On my way to church tonight, a media friend living in another country called me to tell me she couldn’t believe what she just saw on CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. She said it was so dismissive of Christian prayer that she almost wondered if she’d misheard.
Well, having just gotten a look at the transcript, it appears my friend’s account of the report by Susan Roesgen (Gulf Coast Correspondent) was pretty accurate. The story comes late in the show and deals with Notre Dame student and donor protests of the school’s invitation to and honorary degree bestowal upon President Barack Obama. Or, as the goldenmouthed Blitzer says, “they’re asking God to keep the president away.”
I’ll go ahead and cut and paste the relevant portions of the show:
BLITZER: President Obama’s popularity is soaring these days. He’s been welcomed in cities here in the United States and around the world.
But protesters at the University of Notre Dame say — at least some of them say he’s not welcome there. And they plan — and plans for him to address the graduating class, they’re sparking a growing controversy right now.
Not that this is a religion coverage problem but it plays into the larger dismissive tone: Is it true that President Obama’s popularity is soaring? I have no doubt that his adoring media fans continue to be just that. But a recent Pew poll shows that President Obama is a much more polarizing figure than any of his predecessors for whom such data was gathered. Even George W. Bush’s approval ratings the April following his controversial election/Supreme Court case were less polarized than President Obama’s. I’m only putting this out there to point out how the media control the narrative. If they wanted to present President Obama as the most polarizing politician in history, they could do that and have the data to back it up. Since it doesn’t fit the agreed-upon narrative, however, we don’t see much mainstream coverage of that. Instead, it’s those wacky anti-abortion activists at Notre Dame who are the real divisive ones. See how that works?
We asked our Susan Roesgen to take a closer look at what is going on — all right, Susie, tell us what’s going on.
SUSAN ROESGEN, GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it seems as if some of these protesters are actually praying that President Obama won’t even step foot on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN (voice-over): Protesters at the University of Notre Dame are praying for divine intervention to keep President Obama away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WSJV)
EMILY TOATES, PROTESTER: We do not believe it’s right to celebrate a man who’s gone so against Catholic principles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Like many presidents before him, Obama has been invited to give the commencement address at this Catholic university in May. But hundreds of devout Catholics on campus and off are outraged that Notre Dame would welcome a president whose public policies lean pro- choice on abortion.
BISHOP JOHN D’ARCY, DIOCESE OF FORT WAYNE: The Catholic Church’s position is that — that taking a life in a womb is an intrinsically evil act.
ROESGEN: Bishop John D’Arcy, whose diocese includes Notre Dame, is especially shocked that the university plans to give the president an honorary law degree.
D’ARCY: But to honor someone with a doctorate of laws and the only laws he has made are laws which are against innocent life — no one is allowed to say who is going to sit at the table of life and, more important, who’s not going to sit at the table of life. God didn’t give us that privilege. He gave us many other privileges. That belongs to him alone.
ROESGEN: A spokesman for the university says there no plans to un-invite the president, but protesters say they will say one million rosaries until graduation day — praying that the president will become pro-life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Can you believe that, Wolf, they’re actually praying that God will change the heart and mind of President Obama to make him pro-life?
Emphasis mine. That last line is what my friend repeated to me on the phone — certain she must have misheard. It couldn’t possibly be true that a supposed reporter would express shock and dismay that pro-lifers might “actually” be praying that God would turn the heart and mind of President Obama, she figured. My friend is a media professional and is accustomed to less-than-stellar reporting but this, she felt, was beyond the pale.
I guess I’m wondering what’s so hard for Roesgen to believe. It seems so perfectly natural to me that pro-life Catholics would pray that God would change President Obama’s heart and mind toward pro-life policies that I’m kind of left wondering what’s so shocking about it.
I know this is the month for mainstream media professionals to be shocked by completely normal prayer practices but it seems to me that a reporter covering the Notre Dame controversy should be either vaguely aware of how Christian prayer works or the pro-life community in general. Or maybe she should just be a little bit more respectful of the subjects she covers. I’m also wondering how CNN might have covered Moses’ prayers that Pharaoh might change his heart toward the Israelites.
Anyway, the rest of the story includes the news that Obama will be giving the commencement address at Arizona State University but, unlike Notre Dame, he will not be given an honorary degree since his “body of work is yet to come.” Here’s how Blitzer responds to this:
BLITZER: Wow!
He’s giving the commencement address at Arizona State University, but will not be given an honorary degree by that university. What a snub that is.
This media reaction to ASU’s decision says quite a bit about why we’re seeing the coverage of Notre Dame’s decision such as that highlighted above. If it’s a snub to ask the president to speak at your university without giving him an honorary degree, these Notre Dame students and donors opposed to the honorary degree and speaking slot are clearly in the wrong.
Since we Lutherans commemorated Albrecht Durer this week, it seemed fitting to include his famous painting “Praying Hands.”
