This document provides a summary of a media critique presentation discussing various topics related to media and communication. It discusses how media constructs reality, has ideological messages and social/political implications. It examines concepts like embedded reporting during wars and how media can manipulate the truth. It also analyzes how media portrays religious groups, particularly how it tends to popularize fundamentalist aspects and present a dualistic representation of majority vs minority groups. The document advocates for alternative media and grassroots dialogue as a way to challenge myths spread by mass media and promote interreligious understanding.

1. Media Critique
Presented by Rev Dr Joshva Raja
Department of Communication,
United Theological College,
Bangalore – 46 and Mr Max Martin,
Freelance Reporter,

2. Communication and Media systems
• We communicate to other beings and other
beings communicate with us through various
forms, means and types.
• Intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, mass, extra-
personal, folk, community communication
• Newspapers, Radio, Television, books, journals,
pamphlets, writings, computers, video, audio
cassettes, drums and so on.
• Seeing, tasting, listening, feeling, smelling and
so on are acts of receiving and communicating.

3. Communication and Media
 Medium shapes the message…, Media are the
extensions of human being – Marshall McLuhan
 Television has replaced the role of teachers,
parents and priests in promoting values and
socializing the children – Gregor Goethals
 Communication is different from media; all that
advanced technology of communication do not
necessarily enhance communication between
human beings

4. Critique of the Media
 Media Construct Reality for us
 Media have certain ideological and value
messages
 Media have social and political implications
 Form and content are closely related in
the media
 Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

5. Mass
Media
Market Pressure/Profit
motive/increasing space
Negative
/Stereotype
reporting as
Practice
Popularizing
strange things -
fundamentalism
Constructing
Realities:
Turning reality
into a myth…
Media refers to TV/Radio/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet…
Information
Communication
Entertainment
Rich, powerful,
professionals
get more space

6. Embedded
Reporting:
The War Against Truth
Asathoma Sat Gamaya

8. ‘embedded reporters’ are those who
were on the ground in Iraq, moving
with the coalition forces seeing and
reporting the
fighting at first hand. They ate and slept
alongside soldiers and brought live
reports of firelights and artillery
onslaughts into our living rooms - BBC.
EMBEDDED MEDIA OPERATE AS PART OF THEIR ASSIGNED
UNIT. AN ESCORT MAY BE ASSIGNED AT THE DISCRETION
OF THE UNIT COMMANDER. THE ABSENCE OF A PA
ESCORT IS NOT A REASON TO PRECLUDE MEDIA ACCESS
TO OPERATIONS – Pentagon Document.

9. 800
journalists
from selected
Western
media
agencies
With GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS

10. Need for
Embedded
Reporting
 Experience from Previous wars
-Victoria Torie Clarke
 Discrediting and demoralizing Saddam
Hussein’s forces
 Journalists’ protection
 No Censorship claims

11. Manipulating
the Truth
Misrepresentat
ion of the
‘Other’
Irresponsible
Freedom of
Expression
Issues in Embedded Reporting

12. From Truth to Untruth
• Truth should correspond to some
external set of facts or
observations…Truth has become
increasingly tied to that which is written
down, to that which can be empirically
verified, to that which can be perceived
by the human senses, and to that which
does not vary among people or among
cultures
Trust is the foundation of the BBC. We are independent,
impartial and honest. Audiences are at the heart of everything
we do. We respect each other and celebrate our diversity so
that everyone can give their best

13. Telling lies within a timeframe
when you need such a lie to
win the war… and then
apologize
►BBC Director of News Richard Sambrook
has admitted it is proving difficult for
correspondence in Iraq to distinguish the
truth from false reports, after a series of
media claims about the progress of
coalition forces tuned out to be premature.
CNN former Correspondent Bernard Shaw –I think journalists who
agree to go with combat units effectively become hostages of the
military, which can control the movements of the journalists and,
more importantly control their ability when they file the stories.

14. On March 22 the NBC reporter Kerry
Sanders stated that the Iraqi soldiers
were fleeing Basra. Later we learnt that
Basra was hardly under coalition
control.

15. Greg Mitchall[1], the editor of Editor and
Publisher magazine which covers the
newspaper industry, on March 27
identified 15 different stories in which the
media got it wrong or misreported a silver
of fact into a major event. Saddam might
have been killed (March 20); even if he
wasn’t killed, Iraqi command and control
was no doubt decapitated (March 22);
Umm Qasr has been taken (March 22-
24); most Iraqi soldiers will not fight for
Saddam and instead are surrendering in

16. •
One Man/woman’s entertainment becomes the
other man’s/woman’s suffering.
WE Versus THEM

17. •
“Embedding is a way
to kill the press with
kindness” says NYU
media studies
professor Mark Crispin
Miller, “ You absorb
reporters into the
advancing military
unit, and they are
psychologically
inclined to see
themselves as part of
the military operation.
They even dress like
soldiers”
[Alternet.Org].

18. Before the war, John R MacArthur
expressed doubts about the effectiveness
of embedded reporters to Editor. “The
Pentagon is expecting a kind of Panama-
Style war, over in three days. No body has
time to see or ask any questions. I think if
embedded reporters see anything
important or bloody, the Pentagon will
interfere. Same result, different tactic: the
truth gets distorted” says MacArthur.

19. Twelve journalist have died in the conflict so far.
“As we all feared, this conflict has become the
worst ever for our profession. Each and every day
journalists and media professionals are being
killed and injured at an alarming rate” said the
Chris Cramer, the president of CNN international
Networks. BBC war correspondent Martin Bell
warned saying, “I think it’s very worrying that
independent witnessing of war is becoming
increasingly dangerous and this may be the end
of it. I have a feeling that independent journalists
have become a target because the management
of the information war has become a higher
priority than ever”.

