Two reports about the opening highlighted the need for such a program and prompt thoughts about the state of journalism in the Catholic Church today. The Japan Times, an English-language daily that generally follows internationally recognized professional standards, carried a long article about Waseda’s plans and included the voices of journalists who are not connected with the program. The article presented various reasons why a professional journalism school is needed in Japan. One of the major problems with the media in Japan is a tendency to defer to political and business leaders, making newspapers and other media little more than mouthpieces for vested interests and the powerful.
Kyodo, the Japanese news agency, also reported the plan, in an article about one-quarter the length of the Times report. The article only quoted the director of the new program and did not touch upon the problems that Times interviewees mentioned. In other words, the report was an example of the sort of journalism the new school is meant to counter.
MOUTHPIECES FOR AUTHORITIES
Some news sources such as the independent UCA News and Catholic News Service (owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops but operating with editorial independence) hold to professional standards of timeliness, attribution, accuracy, balance and verification. There are also news “retailers” (newspapers, blogs, etc.) that hold themselves to the same standards. However, there has been a proliferation of Catholic “news sources” that do not follow those examples. Bias, distortion, refusal to cover the “bad news,” lack of balance, deference to officials and failure to verify are common.
Catholic media outlets with editorial freedom to accurately present the face of the Church to its audience rather than being mouthpieces for “Church authorities” − Religious superiors, pastors, bishops, curial officials and popes − are few. One diocesan newspaper I saw had 11 pictures of the bishop on its first nine pages. It was clearly not a paper that intended to present the life of the Church in all its variety. The chief news that Catholic media must convey is the life of the men and women who are the main body of the Church, the laity. Their story is the story of the Church in the world today which is too seldom the focus of Church journalism.
Archbishop John Foley (a Columbia J-school graduate, as myself) was recently moved from being head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications to a new job, Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Though the new position comes with the cardinal’s red hat that he did not receive before, it is hard not to see this as a demotion and, therefore, a repudiation of the journalistic standards he advocated for the Church during his 23 years in office.
THE LACK OF A FULL PICTURE
Why does it matter if the Church does not have a media voice like that which should prevail in the secular world? One reason is that if the Church is incapable or unwilling to report on its life and activities with transparency, others will step in. However, leaving honest reporting of the Church to outside media leaves us open to misunderstanding and even sensationalism. It is hard to refute charges of “cover-up” when, in fact, Catholic journalism either consciously or inadvertently fails to present a full picture of the Church, “warts and all.”
We need a trustworthy professional Catholic journalism in order to present the true face of the Church to the world and each other. Being trustworthy means having a commitment to the truth rather than to looking good. If Church media are seen as public relations rather than journalism, others will not believe us when we actually have good news − as well as the Good News − to convey nor will they look to us for information and insight.
Perhaps the Church needs one of the pontifical universities in Rome to announce that it is introducing a graduate school of journalism just like Waseda’s, and for the same reasons.
*Maryknoll Father William Grimm is editor-in-chief of Katorikku Shimbun, Japan’s Catholic weekly.
