A study by a conservative media watchdog charges three major network television stations with bestowing a favorable bias on Earth Day while smearing Easter, Christians' holy day, with allegations of pedophilia.
The Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute examined media reports during the 2010 Holy Week – March 28 through April 4 – and contrasted it with two weeks of Earth Day coverage. The study, "Holy Week: Media Worship Earth Day, Attack Easter," found that last year networks ABC, CBS and NBC's evening news shows mentioned "Easter" primarily in connection to the 2010 pedophilia scandals that swirled around the Vatican, using terms such as "scandal," "sexual abuse" and "crisis." By contrast, coverage of Earth Day received positive attention from the three broadcast media giants.
Highlighted examples include NBC News' discussion of sexual abuse allegations during the network's Easter Sunday coverage.
In a report on the Easter 2010 celebrations in Europe, NBC correspondent Anne Thompson stated, "The traditions of Easter, for just a day, superseded the pain many feel at the disclosures that some priests abused children for decades."
ABC's correspondent Dan Harris also equated Easter with priests accused of sexual abuse. During an Easter Sunday broadcast, Harris said, "This is the holiest weekend in the Christian calendar, but Easter is providing no respite whatsoever from what may be the gravest outrage in the modern history of the Catholic Church."
Easter is a religious holiday revered and celebrated among Christians. However, MRC's vice president of business and culture, Dan Gainor, said little attention was given to Protestant celebrations of the holiday.
To read more, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment