The media watchdog organization, Media Research Center, has a special called The Trashing of Christ. The Press Release from MRC.org reads as follows:
Alexandria, VA—The Media Research Center will release this afternoon a new study, The Trashing of the Christ, which documents the contrasting coverage the networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – have provided The Da Vinci Code movie and that given to The Passion of the Christ movie. The contrast is stark: hostility to The Passion and gleeful promotion of The Da Vinci Code. Some of the study’s findings include:
The networks gave The Da Vinci Code more of a publicity push than The Passion and any other recently released movie.
The Passion was treated as a social problem – the biggest TV anti-Semitism story of that year – while The Da Vinci Code was presented often as an “intriguing” theory rather than threatening or offensive to Christians.
In their push to promote The Da Vinci Code, the networks routinely failed to address how the book most offended Christian sensitivities: that Christianity itself is a lie.
While Mel Gibson was attacked for his religious beliefs, Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown and filmmakers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer were never personally examined or challenged about their personal religious beliefs, their willingness to milk controversy, play fast and loose with facts, and offend Christians for personal gain.
“The networks did nearly everything they could to trash The Passion and its traditional portrayal of Christ and the crucifixion,” said MRC President Brent Bozell. “The same networks, however, have bent over backwards to promote and applaud the viciously anti-Christian bigotry presented in the Da Vinci Code book and movie. When it comes to trashing Christ and Christians, the networks are all for it.”
Heard on Ave Maria/EWTN Radio
I was listening to Teresa Tomeo on Ave Maria Radio/EWTN through Sirius Satellite Radio this morning when she covered the story and did an interview. I was outraged after listening to the details of the media bias when this organization contrasts the difference between how the Passion of the Christ and Mel Gibson were handled, versus The DaVinci Code and Ron Howard. Here is an excerpt from the Executive Summary.
■ While Mel Gibson was attacked and even psychoanalyzed for his religious beliefs, DaVinci Code author Dan Brown and filmmakers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer were never personally examined or challenged about their personal religious beliefs, their willingness to milk controversy, play fast and loose with facts, and offend Christians for personal gain. Whenever the networks decided to address fact and fiction in The DaVinci Code, they almost always found it was stuffed with falsehoods. But they never focused on the idea that Brown, Grazer, or Howard should be criticized for being too casual with the truth.
I would encourage everyone to read the full report to get an idea of just how biased mainstream media is (as if we need any further reminders). It covers more than just the DaVinci code.
See the Full Report