Landmark Study Reveals Regional Differences in Coverage of Faith-Based Issues

Landmark Study Reveals Regional Differences in Coverage of Faith-Based Issues

'The Passion of The Christ' Coverage Demonstrates Media's Challenge and Approach to Religion, Marquette University Reports

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MILWAUKEE, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A landmark study by Marquette University has found that daily newspaper coverage of Mel Gibson's Passion of The Christ was significantly more negative among the nation's largest newspapers and those in the East and West than those in the Midwest and South.The study stopped short of declaring that this difference reflects greater or lesser Catholic/Christian values among readers and journalists in these regions. But it did note the prominence given to projecting "Christian messages" in the Midwest and South during the recent presidential campaign may reflect that related Christian themes and issues are more positively received by the press and readers in these regions than elsewhere in the country.

"Faith, The Passion and The Press" also indicated that many of the nation's leading newspapers tend to focus on faith-based issues almost as a by-product of a controversial event. The Passion, for example, drew overwhelming media attention to these issues because the film was covered primarily as a news event rather than as a film review. In fact, only 8 percent of the coverage of The Passion came in the form of a review, while 51 percent appeared as news stories, 28 percent as Letters-to-the-Editor, and 11 percent as editorials. The study also reported that more than 80 percent of the coverage examined was generated locally rather than by wire service stories or nationally syndicated columnists.

"The amount and type of coverage clearly demonstrated that The Passion was more than a film. It was an event that challenged critics and viewers alike, and it also helped us understand how the general press covers and interprets the Church, Catholicism and issues of faith," said Dr. William Elliot, Dean of Marquette's College of Communications. The College of Communications conducted the study under Dr. Elliott's guidance.

The nearly year-long study examined almost 1,500 stories from 62 newspapers that appeared during an 80-day period from January 1, 2004 to March 20, 2004 -- a time frame that included the film's Ash Wednesday release date. The study identified the number of Passion stories, their type and whether the articles were negative, positive or neutral. It also identified the film's four critical coverage issues: its religious nature, historical accuracy, violence and possible anti-Semitism.

The majority of the coverage was deemed to be either positive or neutral. Yet coverage was decidedly more negative -- in some cases almost twice as negative -- in the large national newspapers as well as those in East and West compared to newspapers in the South and Midwest.

The study, co-sponsored by The Dilenschneider Group of New York, will serve as the springboard of a symposium on "The Media, Faith and The Catholic Church" that Marquette University will host on campus in September. The event will bring together leading theologians, scholars, journalists and social commentators to discuss how the secular media covers faith and Church-based issues in the 21st Century.

A copy of the study's executive summary is available on request.

Marquette University is a Jesuit university based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that was founded in 1880. More than 11,000 students are enrolled in the university's 11 colleges and schools working at undergraduate, graduate and professional programs and courses.

Contact:
John Salak
The Dilenschneider Group
212 922 0900
jsalak@dgi-nyc.com

Source: Marquette University