Volume 9, Number 1

WHOSE ETHICS? WHOSE RELIGION? A STUDY OF THE SECULAR WORLD OF TELEVISION NEWS

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE ETHICAL AND moral values of Canadians are deteriorating. In fact, an Angus Reid poll conducted in 1994 found that almost 75 percent of Canadians believed this to be the case. This is a disturbing statistic. History has proven time and time again that the decline of a nation is preceded by moral decay. And regardless of whether or not Canadians are actually less ethical, the fact that three-quarters of the population believe we are less ethical has an undermining and destabilizing effect on the social fabric.

Periodically, issues involving ethical or moral decisions crop up in the national television newscasts. When the media report an ethical issue, they invariably turn to an expert source for assessments, opinions, and commentaries. This raises the question- who are the moral and ethical "experts" and advisors in Canada?

Traditionally, society has turned to judges, doctors, religious leaders, and other prominent members of the community for ethical guidance. This is not the case on television news. A study conducted by the National Media Archive found that doctors and academics are the only traditional leaders asked their opinions of ethical and moral issues. Religious leaders were not consulted on any moral issue on either CBC or CTV throughout the one and a half years of the study.

Although organized religion has less prominence than in years past, approximately one-third of Canadians attend a church, synagogue, or other place of worship on a weekly basis. ["Religious Service Attendance Slips to 31%," The Gallup Poll, April 6, 1995.] These views were not represented when ethical issues were debated on TV news.

As shown in Figure A, the professional ethicist is the source of choice on both networks. Twenty-eight percent of CBC and 33 percent of CTV commentary on ethical issues originated with a professional ethicist. For example, Dr. Margaret Sommerville, Director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law, was a frequent source of opinion on ethical issues on both the national networks.

Click here to view Figure A: Sources for Stories on Ethics January 1, 1994 to August 2, 1995

Other academics constituted 17 percent of CBC and 13 percent of CTV source statements. Medical doctors accounted for 12 percent of CBC and 21 percent of CTV statements. Interestingly, CTV also asked the public for its opinion. Twenty percent of CTV commentary on ethical issues came from the Canadian public. CBC, on the other hand, sought no commentary from the public.

Mercy killing given in-depth coverage by CBC

On November 16, 1994, Robert Latimer was convicted of murdering his daughter and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for ten years. The trial focused the public's attention on the issue of mercy killing. Mr. Latimer's daughter had a severe form of cerebral palsy. Mr. Latimer said that he had killed his daughter in order to end her suffering.

. . . the professional ethicist is the source of choice on both networks. Twenty-eight percent of CBC and 33 percent of CTV commentary on ethical issues originated with a professional ethicist.

The issue of mercy killing, including all coverage of the Latimer trial, comprised 18 percent of CBC and 8 percent of CTV total attention to issues of moral and ethical concern (see figure B). On November 17, 1994, CBC's Pamela Wallin discussed the implications of the Latimer case with Ethicist Margaret Sommerville, Law Professor Jack London and NDP MP Svend Robinson. Notably absent in this discussion was a religious leader.

Click here to view Figure B: Television Attention to Ethical Issues

Medical ethics given prominent coverage on CBC and CTV

Issues involving medical ethics, in particular reproductive technologies, comprised 24 percent of CBC and 21 percent of CTV coverage on ethical concerns. For example, on January 2, 1994, CTV's Peter Murphy introduced a science report with the statement: "The controversy over motherhood and medical ethics heated up in Britain today. First, there was the 59-year-old woman who gave birth to test tube twins. Then the announcement of a black woman implanted with a white woman's egg. Now it's a plan to create babies with eggs from aborted foetuses. Although it's only been tried on mice, it could be adapted for human use within three years if the British Medical Association approves."

Although such issues pose valid ethical concerns, many of the reports focused on bizarre and extraordinary cases. This raises the question of whether television news is truly interested in understanding and reconciling matters pertaining to medical ethics, or if television simply uses these stories in order to shock and titillate their audiences.

Political ethics or lack thereof takes top spot on CBC and CTV

Almost one-quarter of CBC and nearly one-half of CTV attention to ethics focused on politics. Through-

When Catherine Ford was asked what she thought of the ethics code, she responded: "Well, once I stop laughing I'll think about it."

out the 1993 federal election the Liberal party had promised to "clean up government." On June 16, 1994 the government introduced legislation requiring lobbyists to specify the bill or contract that they attempted to influence. The government also appointed an ethics councillor-Howard Wilson.

Four months later, Heritage Minister Michel Dupuy had to answer to conflict of interest charges when it was discovered that he had written letters to the C.R.T.C. on behalf of a radio station in Montreal. A number of other lesser scandals throughout the federal and provincial governments comprised the majority of the political ethics coverage.

