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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ve commented once or twice or 429 times about how the Catholic Church around the world, and in Australia and New Zealand in particular, often fails to adequately communicate the message of Jesus Christ to the faithful, not to mention to non-Catholics. It’s hardly a view Read more
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The May 1 appointment of Kim Daniels as the first lay media relations officer for the president of the US Catholic Bishops signals the beginning of a new phase in media relations for the US Catholic Bishops. The appointment, which has surprised some, was foreshadowed last year by US Bishops’ President, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, when he Read more
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In one of the last acts of his pontificate, Benedict XVI gave an address to the clergy of the Diocese of Rome on the Second Vatican Council. In the address he drew a distinction between what he termed the Virtual Council, or Council of the Media, and the Real Council or Council of those who actually produced Read more
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As a somewhat old-fashioned, traditional type, I welcomed the engaging presence and comment of Dame Lyndsay Freer to my radio and TV during the recent papal conclave. Long before the advent of television, St Thomas Aquinas said, “faith comes from hearing“, and the Catholic Church in New Zealand, once again, at least for a limited Read more
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Shutting down the US Cardinals’ media briefing is akin to shutting down efforts in New Evangelisation. This is how conservative Catholic columnist George Weigel, writing in the National Review Online, describes the media blackout on Cardinals that came into force yesterday. In the name of transparency, U.S. cardinals had held a series of parallel news briefings with the Read more
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In the absence of actual news, the 5,000 journalists gathered in Rome for the election of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI are awash in conspiracy theories. Some may have substance, but probably only by coincidence. An example is the question of why three of the four cardinal-electors with archdioceses in Germany were among the Read more
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As I was looking for a lens through which I could frame a 2012 retrospective editorial, a colleague asked me to recommend a good article on the topic ‘the media and the vulnerable’. Looking at our archive, I discovered this was a constant throughout the year. Still current is the fallout of actions of 2DAY FM employees Read more
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Bernard McGrath made a remand appearance on Monday in the Christchurch District Court, where defence counsel Phillip Allan said he had just filed a notice of opposition to the extradition application. Judge David Saunders remanded McGrath, 65, on continued bail. Judge Saunders was critical of the media for pursuing McGrath down the street after his last court Read more
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The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Australia can only be a good thing for the Catholic Church. It is a chance to account for the betrayal and crimes of priests and other church representatives who committed acts of abuse against the vulnerable, and for the careless, even callous way in which many church Read more
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Margaret Sullivan now wears the public editor hat at The New York Times and with a recent ombudsman column took on a huge media problem: False balance aka false equivalency. False balance reports are those that appear fair because they have two sides, except that one side reflects neither knowledge nor a right to speak. Reports on Catholicism are especially vulnerable Read more
