Journalism Ideology at an Evangelical News Magazine
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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE “GOD’S OBJECTIVE TRUTH, AS FAR AS WE KNOW IT”: JOURNALISM IDEOLOGY AT AN EVANGELICAL NEWS MAGAZINE A DISSERTATION SUMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in pArtiAl fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By DAVE FERMAN NormAn, OklAhomA 2014 “GOD’S OBJECTIVE TRUTH, AS FAR AS WE KNOW IT”: JOURNALISM IDEOLOGY AT AN EVANGELICAL NEWS MAGAZINE A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE GAYLORD COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION BY Dr. DAVid CrAig, ChAir Dr. MAureen TAylor Dr. Robert Kerr Dr. Allen Hertzke Dr. ThomAs Burns © Copyright DAVE FERMAN 2014 All Rights ReserVed. For NorA, HArry, And Big Jim ColohAn And his Absent pennies. To hell with the begrudgers, Jim. Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my dissertation director, Dr. David Craig, for his boundless patience and good humor during the course of working with me on this dissertation. His meticulousness and insight into evangelical Americans have been invaluable in the two years it has taken me to complete this work. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. Maureen Taylor, Dr. Robert Kerr, Dr. Allen Hertzke and Dr. Thomas Burns. Thanks also go to Dr. Michael Kent, Dr. Joe Foote, Dr. Meta Carstarphen, Dr. Charles Self, Dr. Ralph Beliveau, Dr. Owen Kulemeka, Dr. Katerina Tsetsura, Dr. Terry Rugeley, Bryan Carr, Ivy Shen and Kelly Storm for making my time at the University of Oklahoma so rewarding. At Texas Christian University, Tommy Thomason, Dr. John Tisdale, Dr. Beverly Horvit and Dr. Karen Steele were all invaluable mentors – in class, out of class, and during the writing of my master’s thesis. Thank you all. I have been blessed with the support of a number of people who pushed me forward and kept me going, including Darren White, Carol Nuckols, Cathy Frisinger, Dr. Wayne Lee Gay, Dr. Michael Phillips, Lynne Swihart, Sean and Bonnie Keating, Malcolm Mayhew, Rusty, Beth Krugler, John Dycus, Max and Phyllis Boller, and Sister Maria Silva and the members of the Texas branch of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Chiponda Chimbelu took a chance on an unknown author and an arcane subject and published my master’s thesis. Bill Ochs has become a good friend and an excellent teacher. Bill W. is Bill W. Jim Shaw V started this whole thing when he told me I could write back in seventh grade. God bless you, Jim. My sister Kathy and her husband Joe have always been there. My friends and relatives in Ireland, including the Colohan and Murray families, have given me a second home for more than two decades. Thanks in particular go to Padraic, Honor, Orla, Aoife, Tony, Mary (mind yourself, Mary), and Marie. And Susie, of course. But most of all, the love and support of my parents, Dave and Anita Ferman, is why you are reading this. They never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. I love you more than words can say. And Precious, too. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1:Introduction……………………….…………………………………………………….1 Chapter 2: Literature Review…………………………………………………………………..21 Chapter 3: Mapping the Ideology at WORLD…………………….…………………...….81 Chapter 4: Methodology…………………………………………………….……………………94 Chapter 5: Results…………………………………………………………………………………109 Chapter 6: Discussion……………………………………………………………………………190 References……………………………………………………………………………………………218 Appendix A: Interview Questions…………………………………………………………..227 Appendix B: Themes…………………………………………………………………….……….229 vii Abstract This study mixes interviews and textual analysis to explore the ideology, motivations, routines, and content at WORLD, a major evangelical Christian news magazine whose editor‐in‐chief, Dr. Marvin Olasky, is a well‐known writer and educator. In doing so, the study examines a number of issues, including journalism ideology, the beliefs and motivations of alternative journalists, and the shared beliefs of the “tribe” of American evangelicals. Much of this map of the WORLD ideology is defined by seven themes, among them the concept of the “forgotten man” in American thought and journalism and the need to continue to fight the “culture wars” at the center of the conservative/liberal divide in America. The WORLD journalists are seen as dedicated, talented and passionate writers and editors who consistently cover topics and use sources that the mainstream American press does not. At the same time, Olasky’s concept of “biblical objectivity” as an alternative to mainstream journalism objectivity is found to be imprecise, without a measurable yardstick to how it is implemented. The beliefs of the WORLD writers dovetail almost perfectly with those of traditional evangelicals, and as a result WORLD emphasizes placing God