ABSTRACT
In Chapter 14, Ruth Scott draws on her personal experience of peace-building work in Northern Ireland to discuss the concept of balance in reporting religion. In situations of violent conflict, balanced and nuanced reporting is crucial. Twenty-four-hour news cycles and the pressure to produce a ‘story’ mean that media reporting on religion often lacks balance, and there is little appreciation of the diversity and complexity of different religious viewpoints: ‘We cannot speak of the Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Atheist position’, Scott writes, ‘but only a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Atheist position.’ Yet, as well as calling for greater balance and nuance in reporting religion, Scott’s experience in broadcasting and peace-building also leads her to question the notion of ‘balance’ itself. What constitutes a balanced picture?
Addressing the coverage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for example, Scott points out that Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s encouragement to forgive was not universally welcomed: ‘For some the idea of forgiveness was an anathema; a religious imposition’. Why, she asks, did the dissenting voices receive such little coverage? ‘Did journalists feel that the extraordinary changes in South Africa, the ending of apartheid, and the creativity of the TRC had such a profoundly positive effect in the world that certain dissenting voices should not be heard?’ Ultimately Scott’s argument is that finding the ‘right balance’ may, after all, be impossible. Better then, would be to require an acknowledgement that reporting is always from a perspective: ‘everyone stands in a particular place’.
