4. Media as Social institution
Media play different roles – such as teacher,
priest, parents – reflect, reinforce, mediate,
promote, impose, spin – values, ideologies
worldviews and attitudes… Gregor Goethals
Media – a centre for power, profit-making,
influence, information, entertainment,
socialization, globalization …
Media as part of social structure –
interdependent and interactive with the
political process at local, national and global
level
5. Mass Media influence
1. Language- Oral and written language to Audio-
visual language to Convergent language
2. Culture of communication – listening to seeing
to converging feeling
3. Technology – interaction and fast and user
based
4. Faith praxis – symbols, signs and new cults
5. Values – perceptions and attitude and
worldview
6. Contemporary Trends
Globalization as reality
Post Modernity
Fragmentation
Reality of the churches
Fundamentalism and New cults
Natural disasters
Justified conflicts
7. Creating mass Ignorance
Business enlargement
Political manipulation of vested groups
Media Industries Practice
Part of our entertainment
Part of our Religious enthusiasm
Part of social convention and connotation
Cultural practices
Language and communication systems
12. • Use of the Mass Media for Christian Mission
• Missionary attitude towards the Mass Media
• People’s Use of Mass media and their search for
meanings of Religion and of life – Search for God
• Cultural texts use or widening Mission in different ways –
Mass media’s influence on mission –public counseling
• Christian Mission and Advocacy and ethical issues in the
media – question of representation of the other
• Technology’s culture and mission new hermeneutical
space – Interactivity, User-based…
• Mission for Social change – public Sphere revisited –
Development Communication – Democratic,
participatory
• Mission for Liberation – Educating towards a Creative
and Critical use of the Mass Media through Media
Literacy.
13. Mass Media and Mission
Mass Mediated Christianity
People’s use of Mass Media and search for
meanings
Media Advocacy and Literacy as Liberative
Mission
Democratization of Media, Social Change
and mission
Globalization, Value of life and Alternative
Culture
Inter-cultural Media, Representations and
Mission
Ethical Concerns as Mission
Visual Hermeneutics and mission –
Interpreting Signs of Times
14. Mass Media and Mission
approaches (Paul Soukup)
Linguistic approaches
Cultural approaches
Aesthetic approaches
Dialogic approaches
Theological approaches
Imaginative approaches
Ecological approaches
Critical approaches
Technological approaches
15. Mass Media and Approaches to
Mission
Creating a participatory and dialogical
public sphere (Habermas) in and through
the Alternative media
Recognizing diverse audiences, contexts
and different languages– (city mission,
Industrial mission, global mission…Visual
and Virtual Hermeneutics) – (McLuhan)
Engaging creatively and critically in the
audiences’ search for meanings - Gramsci
16. Mission
Creative
Tension
Church with
others missio Dei
Mediating
Salvation
Quest for
Justice
Evangelism
Liberation
Common
Witness
Ministry by
(Whole) People
of God
Witness to
people of
Other Living
Faiths
Action in
Hope
Theology
David Bosch’s Transforming Mission
Additions by Norman E Thomas to
Bosch – Contextualization, and
Inculturation in Classic Texts
17. Holistic Mission
Plurality of Mission
Prophetic Liberative
Nourishes
Culture
Building
Communities
Proclamation
Development-
oriented
Participatory
Dialogic
and
interactive
Developed from WCC’s Statements 1980 -2005
You are the light of
the world Unity
23. Media, Myth and Ignorance
Huntington’s thesis on Clash of Civilization
Edward Said’s Clash of Ignorance
Ignorance does not refer to ‘not-knowing the other’ rather
means to ‘knowing more or only the negative side of the
other’. It is often articulated by the vested groups and so
can be identified as ‘articulated ignorance’ of the other.
24. Muslim
Refugees
Dead bodies from
the train
Bogie on fire
Post Godhra
hatredness
hum paanch,
hamaare pachhis
(we are five and
we will be twenty
five).
