wonders aloud, as he did again recently, where's the good news? "Good things," he lamented, "don't make news."
It's a valid, if not easily remedied, observation.
I've had a ringside seat for media's changes: Nearly 35 years in secular major-market newspapers, almost 10 years running archdiocesan publications and, since the 1980s, an author and freelance Catholic columnist. It has been quite a ride.
One of my first jobs was as an editorial assistant for a diocesan newspaper where, in addition to parish news, we printed papal documents. Verbatim. What fun to proofread those.
This isn't the first time the pope has asked for good news. He has wished several times that media would dispense from doom and gloom and share more uplifting stories.
But that'll be difficult. Any veteran journalist knows the sad truth: Good news doesn't sell.
The media are a business. You know, profit and loss. Publishers discovered in the 1980s that serious newspapers weren't selling, but gossip and fluffy entertainment were. Things have gone downhill since then. Culture warriors gripe that a less-than-serious media has dumbed-down Americans and contributed to a lack of substance in society. But that's what readers who plunk down their money want.
The Internet and social media have followed right along. Sure, there's plenty of serious information available, but you often have to wade through partisan opinion offering half-truths.
While the Catholic media have morphed from mostly newsprint to all manner of slick magazines and electronic offerings, the goal hasn't changed: provide the faithful with good quality news -- and the good news of Christ.
Proclaiming good news is more of a daunting task these days, but at least the Catholic media aren't locked into "if it bleeds, it leads."
That's where Catholic media can shine, if leaders are bold enough.
Certainly, the Catholic media have suffered some of the same changes as other media, and for some of the same reasons. Today, diocesan newspapers rarely (if ever) offer dense, lengthy papal prose. And perhaps they shouldn't. These are available online.
Catholic diocesan publications, though, have changed often because they are being treated as a business -- profit and loss, again -- rather than a vehicle of communication and evangelization.
Costs are forcing many dioceses to curtail print publications or reduce them. Others turn to social media or the Internet to get their message out. These are worthy efforts, but neither easy nor complete.
Yes, diocesan budgets must be kept under control, and we know that Catholics aren't as generous donors as many Protestant and evangelical denominations.
Still, this is where Catholic media can surpass its secular brethren. Catholic media must, of course, be staffed with professionals able to get their message noticed in a world swirling with information: newspapers, magazines, websites, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. But informed Catholics are connected Catholics. And connected Catholics will support the church.
It's a difficult and complicated endeavor, and one which -- if the church wants success -- cannot always be seen in terms of dollars and cents, profit and loss.
Evangelization doesn't operate that way; neither should communications. Sure, this is a simplistic notion in a complex world. But isn't good news worth it?
Comments are welcome. Contact Tom Sheridan at [email protected].
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