Religious Broadcasting

Zamboni

I'm sure this has come up before in various ways.

The angelus came on there and I forgot how irritating it is and patronising it is, so I decided to have a look a the RTE Broadcasting Standards.
http://www.rte.ie/about/programmeguidelines2007_english.pdf


Couple of things in the Religion Section pissed me off.
The important place religion holds in the life of the community will be celebrated and acknowledged
How do they qualify this? I mean TEA has an important part in the life of the community. So what.

If a programme is likely to offend some viewers, the transmission time may need to be considered. Some members of the public are concerned to protect younger people from religious controversy and are less likely to be offended if a programme is broadcast after the watershed on television or when younger listeners are likely to be members of the audience on radio.
Yep heaven forbid the young people might even hear faiths being questioned.
That just wouldn't do...

Avoidance of the giving of offence to those who hold religious views
Because they're just special. End of. F*ck off.

The denigration of religious beliefs and the mockery of faith are not permitted.
Thats right folks. Couple of denigration definitions from the net for clarity.
1. to speak damagingly of; criticize in a derogatory manner
2. to treat or represent as lacking in value or importance

Sounds like religious propaganda in my opinion.


Anyway just wonering what you guys think.
The full religious section is below.


Taken from RTÉ's Programme Standards and Guidelines 2007

RTÉ, as part of its commitment to public service broadcasting, reflects in its general output on radio, television, web and print publishing the cultural and spiritual values of the people of Ireland. As many people regard their religious faiths as central to their lives it is important that the audience can find on RTÉ programmes that reflect the significance of religion in Ireland today. RTÉ will continue to broadcast religious services on both radio and television and will also provide programming dealing with religious and spiritual topics on a regular basis. The editorial principles underlying that coverage include:

1. Respect for all religious views
The fundamental right to hold religious views and to practise religion will be respected. The important place religion holds in the life of the community will be celebrated and acknowledged. RTÉ will contribute towards the audience’s understanding of international issues by providing information on and analysis of the role of world religions.

2. Tolerance of the diversity of beliefs people hold
RTÉ in its output will reflect the faiths traditionally found in Ireland. RTÉ should also as appropriate cover the religions of new groups arriving in Ireland and new faiths as they emerge. RTÉ will also acknowledge in its programming people who are agnostic or atheistic.

3. Avoidance of the giving of offence to those who hold religious views
This involves sensitivity towards people’s beliefs, towards religious festivals and feast days, towards icons and words associated with religious beliefs, towards liturgical practices and rituals and towards historically significant events in the histories of particular religions. The denigration of religious beliefs and the mockery of faith are not permitted. It is however, acceptable to examine critically religious beliefs, institutions and experiences in factual programmes, dramas and other genres of output.

Coverage of Religious Issues outside of Religious Programming
As religion is central to so many people’s lives it is inevitably a subject that is going to receive attention in a variety of programme genres, such as documentary, drama and comedy. It is important to take into account in both scripting and production that offence may be given to people with deeply held religious views. A balance has to be struck between avoiding giving offence and freedom of expression. Gratuitous offence must at all times be avoided. Programme-makers must be alert to these sensitivities. Where there is a possibility of offending a religious tradition, producers should advise their editorial management in good time to ensure that the matter receives full and due consideration. If a programme is likely to offend some viewers, the transmission time may need to be considered. Some members of the public are concerned to protect younger people from religious controversy and are less likely to be offended if a programme is broadcast after the watershed on television or when younger listeners are likely to be members of the audience on radio. Advance warning may need to be given to members of the audience. An opportunity to reply may be required.

PDN

When you consider that the number of people who attend Church is greater than those who attend sporting events each week, it seems a bit lop-sided that so much sport is on TV compared with religious programming.

Of course most of the sport is more fun to watch.

5uspect

I always find it funny how whenever RTE do anything about Atheism there is always the need for "balance" with the likes of David Quinn etc rolled out to do battle whereas when ever anything of faith is discussed there is never the need for a rational balance.

