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Church Slayings and the

News Value of Life

September, 1999

 

It will be no surprise to me if this is the first some learn of last Wednesday’s murder of seven young worshipers at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. The death toll was greater than at any of the school massacres this nation has suffered in recent years except that at Columbine High:  a 36 year-old choir director, two 23 year-old seminary students, a 17 year-old boy, two 14 year-old girls, and a 14 year-old boy. 

Seven others were wounded, three critically.  The carnage, apparently by a lone lunatic, disrupted a post-rally celebrating “See You At The Pole” prayer gatherings held annually at school flagpoles nationwide.

How could one possibly stumble across a tragedy of such magnitude in a screed by some no-name columnist on page B-deep a week after the event?  Easy.  The Sacramento Bee, for instance, initially buried the story on page A17.  Electronic media attention was roughly the equivalent of A17, though I have since seen guilt coverage that has been about as timely and sincere as that given Mother Teresa’s death in the wake of Princess Diana’s.

This paper didn’t report the events until two days after, and then on page 7A.  It is fair to note that its front page is generally reserved for local events, but I find the delay hard to excuse.

I can’t give a complete pass on the positioning, either.  This front page often carries national news with local tie-ins; the headline the day after the shootings was “Medicare HMO premiums to jump 140%.”  Hundreds of Butte County middle school, high school, and college students participated in “Pole” services.  What of their reactions and those of their parents?  How have city and county law enforcement officials prepared for copycats?  What precautions were taken by local “Pole” organizers?  Or by our schools?

            I had worried about attacks, though for me it started with a remarkable, heartening experience: the sight of two or three hundred kids clustered in small groups, heads bowed in prayer.  Just seeing so many teens still and reverent seemed miracle enough, but I was mostly struck by their passion, an ardor many of us so-called grownups let fade. 

Watching my son attend a pre-rally the night before “Pole” gatherings here, my thoughts flashed to West Paducah, Kentucky, where a fellow student opened fire on a high school prayer meeting.  Then the girl at Columbine High, murdered after her killer asked if she believed in God.  And the recent attack on Jewish children at a community center in Los Angeles. 

Faith can get flabby over the years along with the gut and thighs, and for much the same reason – lack of exercise.  I love the faith growing in my children, but I am still their Dad; groups of kids standing in front of schools with their eyes closed seemed too tempting a target.  I prayed for their faith, but also their safety.

I doubt anyone sane takes joy from the events in Texas, but why the national ho-hum?  I have been given latitude to write what I wish in this space – if you don’t buy that, re-read the middle few paragraphs.  I’m thankful, and don’t suspect this paper or any other media organ of scheming to downplay the tragedy.  I do believe, though, that there are prevailing points of view in this business.

Some point to headline competition from Hurricane Floyd, though that doesn’t explain page A17 non-coverage.  Others blame leftward media bias, but I’m not convinced in this case.  You find a lot of rank-and-file liberals in the pews and my best guess is that God, the ultimate independent, has no political affiliation.  This particular paper is hardly left leaning in any event.

More likely, the Fort Worth victims simply don’t fit the demographic du jour.  It strains credulity to suggest that political or media reaction would have been half as sleepy had the bloodshed occurred at a predominantly minority church or a synagogue. 

I am loathe to believe it, but the only explanation I can make fit is that America’s newsrooms do not find the slaughter of white Christian youths in their churches especially newsworthy.  I pray for better.

 

 

© 1997 – 2002 Brent Morrison

 

 

 

 
 

 

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