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Comments (24) |
April 10, 2009, at 9:15 am
Regarding that Pew poll — it’s worth pointing out that Republican party identification is the lowest it’s been in a long time, as more moderate Republicans have left the fold. The Republican core remaining is naturally much more conservative, so of course they’re going to be less happy with Obama. Obama is currently enjoying a better approval rating among Independents than any president since Reagan. The ‘polarization’ is a result of sky-high approval among Democrats and rock-bottom ratings among a shrunken and ideologically rigid pool of conservative stalwarts. To my mind this says a lot more about Republicans than it does about Obama. Or the media, for that matter.
April 10, 2009, at 9:36 am
Um, Susan? How difficult is it to keep from contradicting yourself in a 90-second segment?
Um, CNN? Why did you assign your inept “Gulf Coast Correspondent” to a story on a school in Indiana?
Maybe CNN stands for the Comedy News Network.
April 10, 2009, at 10:04 am
Actually, it’s a bit misleading to say that President Obama’s popularity is “soaring.” That implies continuing increase, while in fact his popularity peaked and is declining at the moment. Still impressive, but not what it was a while ago.
April 10, 2009, at 10:41 am
Dave, I think you’re absolutely right. But with regards to Mollie’s original post, I don’t think that repeating a conservative media narrative based on dubious principles (Obama is a polarizer) to refute a mainstream media narrative based on dubious principles (everybody loves Obama) is a particularly helpful exercise, either.
April 10, 2009, at 11:16 am
So - they are praying that his heart will be changed.
Where is the “Dear Lord, keep him off the campus?” part of that? Very possibly some of the protestors are praying he will not show up, but it’d be nice to see some evidence.
If you’re going to make statements, back them up, please.
April 10, 2009, at 11:37 am
ARenfries,
I don’t think that the Gallup (not particularly known for being conservative) narrative needs to pumped, I’m just pointing out how the media choose a narrative and then follow it, contradicting evidence be damned.
I mean, I personally think Obama is both immensely popular and polarizing and that only one side of that equation has been covered. I also think that there’s a big disconnect (one I understand personally) between Obama’s personal popularity and the popularity of his policies — a disconnect that manages not to be covered well.
But I was just pointing out that you can spin stats however you want for whatever aim you want, which is why polls are so popular, etc. etc. (So, for instance, while Republican Party identification plummeted in the last few years as you wisely point out, it’s come back a little bit in the last two months and, conversely, a recent NYT/CBS poll oversampled Dems and undersampled Republicans to a point that it was laughable — all fun with numbers)
Martha,
I should have made that point in my analysis. I didn’t see any evidence of the “pray the Obama way” line that led and fed the news report.
April 10, 2009, at 11:50 am
Or two wrongs don’t make a right. But Mollie is correct that the media could pick any particular poll to prove that once again there are “lies, damn lies and statistics”.
More and more I have found CNN not watchable unless they’re reporting a story that’s almost impossible to screw up like a natural disaster. And with bloviators like Lou Dobbs, I cringe when I wind up exercising and he’s on the TV. He’s totally partisan and the “polls” he has are of the “when are you going to stop beating your spouse” variety.
They should color CNN, FOX and the rest with a yellow background to indicate that is the style of journalism they practice.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/spanamer/yellow.htm
In fact, I think that GetReligion should establish a yellow index. Clear white means a real news story. 100% florescent yellow are for words that have no relationship with a real story.
April 10, 2009, at 11:51 am
(Mollie’s comment appeared as I was working on my post)
April 10, 2009, at 12:41 pm
I also like how the reporter refers to Obama as a president “whose public policies lean pro-choice on abortion.”
Okay, I know that if you’ve drunk the kool-aid that is an accurate description, but is that accurate from an objective journalistic standpoint?
April 10, 2009, at 1:25 pm
C’mon Jeff, the fact that he voted “present” a handful of times regarding abortion legislation clearly means he’s merely “leaning” pro-choice (despite multiple NARAL endorsements). Kool-aid prevents you from interpreting “present” votes as unwillingness to take a firm stand one way or another for political reasons.
April 10, 2009, at 3:08 pm
[…] No Comments Get Religion, launched during the time of “The Passion of the Christ,” takes on a few talking heads at CNN, including Wolf […]
April 10, 2009, at 3:34 pm
This CNN reporter is the same doofus who was arrested for standing on a sand bag levee in Fargo. See this funny Comedy Central clip - http://www.minnpost.com/minnclips/2009/04/07/7918/cnn_reporters_flood_efforts_land_her_at_comedy_central
April 10, 2009, at 6:45 pm
The slam at prayer is, of course, highly unprofessional and inexcusable. They should know that it’s well within the Judeo-Christian tradition for God to change someone’s heart. Do they not read the Bible at ALL in the media?
