Do They Want To Grow Up To Be Fox News?
Wow, I just watched a piece on "Christ on Campus" on WSET Channel 13 News out of Roanoke/Lynchburg (yes, THAT Lynchburg, home of Liberty University and Jerry Falwell). It seemed clear to me that the Channel 13 News "reporter" who came to campus had an agenda before he stepped foot onto Radford University. (For more about this so-called "controversy," see the posts below.)
First, some background. The reporter called the creator of "Christ on Campus," Christian Keesee, to set up an interview and then asked Christian for names and numbers of those who opposed the toon. Christian gave him the info for the people who had loudly opposed him and his toon. Do you think the reporter asked Christian for names and numbers for those who supported the toon? Nope. The reporter talked to Whim Executive Director Andrew Lent. Did he use any information gleaned from that interview in the story? Nope. On the Whim message boards, are there many more people who post supporting Whim and "Christ on Campus" than those who oppose? Yep. In the facebook group that was started to oppose "Christ on Campus" how many students have joined out of more than 9,000 students enrolled at RU? Last I checked the number was around 40 - 45.
Bottom line, "Christ on Campus" has NOT been a campus-wide controversy, and WSET's portrayal of the story was incredibly one-sided. A true hack job. WSET, like most broadcast news, is a disgrace. Like Fox News, they decide what they want the story to be and then make the story fit their mold.
The Roanoke Times, on the other hand, had a much more balanced follow-up story in this morning's paper. Too bad the reporter from WSET and his bosses didn't read The Roanoke Times article to get an idea of the real story. And for that matter, RU's student newspaper, The Tartan, had a better story than WSET.
Not that I will probably watch Channel 13 News again, but if I do, I will wonder if the story they present is true or just the spin created by some ethically challenged reporter.
First, some background. The reporter called the creator of "Christ on Campus," Christian Keesee, to set up an interview and then asked Christian for names and numbers of those who opposed the toon. Christian gave him the info for the people who had loudly opposed him and his toon. Do you think the reporter asked Christian for names and numbers for those who supported the toon? Nope. The reporter talked to Whim Executive Director Andrew Lent. Did he use any information gleaned from that interview in the story? Nope. On the Whim message boards, are there many more people who post supporting Whim and "Christ on Campus" than those who oppose? Yep. In the facebook group that was started to oppose "Christ on Campus" how many students have joined out of more than 9,000 students enrolled at RU? Last I checked the number was around 40 - 45.
Bottom line, "Christ on Campus" has NOT been a campus-wide controversy, and WSET's portrayal of the story was incredibly one-sided. A true hack job. WSET, like most broadcast news, is a disgrace. Like Fox News, they decide what they want the story to be and then make the story fit their mold.
The Roanoke Times, on the other hand, had a much more balanced follow-up story in this morning's paper. Too bad the reporter from WSET and his bosses didn't read The Roanoke Times article to get an idea of the real story. And for that matter, RU's student newspaper, The Tartan, had a better story than WSET.
Not that I will probably watch Channel 13 News again, but if I do, I will wonder if the story they present is true or just the spin created by some ethically challenged reporter.
posted by Tim W. Jackson | 7:10 PM
2 Comments:
I'm so proud of you for posting more entries on your blog. I've been keeping up with the hoopla on your campus. Makes for some interesting reading....
Heck, even I will admit that the WSET13 coverage of the controversy seemed to be strongly slanted towards the side of those opposed to the series. And this is coming from one of the most vocal opponents of the series.
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