"The J.C. Survey" - Are Reporters Afraid of Christ?

Julia Duin has an extremely interesting post over at the Washington Times Papal Visit blog, regarding one reporter's feeling that it's "incredulous" that she would have to enter "ChristOurHope" in as the I.D. to gain access to the media materials online. Reminder: The Pope and the USCCB are Catholic.

This reminds me of a story from covering World Youth Day in Cologne. During the boat trip that I blogged about earlier, where all of the media were stuck on a boat separate from the Pope's boat, media personnel were reduced to interviewing one another about the Pope's trip down the river. A Canadian radio journalist asked if she could ask me some questions.

"Sure," I replied.

The interview began normally enough, with questions about who I was and the outlet I worked for. Then discussion turned to the Pope's arrival.

She asked, "Why would he come on a boat?"

"Well, there's a precedent," I responded. "The Pope represents Jesus Christ, and Christ himself spent some time on boats, even preaching from a boat."

At the very mention of Christ, I could see something in the reporter's eyes change. After I answered the question, she thanked me, shut off her recorder, and concluded the interview (which I suspect was never used on air).

That story got me to thinking about something.

Recently, I conducted a very unscientific survey - I'm calling the J.C. Survey - of the news articles that have so far appeared on the Papal visit. Amidst so much of the coverage of "politics and the Pope," "the Mystery man," the "WOCHA" mantra, and "the CUA address," I wondered how many articles even bother to mention the theme of the Pope's Journey - "Christ is Our Hope," or mention Jesus Christ, since that is the primary focus of Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church?

Curiously enough, of the approximately 20 random articles that I surveyed, not one of them mentioned the theme of the Pope's visit - the very words the reporter above didn't want to type into her computer for media access - "Christ is Our Hope." Of the same 20 articles, about 50% of them reference Jesus Christ or Christian, but usually by way of a quote from someone who is describing the Pope or what the Pope will say or do while he's here. That's an interesting observation, don't you think?

Duin also notes in her post that, "there's been a lot of gnashing of teeth from those who didn't get the spots they wanted."

I had an interesting phone call today from a reporter with a large paper whom shall remain nameless. She told me about some publications who were unhappy because they received either one or no spots. The truth is, no one is ever completely happy with the assignments that they receive. We always want more - myself included. But, with more than 5,000 media applying for only 1,100 spots, it's simply not possible. We need to be happy with whatever we get and roll with it.

Defending the "Mystery Man" Headlines

An interesting debate, of sorts, has been taking place online regarding whether it's appropriate to describe Pope Benedict XVI as a "mystery man" or an "enigma."

It all started with the title of Gary Stern's well-balanced article, which was reprinted in USA Today - "Benedict a Mystery after 3 Years as Pope."

In response to that article, bloggers such as Christopher Blosser, Amy Welborn and Carl Olson cried "foul," saying that he's hardly a mystery for those who attempt to get to know him. The folks at GetReligion then noted, and entered, the discussion.

In their "Pondering the Pope" post, they wrote: "It is this ability to listen from start to finish that is really separating the press corps between the men and the boys. Those who don’t have the facility to listen to Benedict’s complete thoughts are the ones who write the laughably bad stories. Those who are paying attention are able to grasp the full impact of his views."

After receiving some complaints, Stern wrote a reasoned response in defense of why he called the Pope a "mystery." He sees it as neither negative nor derogatory.

"The main point: When talking to Catholics over the last few months, it became clear to me that many people don’t know what to make of Pope Benedict," writes Stern. "It’s not that they’re critical of him. Or overly supportive.

Most people don’t have the time or interest to following papal happenings closely in the Catholic press—what the pope is writing or saying. And this pope is not nearly as prone to the grand gesture as was John Paul II. You have to pay attention to get a sense of what he is about."

There are many, suggests Stern, who haven't paid much attention to Benedict since his election in April 2005.

And Catholic News Service editor, Jim Lackey, wrote in defense of their use of the term "enigma" in the comment boxes, saying that they used the term specifically with reference to non-Christians.

"For many non-Christians, Pope Benedict is an enigma, a man who has visited a mosque and prayed toward Mecca with his Muslim host, yet who repeatedly speaks about the need to proclaim Christ as the unique savior for all people." (From "Scholar, pastor, enigma: German pope defies easy caricature," CNS 2/15/08)

I agree that "for those of us in the Catholic world, he's no mystery" and that many journalists have botched their profile stories on him," wrote Lackey. "But when 17 percent of Americans have never even heard of Pope Benedict (from the poll released yesterday by Carl Anderson), it's not too hard to believe, as our story said, that millions of Americans simply don't know who he is."

