 Journalism: Vision Statement
Human beings were created to communicate to each other to help them understand each other and their world. The invasion of sin distorted and impaired the truth and motives of our communication, so that we miscommunicate to serve our own pride. The massive cultural institutions of the media filter and distort reality, and communicate to perpetuate their view of the world--their values and their narratives (such as nationalism, individualism, and materialism)--and their over-inflated heroes, villains, and celebrities. Since communication is one of the areas of life Christ died to restore, we must communicate with trustworthiness, purely motivated, in ways that allude to Christ and the coming of a new creation, when communication will again purely glorify God. This is true of all communication, as well as the profession of journalism. Ultimately, we should see journalism as the process of telling the story of the development of the world into a cultural environment (as humans were commissioned to do in Gen 1:28)--a story of the beauty and potential as well as the sorrow and sin of nature and society. This is why I believe part of Christian discipleship should include regular reading of newspapers such as the New York Times and periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly, not only to enjoy the satisfaction of well-crafted writing but to follow this ongoing story of the building and management of culture and to make a personal connection to a larger natural and social world. After all, as our awareness of its depth and complexity grows, so does our awe of its author and Creator. |