Flash and Clash
26. India Today
No of articles
Islam.Vs
Hinduism
Terrorism(Islam)
Vs Nationalism
Iconic clashes –
Picts-Colours
(green.vssaffron)
1981 3 7 00
1992 14 21 08
2002 56 73 17
Frontline
No of
articles
Islam Vs
Hinduism
Terrorism
(Islamic)
Vs
Nationalism
Iconic
Clashes
Pictures
1995 12 8 3
2002 71 79 17
27. Examples of Myths of Fundamentalism
Religious activities are often reported when they have
negative or unexpected characteristics
The news media popularises the fundamentalist aspect of
every religion.
Media have a Dualistic representation – Majority vs Minority
The media often tend to show their national identity
They fear of being blamed for siding with the outside
terrorists
This is what people like to read or view or see in our media
28. Media and Mythical statements
• ‘Christianity is a slow poison which is the
cause of peace and family felling among
the tribals. Christian missionaries have
made use of Government resources for
the purposes of conversions’. – Sandesh
Newspaper
• missionaries do forceful conversion in
Gujarat -Gujarat Samachar (a daily
newspaper), Nav Gujarat (a daily),
31. Dialogue about Media-
Alternative Communication
A Culture of Dialogue
A culture of Reconciliation,
A Culture of Coexistence
with Justice and Peace
32. Grassroots Dialogue
Establishes Direct Contact and
Communication
Removes Ignorance and establishes
relationship
From myths of ignorance and clashes
to a culture of dialogue and a life
together
33. Establishes Direct Contact and
Communication
Removes Ignorance and establishes
relationship
From myths of ignorance and
clashes to a culture of dialogue and
a life together
Grassroots Dialogue
Praxis – a. Organized NIFCON first consultation on
grassroots dialogue
b. Provided Training for EMS and WARC at Stuttgart on
Internet Mission and Ecumenism
c. Trained Archbishops and Cardinals on media, mission and
dialogue at Bali, Indonesia
d. Conducted practical mission training for Methodist Bishops
in India, Press clubs and Govt officials on Mission,
Development and Media
34. Integrated Approach for inter-
religious Dialogue
Modern Means of Communication
Dialogue at grassroots
Dialogue among Intellectuals
Dialogue among Religious
leaders
Opinion leaders
Interpersonal
Communication
Group Communication
Community
Communication
Inter-religious
communication,
action, experience
and discussion
Initiatives at
seminaries,
churches and
institutions
Fear, suspicion
and so on
35. Mission in Action
Removing
Ignorance as
mission
No access to Mass Media and No access to Churches’
Media and so an attempt for an alternative media?
From being a
Communicator
Communi-actor
From Spectator
Spect-actor
From Character
to Care-actor
From encoder to
decoder
36. KARMA MARGA – Path of action
ANNAPRASADHA
JNANA MARGA – The Path
of Intellectual discussion
BHAKTI MARGA – the Path of
Spiritual experience JEEVA MARGA – The path of Life -
together
Inter-religious
Unity not
Uniformity
37. Dialogue with the media Personal
N Pani of Times of India talking
to media and scholars
Asghar Ali
Engineer talking
to Journalists
Dialogue among journalists
and religious scholars
Dialogue in India
Bangladesh
Training
To the
streets
Dialogue in Nepal
38. Dialogue through the media
Rev Solomon Raj’s Art
Jyothi Sahi’s art
Church build like
a Mosque and
Temple in
Dornakal
Dialogue in Nepal
39. Alternative
media
characteristics
Dialogic, democratic,
communitarian, local,
participation
Voice of
voiceless,
minorities
and others
Cheap, easy
access, non-
profit, simple,
non-
professional
Towards
Social
change,
human
dignity
and
development
Intercultural in nature,
culturally rooted, folk
culture, updated
interactive technology
Alternative
perspectives and
practices
Space for
disabled,
HIV/AIDs
infected,
refugees,
Eunuchs, and
less privileged
people
Promote a
culture of
peace and
harmony
40. Examples of Alternative Methods of
communication
Street Theatre and
Puppets for
HIV/AIDs Awareness
God-talk
includes
AIDs-talk?
41. Programs in Nepal, Bangladesh,
Indoensia and in India –IR
Communicating Networks between
NGOs and Different Religions
Building
Communities
through the
Net
