You can’t read the article in its original, because EWTN/NCRegister already pulled their remark that the death of Trayvon Martin was murder. But here is the current link: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/wyd-and-the-trayvon-tragedy and you can read the plethora of comments dragging EWTN/NCRegister over the coals. Justifiably, in my opinion.
The title is “WYD and the Trayvon Tragedy” (has anybody else noticed that it seems always to be George Zimmerman’s last name, and Trayvon Martin’s first name used in the media articles?) which is a cheap way to skew sympathies. EWTN/NCR runs a picture of the 11 or 12 year old Martin, rather than his nearly adult picture, they ignore testimony, and set forth their own spin. While the title purports to connect World Youth Day to the Trayvon Martin events, the article gives only tokenism to an excuse to weigh-in against the decision of the court, against serious jurors, and to aid and abet those who seem to be pushing for racist backlash.
Why should this bother me more than other liberal media? Because NCR seems much less concerned about truth, and much more about pleasing secular opinion. Media which calls itself Catholic should be held to a much higher standard that this article. I am so glad that virtually all the respondents take EWTN/NCR to task. I think the whole article and comments may disappear soon; we have to read it while we can. And, of course, how could this discussion not come to CF?
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I expect this kind of claptrap from NCReporter, not Register. What the heck is going on over there?
The piece has been updated, but this still a strange episode.
My pet theory: a summer intern wrote this piece. Kudos to anyone who gets this.
I agree wholeheartedly with Scott W. I, too, expect claptrap such as social justice as a primary theme of the Reporter but came to expect that the Register will teach and promote and report on the Faith. This saddens me, but I should not be surprised. I keep getting blindsided.
For instance, I received at my parish a free copy of Liturgical Press’s “Give Us This Day”. I liked it; I liked the articles on the saints and the daily reflections I read that month, so I subscibed, beginning with the July issue. I figured we’d continue buying Magnificat for my husband’s use and I’d use the Give Us This Day. Well on Tuesday I was treated to a reflection authored by Sr. Joan Chittister. She’s a disobedient daughter of the Church, an enemy of orthodoxy, so I don’t choose to read anything she pens. I cancelled. Happily they accepted my cancellation, and I expect a refund.
Having to always be on guard is disheartening, but more so when culture merchandising comes from a source one has come to trust. Shame on the Register falling into the line of so much of the Church representation as it gives more time to social acceptance and seeking to be popular, even speaking on subjects it is not qualified to lead about, like economy and political science. So many of our leaders and publications seek to be politically correct instead of spiritually correct. I’m beginning to trust no publication, no writer, except those standing dead center with the Church and with the mission to spread the Faith.
If that article just disappears without any explanation, there’s your proof that they only remove it so as to not offend, for a business reason, but not because they have breached their mission in media.
+JMJ
Hmmm. I left a comment over at NCR that I was reconsidering my monthly support of EWTN but it was either not approved for publication or it was removed. I suspect the latter since I received notification that it had been published.
Okay. I submitted another comment and noticed upon completion that the message said, “your comment has been submitted for approval.” So, apparently my original comment was not published. Perhaps because I mentioned discontinuing my financial support?
Nerina, I did the same thing. First I posted criticism of what they published, included most of the other points and a few of my own. I got the same message it was under review and then nothing. I also copied my CF post (without comments) as a way to say: look, you are getting bad publicity on this! Same result. Every since I wrote, the 6PM ish comments on Friday have been the last. I am wondering if they just shut down for the weekend, or were overwhelmed by the reactions and are taking no more?
They do shut down for the weekend I believe as I have had non-controversial comments not show up until Monday.
EWTN and the Register jumped the shark years ago and, as hopefull says, care mostly about placating the secular media — and the bishops. Yes, there are good people working for and with them, e.g., Frs. Pacwa and Connor and Joanna Bogle, but it’s now just another tamed and polite Catholic media outlet.
This has to be one of the worst articles NCRegister has ever run; certainly in EWTN’s hands! Most of the article is still substantially the same, dropping murder accusations clearly for fear of libel charges. But the rest is about the same.
Finally all the weekend posts are up. 117 so far. I share with you what I just wrote:
“I hadn’t intended to write again either, but the swagger with which EWTN leaves this outcry unanswered, and still banners “The Editors” of the NCRegister as the authors responsible for this outrageous content, and shows no repentance, explanation or amelioration, all calls out for further reply. If any of the Zimmermans are hurt because of these media tantrums, EWTN and NCRegister will indeed have blood on their hands.”
