wfn.org | Research Finds Religious People Don't like Religious TV

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

29-February-2000 
00093 
 
    Research Finds Religious People Don't like Religious TV 
 
    "How many preachers can you watch in a 24-hour period?" 
 
    by Ted Parks 
    Religion News Service 
 
ANAHEIM, Calif. - In a study commissioned by a Christian broadcasting 
network, a third of the viewers polled who consider themselves evangelical 
Christians said they don't like religious television. 
 
    The figure jumps to 60 percent for people who say they are religious 
but not evangelical. 
 
    The results led the Total Living Network, which commissioned the study, 
to conclude that "religious television is not currently meeting the needs 
of viewers," according to a summary provided to Religion News Service by 
TLN during the recent annual convention of the National Religious 
Broadcasters.  The meeting here concluded Feb. 8. 
 
    The study, produced for TLN by the New York marketing firm Zoetics, 
surveyed 1,000 randomly selected viewers in July 1998.  The study carries a 
margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. 
 
    The 24-hour Chicago cable network has been analyzing the data for over 
a year as part of an attempt to understand its viewers, said Christine 
Moore, TLN's publicist. 
 
    The survey also looked beyond religious programming to television in 
general. 
 
    Among the additional findings are that 73 percent of adults believe 
that "a lot of TV is often violent, sexually explicit and even shocking," 
the summary indicated. 
 
    For 54 percent, "today's TV has very little redeeming value." 
 
    The results don't surprise some media experts. 
 
    "They're very consistent with everything I've read and studied," said 
Ken Waters, who teaches media ethics at Pepperdine University in Malibu, 
Calif. 
 
    "It's preaching to the choir," Waters said of current Christian 
television programming. "There's not enough variety ... . How many 
preachers can you watch in a 24-hour period?" 
 
    For TLN President Jerry Rose, the study showed a mismatch between what 
many Americans want from religious programming and what it delivers. 
 
    "There was a disconnect between their feeling and need," Rose said, 
"and what they saw on Christian television." 
 
    TLN commissioned the study so that it could be "intentional ... in 
designing the format rather than letting the format just happen," he said. 
 
    A television veteran who is also an ordained Assemblies of God 
minister, Rose said that a lot of people in Christian television come to 
the medium from a background in ministry. Because "their passion is to 
build a church," he said, "television becomes a conduit" for their 
ministry goals. 
 
    By showing more awareness of the unique character of the medium, Rose 
wants to transform Christian television. He hopes to foster joint ventures 
among religious broadcasters and producers and plans to experiment with new 
formats. 
 
    Referring to recent mergers by media giants like AOL and Time Warner, 
Rose said secular companies realize they "have to form strategic, 
synergistic alliances."  He wants the same for Christian broadcasters, who 
he said perennially lack funds to compete with the slick production values 
of their nonreligious counterparts. 
 
    Rose said he is planning a programming format that will combine short 
dramatic episodes with interviews and other segments to gently connect with 
viewers' needs. 
 
    Instead of being preached answers to questions they may not even have, 
viewers would see the positive results of faith and get a sense of hope for 
their lives, he said. 
 
    "The idea is not to be so declarative," said Rose, who served as NRB 
president from 1988 to 1990. 
 
    Calling for new concepts from religious broadcasters, Rose said "we're 
not trying to change the way people feel about Christian television, but 
we're trying to change the way Christian television feels about people." 

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