Mediaculture: Reflections on the effect of media and culture on our faith

“Democratization” of the news is a heavy reality for print journalists. Information and news is now disseminated in seconds on personal blogs, websites and social media. Fewer and fewer people are willing to pay for news to arrive in print in their mailboxes. So what is the role of traditional reporting and editing?

I sometimes think of our roles as editors as curators of the news. We receive far more news releases than we can include in print, and we also sometimes receive releases that we consider inappropriate to print. Consequently, we are aware of the trust our readers put in our ability to assess what is important to publish.

But access is what the democratization process is bringing to news reporting. It is changing the way people receive information and news. There are fewer and fewer editors screening the information for accuracy, libel and slander before it reaches readers.

In our September issue, Anna Groff published an article describing some of the “edgy” Mennonite blogs and websites that may be of interest to Mennonite Church USA members.

But some of the sites carry content that we would not publish in this magazine. One reader objected to the inclusion of several blogs and said, “As the magazine of the denomination, I am concerned that The Mennonite would be promoting these blogs.”

Such a criticism implies that the reader disagreed with our assessment of what to publish, even though anyone with an Internet connection has access to those same blogs. It is this access that is changing print reporting.

Here is another example: Barbra Graber, a reader, was angry about Gordon Houser’s assessment (in this column) of a new John Howard Yoder book. She first wrote a letter to the editor expressing her anger, then posted a long piece on her Facebook page.

At the same time, I was aware that Mennonite Church USA executive director Ervin Stutzman was planning to form a committee to re-examine the Yoder case.

I also arranged to meet Sara Wenger Shenk, president of Anabaptist Mennonite Seminary in Elkhart, Ind., to discuss how we could best partner with AMBS in talking about this history.

However, within days, Graber’s Facebook post went viral. Suddenly there were links to it from other sites. Anyone could have access to the information.

Fortunately, the AMBS faculty had done extensive work on how to teach Yoder, and Shenk was able to both blog about that work as well as publish the AMBS faculty statement crafted last year.

But I doubt either would now be public without the speed and access of the blogs, websites and social media. The democratization of news and opinion spurred access to the information.

What does this mean for the church when it has official periodicals like this one? Or, to borrow from some of the header at the top of this column, What is the effect of such media and “citizen journalism” on our faith?

Just as is happening in the secular press, news and information about developments in Mennonite Church USA congregations, conferences, agencies and institutions is increasingly spread by individuals through their blogs, Facebook pages and other social media.

It is a reality for periodicals like ours, and we use the new media by having our own bloggers, Facebook page and other social media.

Our hope is that in these new access points you will continue to trust the way we assess what is important for the church.

Everett J. Thomas is editor of The Mennonite.