June 7, 2012

News Flash: Even Christians Hate Christian TV

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-89124160/stock-vector-happy-christian-religion-christianity.html?src=csl_recent_image-1">graphica</a>/shutterstock.com

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Pastor David Wright is the CEO of DOersTV.com, an online Christian reality TV network. He’s been using Facebook to do some research on his audience, and this week sent out a press release revealing his findings. No one who’s ever watched Christian TV will be especially shocked, but Wright declared himself “flabbergasted” to learn that even the vast majority of Christians who responded to his network’s Facebook fan page hate Christian TV. “I kind of expected there would be those Christians who thought Christian TV was too boring or not relevant for the times, but I never would have imagined the disdain thousands of Christians have for Christian TV,” Wright said in his release.

Fortunately, Wright was able to get to the source of the frustration. He says that the vast majority of Christians think that Christian TV is boring and that it features “Too much begging for money and fundraising telethons.” Another problem he identified is that Christians think Christian TV is full of ethically challenged “false prosperity teachers” manipulating people to give money. “Unfortunately, the greed for money has replaced the need for ministry among many of our ministers and Christian TV Networks. People are feed [sic] up with the lust for material things,” said Wright, noting that the overabundance of greedy religious figures on Christian TV was a big turn off for viewers. “We can’t have pastors indulging in sin and expect people not to be turned off.” Wright promises to take the information to heart: he’s declared a moratorium on telethons, so the devout can safely tune in to “Kingdom Building Today” or the oxymoronic “Christian Comedy Television” on his network without hearing that God thinks they should write the network a big check. Praise the lord! 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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