News
Long ago I stopped watching news on TV, so I get most of my news from news apps and news podcasts. I have friends who talk about how good the news is on NPR, CNN, Fox, BBC, Reuters, and others, but frankly they all insult the intelligence of this Mississippi farm boy. I actually prefer to read the Al Jazeera news app, even though it promotes a Muslim worldview, because I don’t get US political party bias. Plus, it has good coverage of world news that our sensationalist US-based news outlets do not adequately cover.
The USA network newscasts are so politically oriented not just towards political parties or public offices, but to influencing our culture and our way of life. Media companies do not do news anymore. They give opinions! On the news apps I must wade through the “opinion” articles to look for the headlines. Have you ever noticed how much today’s news focuses on what celebrities think about ethical, social and political issues? Who cares what a sports star or media star thinks about those issues!
During my years as an administrator in Richmond, I was tasked with the responsibility of facing news outlets when there was a tragedy with some of our personnel overseas. There was loss of lives in several countries during that time, including Yemen, Philippines and Iraq, and all the national and international media wanted an interview. I do not have fond memories of interviews and press conferences during that season. Of course, the loss of lives—some of them my friends—was tragic and that is definitely not a good memory, but neither was relating to the media folks.
We were so fortunate to have Wendy Norvelle working in PR during that difficult time. She and I had received some crisis communication training prior to these tragic events, and we were usually able to steer the interview back to the message that we wanted to get out to the public. But it was a huge challenge as many of the big names in the media world were very talented at trying to get us off our message and onto their slant on how they wanted to report the news.
One time when Cheryl and I were serving with NAME and visiting with a family who lived in the West Bank, the TV was on in another room in the house and one of their kids called to us to come and look at what was on CNN. There was a riot going on as protesters were clashing with authorities and the news announcer made it sound like the beginning of World War III. According to the newscaster this “riot” was going on two blocks from their house, and we did not even know anything was happening. When we looked outside, we could see a satellite truck and a small group of people down the street, but it was definitely not a riot.
People love sensational news. Look at how much more our TV shows are graphically violent and look at all the crazy reality shows on the air.
In late October and early November of 2010, I led a team of Owner/Operators and home office staff from Chick-fil-A on a discovery trip to Haiti. We were looking into the possibility of partnering with a ministry with orphans in western Haiti. In January of that year Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake, and our team was also setting up a project to help build some homes for people who had lost their homes to the earthquake.
While we were in Haiti, hurricane Tomas hit western Haiti, and we were forced to ride out the hurricane at an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The winds and rain subsided, and we needed some food, so we found a restaurant that had a generator and we ate a meal there. The owner of the restaurant had a television tuned into CNN International. We could not believe what the reporter was feeding to the world. He was reporting live from Port-au-Prince where we were, and he looked like he was about to be blown away. He was stumbling to stay on his feet. The reporter’s microphone was picking up strong bursts of wind that altered the transmission. We all looked at each other, and then we looked outside, and one of the team said, “He must be on another planet.” The winds had never reached the strength that the TV was displaying. But he was a very good actor with some very good props—all to produce some sensational footage for a hungry audience.
The Bible is a collection of newscasts that tells many stories, but the main story is about the Good News that God loved the world so much that He sent his son, Jesus Christ, as a one time sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Now that is Good News!
When I was in college I bought a copy of the Good News Bible. I still love that translation of the Bible. I love to talk about the Good News message of the Bible. Too bad that our newscasts are more interested in sensationalism and opinions than good news.