Addressing the media—

While claiming to represent reality, it can tend to legitimise or impose distorted models of personal, family or social life.

Moreover, in order to attract listeners and increase the size of audiences, it does not hesitate at times to have recourse to vulgarity and violence, and to overstep the mark.

—Pope Benedict XVI as quoted in "Pope urges 'more ethical' media"

The Pope also spoke of "infoethics," a term new to me but not to Google. But the meaning he gave it is idiosyncratic since it appears most often in association with librarians.

Like the Church, the media are here to entertain, not inform, and are safely in the hands of responsible parties such as Rupert Murdoch and Clear Channel Communications.

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Tags: news and politics religion Roman Catholicism media infotainment