As for the coverage of the protests, political liberals and Leftists frequently spark rage-fueled protests when conservatives, and the previous president, have attempted to speak at universities. Why is this story being treated any differently, i.e. without the kid gloves and obvious sympathy for the protesters?
Oh, yeah. Right. Never mind. Quick search online reminded me.
“Protests Force Bush to Relocate Meeting” Apr. 22, 2006. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0422-03.htm
“Outside: Angry signs, taunts and hostility” Portland Press Herald paper, Sept, 2004.
“How Bush Visit Became the Seige of Howard U” (2005) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901574.html
(This last WashPost article, commenting on campus police, had this LOVELY line: “You’d have thought Howard had taken a page right out of the Bush administration playbook on quashing First Amendment freedoms.” Peachy. Very balanced.)
And the fact is, Obama’s PERSONAL popularity is high (gosh, even I like the guy and personally wish him well) but the popularity of his policies and job performance are well off their early high numbers.
April 10, 2009, at 6:54 pm
Ya gotta use words that liberal CNN reporters can relate to! Catholics aren’t praying to God to move the President’s heart,they’re just “putting out positive energy into the universe”, “broadcasting good vibes”, if you will. You know, to help align the President’s chi.
Prayer? Eeeeew. How medieval!? Who’d believe in that nonsense.
April 10, 2009, at 9:03 pm
According to a poll circulating on Catholic internet sites Obama is right now dropping in favor among Catholics faster and bigger than in any other group. And I think it was a Pew poll. That shouldn’t be a surprise since he has done everything possible (although MSM coverage has been minimal or, when reported, snarkily critical of Catholics ) to alienate even the most secular brainwashed Catholic.
April 10, 2009, at 10:56 pm
This is not just a Catholic matter. It is, more importantly, a Christian matter. I am a Presbyterian, and a proud pro-lifer (and quite understanding of, and sympathetic towards the Catholic Church). I am utterly appalled by Barack Obama’s consistent positions on matters relating to innocent life, and I think that it is time all Christians stand in common defense of the “least of my brothers.” It is amazing to me, he has two beautiful daughters, yet he could be so cold on matters of infanticide. Yikes, politics and money can be evil seducers. On this most Holy of Days, when our Saviour endured horrors not a one of us can imagine, may we all remember what is truly important and carry on. The Lord asks us to stand for Him.
Best,
HB
April 10, 2009, at 10:59 pm
Please keep comments focused on media coverage of the issue. I’ve deleted a few comments that strayed too far.
April 11, 2009, at 1:03 am
[…] Obama is scheduled to receive an honorary degree and speak at the commencement ceremony at Notre Dame in a couple months. Notre Dame is a Catholic university, and the fact that they’re choosing to honor the most radical pro-abortion president in history has some, understandably, in an uproar. Reporting on this, a CNN reporter made the following quizzical statement to “Situation Room” host Wolf Blitze…. […]
April 11, 2009, at 6:46 am
It’s important to respect other religions, unless there’s very little chance they’ll kill you.
April 11, 2009, at 10:01 am
Notre Dame is sacrificing its morality for prestige. What a comment on the current state of religion and culture. Notre Dame it is time to do right no matter what the cost is.
April 11, 2009, at 3:34 pm
Ny Daily News reports that Pres. Obama will get some sort of honor at ASU. Yahoo news (is that a mainstream source?) has this comment:
Some local criticism? This site hosts a petition that now numbers 260,000 names. Plus 30 American bishops have registered objections.
Huffington Post sas ASU staff have been getting death threats. I wonder if Notre Dame staff are having the same experience?
Ok, that last was snarky.
April 13, 2009, at 9:23 pm
Hello, I landed on this opinion piece randomly and am thus outright troll. I am both an atheist and a leftist, but was shocked by CNNs media coverage as well. Of course if you are objecting to Obama’s presence on campus for religious reasons you would turn to prayer, its a natural logical step. CNN’s reporting is just infantile, and I hope it hasn’t been done on purpose. Even as an atheist I believe everyone should be given a fair shake in reporting.
While we’re at it though, i was curious about your take on why the media has not brought up the death penalty issue, and the fact that catholics oppose it. Presidents Reagan and George HW Bush both got honorary degrees from Notre Dame, a catholic university, despite their support of the death penalty. Are american christians not likely to talk up Catholics’ objections to the death penalty because they themselves are not opposed to it?
April 14, 2009, at 6:34 pm
[…] Can You Believe that Reporting, Wolf? […]
April 16, 2009, at 12:38 am
I am not surprised by the media, but there needs to be some push back against smug reporters like Susan Roesgen. If you missed it, she accosted a man with a small child today in Chicago. Please watch the video, and write to her office in Chicago to tell her how you feel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-6rhrDdsMk
Susan Roesgen
C/O CNN
435 N Michigan Ave # 715
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 645-8555?