I just turned on the television and thought for a moment that the The Prayer Channel had taken over the airwaves. As it turns out, it is just the installation of the new Archbishop of New York. Now, as a Catholic, I know it is big deal when the Arch gets a new Archbishop. I get the pomp and circumstance and gravity of the transition of leadership. But this blog is not about the Catholic church, or religion: it is about the media.
So I have to ask: does this event, which really impacts 2.5 million people and only 3 of NYC's 5 boroughs, really warrant five hours of live, non-stop coverage on New York 1, NBC, FOX, ABC, and WOR? Since the mass of installation is a big chunk of this coverage, I am wondering if the networks are actually proselytizing. On NBC for example, the commentator who is clearly not an impartial journalist but is not identified as anything else, described the new Archbishop Dolan's homily as "amazing" and then explained how the Eucharist and wine is "transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ." The commentator should at the very least be identified as a Catholic journalist or priest or whatever he is. On FOX, they don't even have their own cameras inside; they announced that they are using the Archdiocese's footage. Cozy much?
If it is some sort of media/church conspiracy to get more people to join the ranks, they are not selling their product very well. There are about 20+ gray-haired, white-skinned, old men standing behind the altar. Oh wait, I see one brown-skinned man peeking out in the back. Since more and more practicing Catholics are various shades of brown, this "program" is a pretty lousy recruitment tool. As the camera pans the audience, I see such prominent people as the celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich and thrice married former mayor Rudy Guiliani. Hmm..So what are these stations up to? I can understand an hour or so, but five hours and a full mass seems excessive. The media is often accused of being a propaganda tool for the far left. Not so today.
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