before man‐made institutions; the persecution of Christians by multiple groups, including liberals, Muslims and communists, both at home and across the world; the ongoing humanitarian efforts of Christians; the battle being waged against secular/liberal journalism, academia and society, which they believe is destroying America from the inside; and a focus on fighting gay rights and abortion. This first published study of a major evangelical news organization using interviews and textual analysis suggests a viii number of areas for further research, including how to study writers at other religion‐based news organizations and the essential differences between WORLD and other evangelical news sources, such as the more liberal Sojourners magazine. The unique and previously unavailable information in this study is especially relevant at this time in the history of American life and journalism for several reasons, including the ongoing “culture wars” and considerable impact of evangelicals in America, the deepening divide between conservatives and liberals due to beliefs on gay rights and abortion, the declining coverage of religion in the mainstream media, and the influence WORLD has on the evangelical Christian community. ix Chapter 1: Introduction Over the past several decades, a considerable amount of research has focused on how journalists understand and perform their work. While journalists cannot be considered an amorphous, one‐size‐fits‐all group, there has been widespread agreement, among such scholars as Pamela J. Shoemaker, Stephen D. Reese, Todd Gitlin and Herbert J. Gans, that the motivations, habits and performances of journalists are strongly shaped by an overarching ideology that informs reporters, editors and managers in making decisions about coverage and content. Hall (1996) describes ideology as “the mental frameworks – the languages, the concepts, categories, imagery of thought, and the system of representation – which different classes and social groups deploy in order to make sense of, define, figure out, and render intelligible the way society works” (pp. 25‐26). In looking for a theory of forces shaping mass media content, Pamela Shoemaker and Stephen Reese (1996) describe a circle with a series of layers including (and listed in order of increasing importance) individual beliefs and experience; media routines; the organization a journalist functions within; extra‐media forces such as technology, competitors and market forces; and, on the outside of the circle, ideology. “The ideological level differs from the previous levels in that all the processes taking place at lower levels are considered to be working toward an ideologically related pattern of messages and on behalf of the higher power centers in society” (p.223). The guiding ideology behind mainstream news producers, they write, is to emphasize American values, which include “the belief in the values of the capitalist 1 economic system, private ownership, pursuit of profit by self‐interested entrepreneurs, and free markets. This system is intertwined with the Protestant ethic and the value of individual achievement” (p. 224). Gitlin and Gans agree with this perspective. Gans (1979) writes that American journalists see themselves as independent and ideology‐free but are, in fact, driven by a “paraideology” that puts the profession in service to America as a whole and, in particular, eight “enduring values” that include “ethnocentrism, altruistic democracy, responsible capitalism, small‐town pastoralism, individualism, moderatism, social order, and national leadership” (1979, pp. 42, 68). These scholars are arguing, in effect, that American journalism is driven by ideology that is in service to a national ideology that favors American exceptionalism, democracy, capitalism and individual achievement. Significantly, these values do not include journalists emphasizing the importance of religious freedom or worship in general or any particular religion. Nor do these scholars’ works address the ideologies, motivations, and habits of journalists who write for smaller groups while functioning outside the boundaries of mainstream journalism, which can be defined as the newspapers, magazines, television programs, and web sites produced to serve mass audiences that include an array of different ethnic and religious groups. In the past several decades, evangelical Christians have become more powerful and influential in American political and cultural life. During his campaign for president of the United States in 1976, Jimmy Carter announced that he was a “born‐again Christian.” This watershed moment helped usher in a new era of importance and visibility for evangelicals. During the 1976 race, a Gallup 2 poll found that “fully one‐third of Americans claimed to be born‐again evangelicals. Conservative churches were growing because they offered