I think I figured out why religion dominates the media now.

[AP]

I mean, I know generally why it dominates the media. But I've been wondering, why the dramatic shift since the election?

Well, what dominated the media from 9/01 until 11/04? Iraq, war and terrorism. Everywhere you looked and listened, the media was talking about militarism. For comparison, from '98 to '00 all the media talked about was buying stocks...and people bought stocks...and people stayed in stocks even when insiders were bailing out. (I have a friend who was going to sell her shares when they were high before the crash, but she saw an interview with a woman on MSNBC who criticized other women from being too cautious and selling when they should be holding -- having cable cost her much more than just her monthly cable bill).

Talking about stocks all the time helped make some people rich, but it didn't help Republicans win the election in 2000. What helped them win the election in 2004 was the fact that the media stopped talking about capital markets (and Enron and World Com and Arthur Anderson) and they started talking about militarism.

What are the most conservative institutions in American public life? The military, marriage and most churches. What helps Republicans win elections? Reaffirming conservative institutions -- ie, encouraging people to look at the world through the lenses of conservative institutions.

For whatever reason, the media has let go of Iraq and has moved on to religion. Perhaps they see Iraq running its course? Perhaps they know that the next Republican candidate for president will not be associated with Iraq the way Bush is (only Cheney and Rumsfield could run on Iraq).

I think the shift in focus to religion is a conscious effort by the media to promote a mood in America that affirms conservative themes, values and models for seeing the world -- it's an attempt to create resonating thought processes that get people to vote Republican and it's consciously substituting Iraq with Religion.

The major media will never strike notes like, say, workers rights, the University, class and opportunity which would help resonate progressive models for perceiving the world. (Could you imagine if all the stories in the news were about those things? Wouldn't it be nice?) However, all the bloggers and podcasters and others do have the power to encourage progressive models for seeing the world...

[AValdoux]

1. Ratings

The media is driven by ratings. I think the proper way to describe it is "corporate media". It is for the corporation, by the corporation and in the best interest of the corporation. It has nothing to do with journalism any more. I also call it 'info-tainment'. Religion is the new buzz word. Bush worship has passed, as did militarism, Clinton bashing, etc. They are just appealing to their established ratings base. The 24-hour news channels absorbed the old 'Current Affair' viewers. Now they can watch whenever they want and pretend they are knowledgable. No more tabloid stigma. Look at the advertisers and you will know who watching. It is no longer referred to as "The Press", media is the accurate word for it.


AValdoux

[AP]

3. I don't think ratings explains why the media was obsessed with

the stock market and Clinton from 98 to 2000, with Iraq from 2001 to, literally, election day 2004, and now religion.

I think it's about framing and I think it's obvious whose interests are served by the "buy stock/Clinton bad/terror everywhere/religion everywhere" frames.

[tex-wyo-dem]

2. If you remember in the days after the election...

all the pollsters were claiming that it was "values voters" that pushed ** over the top and that values was the top issue people voted on. I believe a short time after that it was found that that really wasn't the case due to poor or misleading polling questions, but the media hung onto that assumption.

What it all boils down to is that religion and it's role in our society is a huge distraction and is the ultimate wedge issue that has Rove written all over it. I've suspected for a long time that the U.S. media is being steered to concentrate on these highly divisive and consuming issues, and away from the deteriorating condition in Iraq and the administration's disastrous foreign policy as a whole.

[AP]

4. I think the script was written before the misleading poll questions were..

...written.

I think that the poll questions were designed to get the result they did and was part of the plan to create the religion frame for 2005-2008.