20. Patriotism
Business concerns
To be the first in reporting
Being identified with terrorism

21. Army Pfc.
Jessica
Lynch,
rescued
early
Wednesday
from an Iraqi
hospital
where she
was being
held prisoner
Impossible to make judgments
from seeing, hearing and reading
– credibility is questioned which
could affect the business of the
media industry

22. Myths and Media
-Created
-Constructed
-reiterated

23. Media
Market Pressure/Profit
motive/increasing space
Negative
/Stereotype
reporting as
Practice
Popularizing
strange things -
fundamentalism
Constructing
Realities:
Turning reality
into a myth…
Media refers to TV/Radio/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet…
Information
Communication
Entertainment

24. Mediated Myths of
Fundamentalism

25. 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.

26. 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

27. Years
No of
rel. news
Hindutva[1
]/Hindus
On
Muslim
s
Other
Rels
1981 119 54 42 23
1992 172 77 59 36
2002 348 126 173 49
Years
Total
Rel issues
Hindutva
/ Hindus
Muslms Other
Rel
1995 270 93 118 59
2002 336 124 168 44

28. No of
articles
related
to
Pak/
Afgan/
S.Arabi
a
Kashm
ir/
terroris
ts/
Hindu
vs
Islam
Terr
orist
s/
Jiha
d/
extr
emis
ts
Editori
al /
Politic
al
comm
ents
Photo
Pictur
es
India
Today
56 107 22 46 9 73
Frontli
ne
87 69 17 21 6 42

29. India Today
No of articles
Islam Vs
Hinduism
Terrorism(Islami
c)Vs
Nationalism
Iconic clashes -
Picts
Colours (green
vs saffron)
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

30. 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),

31. Attacks on the churches in
Gujarat after these reports

32. Pre and Post Godhra
Myth

33. ‘minorities have to earn majority's goodwill’
“70 HINDUS ARE BURNT ALIVE” as Headlines.
“AVENGE BLOOD WITH BLOOD” This is a quote from a
statement issued by a VHP leader
THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS DURING THE GUJARAT
CARNAGE
HINDUS BEWARE: HAJ PILGRIMS RETURN WITH A
DEADLY CONSPIRACY
Boycott of Muslims
India will be a Hindu rashtra in two years…

34. culture of
suspicion
culture of
confrontation
culture of
violence
e.g.
Islamophobia

38. Media Literacy? As
Media Critique
• Where do we start?
• Identify the problem first – Where
lies the problem?
• Ownership – professional
communicators – media industries
and practitioners – content –
audience who is responsible

39. Media Literacy as dialogue at
grassroots
 Other communication networks such
as small group to come together –
Promoting awareness; Doing analysis
(verification, comparison); Reflection
(critical mind); Action (participation)
 Removing false consciousness and
ignorance

40. culture of dialogue
culture of reconciliation
a chance for inescapable mission of
inter-religious dialogue
a need for theology of dialogue
particularly at grassroots

41. Dialogue at Grassroots?
Dialogue as attempt to impose an exclusive pluralism
dialogue as an intellectual exercise
to eliminate evangelism and proclamation of the gospel
identifying the fundamentalist groups with these evangelicals,
Pentecostals and Charismatic groups who are popular among public
An approach which is neither completely exclusive nor inclusive nor
pluralist - possible?

42. Dialogue for Co-existence
Forthe sake of dialogue neither Christians norHindus should beasked tochangetheirfaith
orbeliefs
Thebasic purpose dialogue at grassrootsis to reducethe suspicion that onecommunity
or personhasabout the other
Accepting the other
Listening to the other
Living together with the other

43. 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

45. Alternative
media
Mass
media
Alternative
Media:
Challenges
for the new
millennium

46. ALTERNATIVE
MEDIA
Global to
local
Local to global
Cheap,
available
Effectiveness
Simple, plain
Easy access
to community
Development and social
change Democratic,
participatory
Against mass
media in promoting
culture of peace,
dialogue
Promote communitarian values and Individual
freedom
Inter-cultural
understanding
Purpose
Reaching the mass but
not for profit
Fair representation of minorities,
disabled, refugees…
Taking sides with
poor, labourers in
reporting
Voice of
the
voiceless
Culturally rooted, community building,
inter religious harmony
Praxis

47. 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

48. Possible Alternative Media are posters,
writings on the wall, loud speakers,
postcards, Christmas cards, cards, flannel
boards, pamphlets, tracts, notices boards,
notices, magazines, newspapers, puppets,
slide projectors, audio cassettes, VCDs,
DVDs, Video cassettes, VCRs, television,
computer, websites, Internet, radio and
special training programs and seminars,
fellowship groups, street theatre; some
types are - Christian education, access to
schools, festival programmes, house-visits,

49. Further Possibilities to explore –
- FM Radio Stations in colleges and
Schools for education and awareness
Narrowcasting, community radio…
- Local Cable Channel space or Cable
Channels
- Running a Newspaper for local
community
- Online broadcasting, webhosting,
networking the members of the church
and sending them clips of songs,
messages and information

50. Examples of Alternative Media
Street Theatre Programmes
for HIV/AIDs Awareness
ICT for Development Training
NGOs in Bangladesh
Thailand Training NGOs

51. Poster Campaign against HIV/AIDs

52. Protest, Bridging,
advocacy and Dialogue
as AM principles for
Mission

53. Taking
Technology
to Villagers