Since the 1970s, more and more religious stories have made their way to headline news: the Islamic Revolution in Iran, televangelism and its scandals, and the rise of the Evangelical New Right and its role in politics, to name but a few. Media treatment of religion can be seen as a kind of indicator of the broader role and status of religion on the contemporary scene. To better understand the relationship between religion and the news media, both in everyday practice and in the larger context of American public discourse, author Stewart P. Hoover gives a cultural-historical analysis in his book, Religion in the News . The resulting insights provide important clues as to the place of religion in American life, the role of the media in cultural discourse, and the prospects of institutional religion in the media age.
This volume is highly recommended to media professionals, journalists, people in the religious community, and for classroom use in religious studies and media studies programs.
Cuprins
Religion in the News
Approaches to Understanding
Discourses of Contemporary Religion
The Source of the Problem?
Looking at Religion
Reading and Watching Religion
The Audience for Religion
Religion and the Media in Conflict
Religion and Broadcasting
The Challenge of Standards
To BE the Discourse, or Merely To COVER It