Majority belief, I know, but it always strikes me as such an absurd position.
Then again maybe everyone secretly knows the religious programming is just a load of nonsense where as those atheists are baby eating communists what must be kept in check... /ramble

gramlab

PDN wrote: »

When you consider that the number of people who attend Church is greater than those who attend sporting events each week, it seems a bit lop-sided that so much sport is on TV compared with religious programming.

Of course most of the sport is more fun to watch.

George Hamilton is the devils child, so does that count as religious sporting TV?

Dades

RTE have no problem with re-runs of Father Ted!

To be fair what percentage of those people in Ireland who actually pay for a TV licence (as oppose to watch TV) are catholic? A very big one I'd say.

Their code of practice may sound a bit soft on religion, but the programming has never bothered me.

Fanny Cradock

gramlab wrote: »

George Hamilton is the devils child, so does that count as religious sporting TV?

Oh, danger here!

Galvasean

PDN wrote: »

When you consider that the number of people who attend Church is greater than those who attend sporting events each week, it seems a bit lop-sided that so much sport is on TV compared with religious programming.

Of course most of the sport is more fun to watch.

Well if we're just discussing RTE here I would say its about right. They don't show much Eircom League at all, because hardly anyone attends those matches (one could argue due to lack of quality), even though normally it is quite inexpensive. It's a case of their being little demand for television coverage.. Now if teams like Arsenal ( ) played some games in Ireland there probably would be more people going.
The coverage of international games (say Ireland's rugby or soccer teams, not to mention the Premiership) is pretty much a necessity as there are many who would like to watch them up close but settle for live TV coverage due to the cost of going out to see a game. Hence the demand outweighs the supply. By contrast mass isn't particularly expensive to go to. With the exception of those who are physically incapable of attending mass, everyone who wants to go is able to do so. Demand is high,but so too is supply.
I think in today's television market, its more a case of giving the people what they can't get elsewhere.

ChocolateSauce

Well I don't agree with that at all. My already very low respect for RTE has just slipped even lower.

Of course as long as it is owned by the government that rule will never be repealed..

8kvscdpglqnyr4

PDN wrote: »

When you consider that the number of people who attend Church is greater than those who attend sporting events each week, it seems a bit lop-sided that so much sport is on TV compared with religious programming.

But several sports are shown, not just one. From what I can see on RTE, religious TV consists of Christian shows and not a balanced mixture of all religious/non-religious views.

Also, when a sport is broadcast, there is critical analysis done on the performance of each team and the individual players. Sometime the "experts" even discuss how the sports governing body chould change the rules of the game to make it more interesting or to ensure more young people take up the sport.

Now wouldn't it be great to have similar analysis of the Sunday mass on RTE!

radiospan

Lionel Muscular Unit wrote: »

Now wouldn't it be great to have similar analysis of the Sunday mass on RTE!

"Look at that chalice work... effortless!"

Zillah

The denigration of religious beliefs and the mockery of faith are not permitted.

The sickening disappointment I feel when reading something like that (such as our constitution) is matched only by the relief I feel when I realise no one actually follows those guidelines.

Father Ted being an excellent example.


The Angelus does irritate me greatly, but more because its a loud unpleasant sound that goes on for a minute rather than the fact that they're doing something religious.

Also, we must remember that these are the internal guidelines for a public service broadcaster, rather than externally imposed regulations. I wonder what the law says in this regard for privately operated TV stations?

Sangre

Dades wrote: »

To be fair what percentage of those people in Ireland who actually pay for a TV licence (as oppose to watch TV) are catholic? A very big one I'd say.

Hardly relevant in a state run broadcasting company, especially where the state promises not to 'endow' any religion and a person is obliged to contribute to its running if they own a tv. I'm just glad there are no religious ads (or political ones for that matter).