I hope that the intern who “crafted” this editorial chooses another line of work. It is very poorly thought-out. The thrust of the editorial (the American family breakdown is a huge societal problem and the Church has consistently said that ) is poorly connected with either the purported symptom (the tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s death) and very loosely connected with either the proposed solutions (the role model of God the Father, Jesus and Joseph, or Francis) or with WYD (from which our youth will return home and magically fix everything). And somehow profiling is connected to all of it.
I’m no journalism professor, but this piece merits an “F” without comment. The “other” NCR would never print it – not for its content but because it’s a very shoddy piece of writing, betraying very shoddy thinking.
Do better, EWTN and NCR.
Hey, EWTN/NCR, if you’re looking for a good example of opinion journalism on this event, try this:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324448104578618681599902640.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Very disappointed to see that EWTN/NCR wrote such a poorly conceived editorial.
The comments afterward surely have taken the editors to task, as is right and proper. Having followed this case since the beginning, it is clear that the editors were attempting to make backdoor commentary about the state of American minority families without having full knowledge of the facts of the case. The whole ‘Zimmerman was profiling’ thing was a blatant sop to black Americans. Badly done.
They should’ve visited http://www.theconservativethreehouse.com, to find meticulous research from day one regarding who Trayvon Martin really was. His death was indeed a tragedy, but George Zimmerman is innocent, and was found so in a court of law. This whole meme of profiling is something that black racists use to whip up White Guilt and stop any real investigation or dialog into the breakdown of the family, whether in “Black America” or “White America.”
Gretchen,
After looking at that site I am shocked over what has happened with that case. The amount of damming evidence against Trevon Martin was overwhelming as well as the huge cover up done by the media , the President and the attorney general.
To what purpose was it to stir up a crowd with hatred, to try and convict someone via a “Kangaroo Court” and then claim racism.
The whole ‘Zimmerman was profiling’ thing was a blatant sop to black Americans.
To be fair, it’s a sop to what lily-white liberals think what black Americans want to hear as if the black worldview was monolithic, which it is not. What’s the difference between someone who thinks all blacks look the same, and one who thinks all blacks think the same? None that I can see.
The cover up is truly amazing, Richard. I think the main reason for it all was that age old temptation: money, with political cachet a close second.
The narrative that was spun allowed black racists like Al Sharpton and his local cohorts on the ground in Florida to collect lots of money. The HOA where the incident occurred forked over $2 million to the parents. The parents went on an international tour in which they passed around empty garbage cans (literally) that were filled up with cash for the family. Trayvon’s mother actually trademarked his name a few weeks after he died, and is making money on every tee shirt you see a protester wearing. A for-profit foundation has been founded by the family, ostensibly in Trayvon’s name. Civil lawsuits were being planned, however, because so much of the true story has become public those are unlikely at this point.
Scott W., I’m not sure that ETWN/NCR are all lily-white liberals, but the editorial seemed to have been written by a person or people who do not understand the complexities of our current society. If they had truly researched the case, they would have known that George Zimmerman has a black great grandfather, a Peruvian mother, took a black girl to his high school prom, mentored two fatherless black kids, publicly fought the local police department over the beating of a homeless black man by an officer’s son, and two of the witnesses who testified on behalf of George were black (a neighbor and a former professor).
If you meant that because I did not make a specific reference to the differences in black Americans’ worldviews that I am in the same category as the editorial writers, then I think you are being a little picky. But you are entitled to your opinion. 😉
If you meant that because I did not make a specific reference to the differences in black Americans’ worldviews that I am in the same category as the editorial writers
Absolutely not. You were making a casual observation and I expanded on it. I don’t think for a second you think all black people think the same. But even if we grant that NCR/EWTN are not lily-white liberals, the piece is very much from the lily-white liberal narrative. 🙂
Scott W.,
Ah, got it. Thanks. The piece is definitely of the politically correct variety of poison.
What a bunch of bigots.. I only read this blog to see what all you right wing creeps are saying.
You folks better start listening to this Pope , you might learn something and get out of your ivory towers.
And please stop calling yourselves “christens” as all of you are far from being one.
Oh and by the way, I am sure you won’t post my previous comment, you never post anything posive.and the truth
Dad?