Archbishop to deliver critique of news media
-15/06/05
The news media is ìadversarial and suspiciousî and tends to hold people ìguilty until proved innocentî, the Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to say tonight.
Dr Rowan Williams is due to deliver his critique in a lecture to senior figures from UK industry, politicians and church leaders at Lambeth Palace in London.
It comes after the Archbishop was himself recently misrepresented by a national newspaper who suggested that Dr Rowan Williams doubted God’s existence following the tsunami disaster.
Despite the fact that the newspaper’s editor privately acknowledged later in a letter seen by Ekklesia that the headline misrepresented the views of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Sunday Telegraph never issued a public correction.
While stressing that a thriving media is vital to a ìmature democracyî, Dr Williams believes a far-reaching reassessment is needed to raise ìembarrassingly low levels of trustî in the journalistic profession.
The Archbishop will also tell the audience the way news is packaged inhibits the public from becoming engaged with issues and understanding them fully.
ìThere is a tension at the heart of the journalistic enterprise. Its justification is that it promises to deliver what other sources canít ñ information that is needed to equip the reader or viewer or listener for a more free and significant role as a human agent.
ìBut at the same time it is bound to a method and a rhetoric that treats its public as consumers and the information it purveys as a commodity.î
Dr Williams will say the central task of the media is to ìnourish the common goodî of society, and praises the courage and commitment of many journalists.
However, he adds that ìsome aspects of current practiceî are ìlethally damagingî to the profession.
ìHigh levels of adversarial and suspicious probing send the clear message that any kind of concealment is guilty until proved innocent. That is a case that needs more than just assumptions to be morally persuasive.î
More thought needs to be given to what types of stories are actually in the public interest, according to Dr Williams.
ìThere are undoubtedly facts which would be of huge interest to a certain sort of public, but are not by any stretch of the imagination matters of public interest in the sense that not knowing them creates or prolongs a seriously unjust situation.î
However, the Archbishop adds that to some extent societies get the media they deserve, and the industry should not be made a scapegoat.
Dr Williams will deliver the lecture at 6.30pm.
Archbishop to deliver critique of news media
-15/06/05
The news media is ‘adversarial and suspicious’ and tends to hold people ‘guilty until proved innocent’, the Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to say tonight.
Dr Rowan Williams is due to deliver his critique in a lecture to senior figures from UK industry, politicians and church leaders at Lambeth Palace in London.
It comes after the Archbishop was himself recently misrepresented by a national newspaper who suggested that Dr Rowan Williams doubted God’s existence following the tsunami disaster.
Despite the fact that the newspaper’s editor privately acknowledged later in a letter seen by Ekklesia that the headline misrepresented the views of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Sunday Telegraph never issued a public correction.
While stressing that a thriving media is vital to a ‘mature democracy’, Dr Williams believes a far-reaching reassessment is needed to raise ’embarrassingly low levels of trust’ in the journalistic profession.
The Archbishop will also tell the audience the way news is packaged inhibits the public from becoming engaged with issues and understanding them fully.
‘There is a tension at the heart of the journalistic enterprise. Its justification is that it promises to deliver what other sources can’t – information that is needed to equip the reader or viewer or listener for a more free and significant role as a human agent.
‘But at the same time it is bound to a method and a rhetoric that treats its public as consumers and the information it purveys as a commodity.’
Dr Williams will say the central task of the media is to ‘nourish the common good’ of society, and praises the courage and commitment of many journalists.
However, he adds that ‘some aspects of current practice’ are ‘lethally damaging’ to the profession.
‘High levels of adversarial and suspicious probing send the clear message that any kind of concealment is guilty until proved innocent. That is a case that needs more than just assumptions to be morally persuasive.’
More thought needs to be given to what types of stories are actually in the public interest, according to Dr Williams.
‘There are undoubtedly facts which would be of huge interest to a certain sort of public, but are not by any stretch of the imagination matters of public interest in the sense that not knowing them creates or prolongs a seriously unjust situation.’
However, the Archbishop adds that to some extent societies get the media they deserve, and the industry should not be made a scapegoat.
Dr Williams will deliver the lecture at 6.30pm.