PDN

Sangre wrote: »

Hardly relevant in a state run broadcasting company, especially where the state promises not to 'endow' any religion and a person is obliged to contribute to its running if they own a tv. I'm just glad there are no religious ads (or political ones for that matter).

The thing about religious ads is actually a case of religion being given special treatment. In a truly secular society religions would be as free to air TV ads as would golf clubs etc.

Sangre

i agree, i just imagine they'd annoy me. not just the preachy message but low production values etc.,

Charlie3dan

Don't forget the prayer at bedtime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7CgUzL-e88 (It's offical, you tube has absolutely everything)

not only on religious grounds but I don't like being told when to go to bed either!

MrB

PDN wrote: »

The thing about religious ads is actually a case of religion being given special treatment. In a truly secular society religions would be as free to air TV ads as would golf clubs etc.

Or tobaco companies.

I find most ads to be slightly insulting anyway, they seem to think I can be swayed by simplistic appeals to my vanity or pseudo-scientific babble. Add a religious message to that and the chances of my TV and the remote having a high speed encounter suddenly increase 10 fold!
At least religious shows appear on the schedules and are easily avoided.

legspin

In fairness, the style of the angelus has changed (on the telly at least). It used to be a picture of an icon or stained glass window with a definite inference that one should pray. Now the images (mainly of people stopping to listen to the bells) and message seems to be saying that the minute should be used more for contemplation, which is no bad thing imo.

expectationlost

New RTÉ Radio 1 Religious show for ‘all faiths and none’ http://radiotoday.ie/2015/09/new-rte-radio-1-religious-show-for-all-faiths-and-none/

The programme – called “The Leap of Faith” – is presented by Michael Comyn, who will talk with those whose life experiences cause them to call on their beliefs, as he seeks to discover what religion does for people – and occasionally to them – with his first guest being journalist, broadcaster and hotelier Bibi Baskin, who recently made her Irish radio return with Cork’s 96FM

With regular updates from across the world’s faiths and from those that hold them, RTÉ Radio 1 say this will be a thought-provoking 30 minutes of radio. Each week the programme will hear from people about how they access their ‘spiritual intelligence’ at different times in their lives.

why would somebody with no faith or adherence to spiritualism listen to this (on a regular basis)

they are going to hang it on the fact they'll interview spiritual or exploring people, not specifically religious, they may even interview a Humanist or an Atheist

but its the same utter waffle from RTÉ Head of Religious Programmes, Roger Childs again same codswallop he used to justify Angelus, just admit its reilgious don't try and pretend its not.

the presenter Michael Comyn looks like a self help guru type https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcomyn who while not on radio does fear of flying and speech making and leadership courses and is a TFT Practitioner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Field_Therapy practictioner which is a load of bollox, infact he qualified in a lot bolloxology.

recedite

"Spiritual intelligence"... now there's a good one.

from wiki

Definitions of spiritual intelligence rely on the concept of spirituality as being distinct from religiosity...
Robert Emmons defines spiritual intelligence as "the adaptive use of spiritual information to facilitate everyday problem solving and goal attainment."
He originally proposed 5 components of spiritual intelligence:

1 The capacity to transcend the physical and material.
2 The ability to experience heightened states of consciousness.
3 The ability to sanctify everyday experience.
4 The ability to utilize spiritual resources to solve problems.
5 The capacity to be virtuous.

The fifth capacity was later removed due to its focus on human behavior rather than ability, thereby not meeting previously established scientific criteria for intelligence.

Unfortunately the first four are bolloxology, and the fifth is nothing to do with religion or sprirituality.

"Scientific criteria" me ar$e :pac:

Hotblack Desiato

Transcend do some decent flash drives though

Hotblack Desiato

It's getting harder and harder for RTE to justify wasting the licence fee on that sort of guff. It will annoy the religionistas more than us as it's so wishy-washy.

expectationlost

Leap of Faith Michael Comyn immediately start applying faith to atheism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqBgS8039-4 but as ever Nugent handles every question