In Brief… World News Review
Contributors: Cecil Maranville and Fred Nance
Study Shows TV Programming Ridicules Religion
A group called the Parents Television Council (PTC) recently published the results of an extensive study of how the seven commercial broadcast networks treat religion.
Their group analyzed 2,385 hours of primetime entertainment programming on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Pax, UPN and WB. They found 2,344 references to religion. In stark contrast to the positive attitude toward religion in the United States, the writers of television programming depicted religion in an overwhelmingly negative manner.
The references include all depictions of faith, such as the clergy, a particular church and its doctrines or the faith of an individual. NBC was the worst offender, with 9.95 negative references to every positive one. By contrast, Pax did not have a single negative portrayal.
Fox was second to NBC, with 2.4 negative depictions for every positive one. WB tied with ABC at 1.2 negative vs. one positive. UPN had one negative for every 1.1 positive. CBS had two positive depictions for every negative one.
The later the hour of television programming, the more often negative depictions of religion occurred. During the 7 p.m. viewing block, religious content was presented in a negative manner nearly 17 percent of the time. In the next hour, approximately 21 percent of the references were negative. In the 9 p.m. hour, the rate was 27.5 percent negative. And, in the 10 p.m. block, 28.2 percent of the references to religion were negative.
What is the PTC? Here is how they describe themselves on their Web site: "The Parents Television Council was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. Our national grassroots organization has nearly one million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children... Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families."
They regularly post a rating for the best and worst in TV programming. You can find the PTC at www.parentstv.org/.
Upstaged in Own Backyard
The United States is still the principal investor and primary trading partner of Latin America's vast markets. However, the region is eager to negotiate even stronger ties with the United States, especially being brought into the NAFTA market as free trade zones. But that's not happening quickly enough for them. And there is a growing Chinese presence in the area that could be called the U.S. backyard.
U.S. President George W. Bush recently spent four days visiting Chile and Colombia. He was greeted by protests and controversy. But it wasn't his visit that grabbed the attention of Latin American newspapers, because his visit was upstaged by the president of China.
"While Bush is expected to call for greater Latin American cooperation in the war on terrorism, Hu (the Chinese president) is doing what U.S. presidents used to do—raising the region's hope with massive trade and investment promises" (Miami Herald, Nov. 18, 2004).
The Chinese have promised up to $100 billion in investments in the region and are flexing their economic muscle for all to see. "South American officials seemed mesmerized by China's meteoric rise to a world economic power that is promising massive investments in Latin America" (Miami Herald, Nov. 21, 2004).
Historically the United States has often been preoccupied in preserving its interests in Latin America. The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have changed the focus of what the United States intends to do.
The scheduled 2005 beginning of the 34-country Free Trade Area of the Americas that has been talked about for at least a decade has fizzled away. This was once seen as a bright star on the economic horizon for the United States. It was to be an expansion of the 1994 NAFTA deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Instead of the United States showing the vital leadership needed to promote the hemisphere-wide trade agreement, indifference is being detected by South American leaders.
"The United States, preoccupied with the worsening situation in Iraq, seems to have attached little importance to China's rising profile in the region. If anything, increased trade between Latin America and China has been welcomed as a means to reduce pressure on the United States to underwrite economic reforms, with geopolitical considerations pushed to the background" (New York Times, Nov. 20, 2004).
In today's fast-paced world, economic pacts and trade are seen as a means for poor nations to lift their countries out of misery. China is seen as a rising star and a welcome partner. The U.S. market, however, remains the prize. "When Latin American companies or corporations seek some form of foreign finance, they [still] go to New York or lesser financial centres in the US" (Simon Woodward, "US Dollar Decline: Who Suffers?", PriceWaterhouseCoopers, www.pwcglobal.com). WNP
[ Return to Table of Contents ] [ View next article ]