Apart from scandals and the Liberal attempt to clean up government, the only other stories concerning political ethics focused on the Reform Party and its introduction of a code of ethics for its MPs which provided guidelines for private and public life. On the March 20, 1994 "Sunday Report," CBC's Wendy Mesley chaired a panel to discuss the issue. The panel consisted entirely of media personalities: Catherine Ford, Associate Editor of The Globe and Mail, Anthony Wilson-Smith, Ottawa Bureau Chief of Maclean's magazine and Political Commentator Rex Murphy.

When Catherine Ford was asked what she thought of the ethics code, she responded: "Well, once I stop laughing I'll think about it." She then went on to discuss the disenchantment the public has with politicians as the impetus for the Reform Party's decision to include private life in its code of ethics.

Unabomber and Bernardo trials examined with regards to media ethics

Both networks covered the Bernardo trial and the Unabomber campaign, but only CBC examined the role of the media in these issues. How much is too much when the media is covering a gruesome sex slaying? And how should the media deal with the demands of terrorists? Five percent of CBC's attention to ethical issues explored these questions.

On CBC's August 2, 1995 "Prime Time Magazine" Bill Cameron asked Everett Dennis, Executive Director of the Freedom Forum Media Study Center and William Thorsell, Editor of The Globe and Mail, whether "even if printing the Unabomber's message did save some lives, would that justify it? Or should the people who run newspapers and television networks refuse to be manipulated by terrorists anytime on principle?"

Both men took the latter point of view. Everett Dennis said: "I think for the New York Times and the Washington Post to do this [print a portion of the Unabomber's manifesto] was a colossal mistake. I think it's a message to terrorists the world over and I think it's a disappointing day for the rest of the press."

William Thorsell added: "The one thing I couldn't understand today was the statement by the New York Times that they still faced the very difficult decision as to whether to run the whole transcript. To me that's not a difficult decision. You don't run the whole transcript because the only reason to do it would be to respond to the threat."

On September 19, 1995, the Washington Post did publish the Unabomber's 35,000 word manifesto. However, at the time of publication there was very little debate about the decision to publish. Both networks reported the story, but rather than focusing on the possible implications of the publication they examined the history of the Unabomber's terror campaign and the reasons for the FBI recommendation to capitulate to the terrorist's demands. The earlier sentiments of Thorsell and Dennis were repeated by Professor Wendall Cochran on CBC and Jane Kirtley of the Committee For Freedom of the Press on CTV, but in a diluted form.

CTV examines the morals of average Canadians

Interestingly, the CTV network dedicated over 20 percent of its coverage to stories that discussed basic moral dilemmas. On November 30, 1994, CTV reported that Angus Reid had conducted a poll, commissioned by CTV, to find out about the ethical values of Canadians. Would Canadians lie to a customs officer, or would they keep extra change at a supermarket?

CTV followed up on the poll by conducting an experiment in which $5.00 extra change was given to 200 random shoppers. According to the poll, one-third of the customers would keep the extra money. In reality, two-thirds kept the money. CTV then turned to a unnamed but "highly respected" ethicist to explain the results. His response: "Frankly, I'm sad about it. I'm kind of discouraged by the results that you're getting here." Even the professional ethicist was unable to predict the ethical values and behaviour of Canadians.

Methodology

Results are based on 41 CBC "Prime Time News," 4 "Sunday Report" and 2 "Venture" as well as 24 CTV "News" stories from January 1, 1994 to August 2, 1995.

All stories appearing during that time were coded, representing a total population rather than a random sample of stories.

Further information on coding procedures may be obtained by contacting the National Media Archive.

Religious Character of Canada Not Represented in TV Reports

THE 1991 CANADIAN CENSUS CONTAINS information that some people may find surprising. Nine out of every 10 Canadians associate themselves with a religious organization, and 8 in 10 Canadians consider themselves to be Christians. According to the census, there are over 12 million Roman Catholics and almost 10 million Protestants. Only 3.3 million Canadians consider themselves to be non-religious.

Considering the widespread patronage of religion in Canada, one would expect to find stories on the nightly TV newscasts documenting religious holidays, events, and personalities. The National Media Archive examined one year of CBC and CTV attention to religion (January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1994) and found that the coverage did not reflect the fact that over 22 million Canadians declare themselves to be Christians.

Thirty-five percent of CBC and 52 percent of CTV total attention to religious organizations focused on Christian groups. The remaining 65 percent of CBC and 48 percent of CTV reported on issues associated with Sikhs, Muslims, and para-religious organizations such as the pagan Wiccans.

For example, when it was reported on the CBC's January 14, 1994 "Prime Time News" that NDP nominee Sam Wagar was a witch, reporter Anna Soraldi framed the event as an issue of freedom of religion versus public outrage. She stated: "Wagar is a member of the Wiccan church, an internationally-recognized pagan religion which celebrated nature and the changing seasons. He claims his church is simply misunderstood and that his religious beliefs shouldn't matter."

Catholicism receives one-third of CTV attention to religious organizations

On CTV, Roman Catholics received the greatest amount of attention of all the various religions practised in Canada. Thirty-two percent of CTV's total attention to religious organizations followed the trips, pronouncements, and prayers given by Pope John Paul. In contrast, only 17 percent of CBC attention to religion focused on the Roman Catholic church (see figure C).

