Around the globe, religion continues to shape the personal lives of many, and plays a hand in world affairs. Arguably, it’s getting more important, not less. So why does Australia only have a handful of religion journalists? Today, James and the panel take a look at religion in the mainstream media.
In this episode:
If there were a T.V. program designed to give everyone a say, Q&A wouldn’t be far off. But are there ways in which the program introduces biases and assumptions – especially when it comes to religion?
If fewer Australians are attending church and other places of worship, should the media respond in kind and cut its religion reporting accordingly? What flow-on effects might this have?
Australia’s politicians are disproportionately religious – while the journalists who report on them are disproportionately irreligious. Are the religious beliefs of certain politicians more likely to be challenged than others?
More Information
Listen to Senator Eric Abetz’s conversation with RN’s Andrew West here.
More information on ABC’s Q&A episode featuring the late Christopher Hitchens can be found here.
Guests:
Dr Enqi Weng is Research Fellow on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project 'Religious diversity in Australia: Strategies to maintain social cohesion’ her latest book is titled Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia. She also teaches media and religion at Deakin University in Melbourne and she was formerly a Research Assistant to the UNESCO Chair of Cultural Diversity and Social Justice.
Dr John Harrison is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland's School of Communication and Arts. He's an expert on Australian religion and media, having written a dozen books and chapters on the topic.
Presenter:
James Carleton
Producers:
Rohan Salmond/ Hong Jiang