So, summarizing the kerfuffle (if we can even describe it as that), the Pope is a "mystery" or an "enigma" to many non-Christians, and those non-Catholics and Catholics who haven't paid much attention to him over the last three years.

Perhaps those of us who work in the Catholic press - and can recall the headlines from the Pope's election - are sensitive to such characterizations. We're always suspect of the way that a headline can characterize a person or a reader's perception of that person.

Update: Kudos to Christopher Blosser who not only provides a response, but also provides the facts on the popularity of Benedict's books, and the increased number of visitors he has received in Rome.

Others have contributed their thoughts to the conversation as well, whether intentionally or not. Delia Gallagher has a piece at Our Sunday Visitor, where she points out that while the personalities of the popes are different, their message is the same.

Sheila Liaugminas over at her InForum Blog has weighed in on the conversation. Liaugminas writes:

"The headline is a giveaway. They don’t know Benedict still, never did, and always held the image of him as the Vatican’s “doctrinal hardliner”, which I recall vividly from all the reporting in the first days of his election to the papacy.

It’s the media’s responsibility to practice sound and truthful journalism, to do their homework and when that requires some extra reading and study and background research, then do that and be prepared to not put Pope Benedict into soundbites. Like they did with his Regensburg address."

Here's why writers might want to use caution in how they describe the Pope. The American Muslim has taken the USA Today headline and used it as its opening salvo in an article examining Benedict, who it describes as "confusing" and "mysterious."

Finally, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of the Office of Media Relations for the USCCB, squarely hits the nail on the head over at the USCCB Papal Visit blog site when she writes:

"One of the best things to come from Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States will be that people will get to know him. There's a lack of awareness of who he is for three reasons: He follows Pope John Paul II, who revolutionized the papacy. Before his election, the papacy had basically been a stay-at-home job. When John Paul with his fine stage presence set out globe-trotting, he captured the world's imagination. With telecommunications, John Paul took the office public as no one before him. His is a hard act to follow.

Pope Benedict's 24 years in his previous job typecast him....Many made up their mind about him before his election."

Tackling the "Mystery Man" Fallacy

Amy Welborn and Carl Olson both tackle the current Pope headlines about him being a "mystery" and all.

"There seems to be the notion, on the part of some folks, that a somewhat shy academic cannot also be a vigorous defender of the Faith as well as a personable and eloquent pastor of souls," writes Olson. "Why are these so incompatible? Likewise, why is loosening the restrictions on the Latin Mass considered to a "conservative" act when it is actually a liberating/liberal act (in the best sense of those oft-abused words)?"

Unfortunately, this headline has even found its way into some Catholic press articles.

Of course, for those of us in the Catholic world, he's no mystery. He's been around a long time. He's been a prolific writer. We know what he's said, what he's written, and what he's about. It's possible, I suppose, for those outside the Catholic world to not know what he's about, but as Welborn points out, it's not that difficult to obtain one of his books and quickly discover that he is no "mystery."

"To begin a news article with the assertion that “Benedict is still a mystery” is not, in fact, news reporting," writes Welborn. "It’s the creation of a thesis and then finding voices to support the thesis.  It would be fantastic if, over the next month, journalists could get back to basics, stop trying to create stories and simply report: This is who Benedict is. This is what he writes about. This is what he talks about. These are the ideas that have formed his intellectual life and spirituality."

Is the Pope a Mystery?

Last week, I spoke with Catholic League president Bill Donohue about how the press is likely to cover, or not cover the Pope's U.S. visit. Donohue told me, "I think Pope Benedict will be portrayed unfavorably to his predecessor," said Donohue. "They'll say that unlike his predecessor, he's endangered ecumenical relationships. They'll say that his challenge to theological relativism has upset some Protestants and Jews. They'll say that he has injured relations with Muslims and that the Latin Mass is a throwback to the Inquisition."

So, it was with great interest that I read this Baxter Bulletin story written by Gary Stern of Gannett News Service, which seems to hit many of those notes. That story is getting picked up and appearing elsewhere on the Internet. You can also find it at the Detroit Free Press and USA Today. It seems to suggest that compared to Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict is a bit of a mystery to a lot of people. The article is fairly balanced, as far as articles go, but it doesn't make much of an attempt to help the reader to get to know the pope better. It seems more content to keep him an enigma, but does do the great service of showing how Pope Benedict XVI's great desire is to lead people not to himself, but to Christ.

So, is the Pope a mystery? In so far as he is a representative of Jesus Christ, I suppose that he is.