Click here to view Figure C: TV Attention to Roman Catholics Compared to Canadian Membership

One-fifth of coverage dedicated to protestants on CBC and CTV

The various Protestant denominations in Canada constitute 36.2 percent of the population but accounted for only 18.3 percent of CBC and 20 percent of CTV total attention to religious organizations, as figure D shows.

Click here to view Figure D: TV Attention to Protestants Compared to Canadian Membership

However, while the major events concerning the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches were reported on both CBC and CTV, the reports were usually limited to short anchor clips. For example, when the Anglican church ordained Canada's first female bishop, CBC's total attention to the event constituted 61 words; on CTV 79 words were devoted to the ordination.

In contrast to the very brief reports which characterized the majority of CBC and CTV attention to Christian organizations, CBC aired an extensive documentary on November 7, 1994, that recounted the story of the Mount Cashel Orphanage and the brothers and priests convicted of sexual and physical abuse. Although there were in total 17 reports on the Catholic church throughout the one year of the study, this documentary accounted for 58 percent of total attention to the Roman Catholic church on CBC.

Para-religious organizations deemed newsworthy on both CBC and CTV

In Canada, 28,155 people identified themselves with para-religious groups in 1991. This included 10,840 Native Indians or Inuit, 5,530 pagans and 3,085 other para-religious groups which include cults, such as the Order of the Solar Temple. People belonging to para-religious groups account for less than 1 percent of Canada's population.

However, attention to such groups received 11 percent of CBC and 17 percent of CTV total coverage of religion (see figure E). Both networks closely followed the story of Sam Wagar, the NDP nominee who had his nomination rescinded after the NDP discovered that he was a witch. Both networks also provided extensive reports documenting the activities of the Order of the Solar Temple. [On both CBC and CTV there were many stories that recounted the murder-suicide, but for the purposes of this study, only stories that provided a profile of the organization were included.]

Click here to view Figure E: TV Attention to Para-Religious Groups Compared to Canadian Membership

For example, CTV's Alan Fryer stated on his November 18, 1994 report: "Police released this picture found at one of the cult's Quebec headquarters. The haunting pictures taken six years ago show a new member being initiated into the Order of the Solar Temple. Police blotted out the faces because many of the people in the video left a long time ago and are still living in Quebec. The one face that is shown is that of Luc Jouret, one of the cult's main leaders. But the most twisted mind, say police, belongs to the cult's mastermind, 70 year-old Joseph Di Mambro. It was he who planned the murder-suicide here and in Switzerland. Death by fire, he believed, would transport cult members to another life on a distant planet."

Sikhs, turbans, and the legion generate vast coverage

The issue most consistently reported by the national television networks was whether or not Sikhs should be allowed to wear turbans inside Royal Canadian Legions. The battle between the Sikhs and the Legions accounted for one-third of CBC and one-quarter of CTV attention to religion (see figure F).

Click here to view Figure F: TV Attention to Sikhs Compared to Compared to Canadian Membership

On January 26, 1994, the CBC dedicated an entire "Prime Time Magazine" to discussing this issue. It was an ideal story for television-a simple yet emotional conflict. The introductory clip to the program first showed a man saying: "They came here to be Canadian. Live as Canadians." The next man, a Sikh, said: "Respect me, means my turban."

CBC looks behind the Muslim veil

The final religion to receive extensive coverage on a national TV network was Islam. Twenty percent of CBC's attention to religion focused on Muslims. Most of the coverage centred on the wearing of the muslim veil, the hijab, and was sparked by an incident in September, 1994, when a muslim girl was sent home from her school for wearing the hijab. CBC reported the incident; CTV did not.

Click here to view Figure G: TV Attention to Muslims Compared to Canadian Membership

In order to address the issue in greater depth, CBC produced a documentary about the hijab and profiled a number of women who were deliberating whether or not they wanted to wear one. The program also discussed the issue in an international context, reporting that the hijab had been banned in France.

Similar to the controversy surrounding the wearing of Sikh turbans, public reaction was divided and vocal. CBC aired some of the reactions on December 29, 1994.

Michael Fahlam of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan commented: "In Canada people should have the right to wear the hijab if they so choose. This also means that those who do not want to wear the hijab should not be forced to. Freedom of religion seems to be an increasingly rare notion."

In direct contrast, Maryette Thielem of Milk River, Alberta said: "These woman cannot be both Canadian, Muslim, and Islam or whatever. If they want to wear their scarf, fine, but them let them follow all the other rules of their religion, no driving, cover up everything else. And then if they're picked up for a crime, let the same punishment prevail in Canada as it would in those countries."

Methodology

Results are based on 34 CBC "Prime Time News," 8 "Saturday Report," and 10 "Sunday Report" as well as 43 CTV "News" stories from January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1994.

All stories appearing during that time were coded, representing a total population rather than a random sample of stories.

For further information on coding procedures, contact the National Media Archive.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.