I have been thinking about the state of Catholic media in our country. In speaking of Catholic media I cast the net broadly and include TV, terrestrial radio, internet radio, podcasts, magazines, newspapers, websites, satellite, blogs, and umm, well that’s about all I can think of. The question I am asking myself is what is the quality of this media. If I were to aggregate it and rank it as a whole, what grade would I give to it?
Catholic TV is practically non-existant as a broadcast medium and what is available is pretty bad. But, you say, what about EWTN? I am stepping into a quagmire here but I would say it is definately fine. I do not dispute that Mother brought the network about through blood sweat and tears and that God’s intervention allowed EWTN to be established and grow. I also admit that God has used the channel to bring about countless conversions. That is not my point. I assert the vast majority of the programming on EWTN is made up of talking heads. Sometimes the content is compelling and other times not. Hence the grade of a ‘C’ meaning it is average, or fine.
Print publications. What to do with these? The magazines range the spectrum of excellent to ‘line the bird cage’. I will not name names, not because I fear retribution, but simply I have not read enough of them to comment on them individually. I definately have read my share of both ‘liberal’ heresy and ‘conservative’ wack-jobiness to last me quite some time. I must say the visual quality of some of the magazines and newspapers has increased tremendously. Also, the content of some has increased significanly. However the presence of blatant heresy in some and hatred in others is alarming. Due to the increase of the quality of some I would give the whole catagory a ‘C-’.
Terrestrial radio. On the whole, Catholic terrestrial radio is pretty bad. First of all, much of the programing is repurposed EWTN television. Hearing statements such as “as you can see…” on the radio is just terrible. Also, the broadcast of the Holy Mass on radio is just bad radio. I would suggest that what most people want is to hear the readings and the homily. In that case, give us that. So if EWTN on television is a ‘C’ then EWTN on radio is a ‘C-’. Beyond that, when local stations do original programming, it is again a duplication of the talking heads. Sometimes it is engaging, often boring. The rise of some interesting programming is heartening, but the fact that no terrestrial station would pick it up speaks of a bigger problem. I suggest that the majority of terrestrial stations are afraid to take a chance on truly interesting shows. The fear seems to be not only the fear of making a bad programming choice, but a fear of saying or doing something wrong that is perceived to be ‘out of line with the Church’. These fears seem to drive all decisions in terrestrial radio. There is prudence and then there is fear. I see more fear than prudence. As a result we are left with pretty dull programming (with occasional notable exceptions). Terrestrial radio then, rates a solid ‘C-’. (I realize I have left out Relevant Radio. I have not consumed enough of their content to comment on it).
Podcasts. I am a bit biased here. I think this is where the most exciting and innovative stuff is going on. A few shows have gathered audiences in the tens of thousands and others in the tens. The quality of the shows is all over the place. From what I have experienced the programs ranges in quality (content and production value) from a B+ to an F. Some shows improve over time and others faded into the ether after just a few shows. What most podcasts do, however, is fall into the talking head catagory. Even the podcast I am currently producing Playing with Fire falls into this catagory. It does it well, but it is still mostly one person talking alone or with another person. Dr. Bill is a fascinating personality and had great stories and I think this helps it rise to the top in terms of production and content. Still, at our best I would rate it a ‘B’. Some of you who listen, may disagree, but hey, this is my posting. How do I rank all of the Catholic podcasts together? I’m going to give the catagory a C+. That’s a tough one though.
Satellite radio. There are currently two flavors of programming on Satellite radio: EWTN and the Catholic Channel (both on Sirius). As I have said, EWTN on radio is a ‘C-’ and I have not heard much of the Catholic Channel to rate it. I have heard everything from “It is so good, I listen to it every day” to “It spouts heresy and I have written Rome about it” as well as comments in between. For the time being, I am going to leave Satellite radio out of the mix. We shall see.
I have left out some catagories. I know that, but I have already gone long. Let’s see what I have:
Television C
Print C-
Radio C-
Podcasts C+
That seems to leave my report card on the state of Catholic media as a solid ‘C’. Am I being too harsh? I don’t think so. I am saying Catholic media is average, good, fine. Nothing necessarily wrong with it, but nothing that allows it to rise above the mediocre media that is in abundance in our world. The question we must answer is how will Catholic media move from ‘good’ to ‘GREAT’?
That discussion must wait for another day.
Tags: Podcasting, Catholic Media, Sirius, Terrestrial Radio, Relevant Radio, Satellite Radio, EWTN, Catholic Channel, Playing with Fire | 2 Comments »
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The Association For Downloadable Media (ADM), a newly-formed organization dedicated to “providing standards for advertising and audience measurement for episodic and downloadable media,” announced today the election results for the 20 positions on its board.
