Page 129 - Religion in the Media Age Media, Religion & Culture

118 Reception of religion and media

think about the media assumes a level of cognitive engagement with media
practice. We want to assume that people think about what they do, that
they can be reliable interpreters of their own actions and reliable sources
about their practices. There is reason to wonder, though, whether these are
safe assumptions

Life with media

Dale and Bonnie Johnson are in their early thirties and live with their two
sons, Don, 6, and Carson, 5, in a medium-sized city. Dale is completing his
undergraduate degree after a change in careers, and Bonnie works part-
time. Dale is bilingual in French and English, as his mother was born in
France. One of Bonnie’s parents also was originally from Europe. They are
African American and live in family housing managed by the university
Dale attends, which is helpful because their family income is less than
$25,000 per year. The apartment is small but comfortable, but there is
little spare room available anywhere. They have cable TV through their
housing, and also own two television sets, two VCRs (one in the parents’
bedroom), and a computer with Internet access. They have a large collec-
tion of videocassettes, mostly of popular films, stored on separate racks,
one for the kids and one for the parents. 8
They are devout Christians and attend an independent Baptist church,
but the parents are from different religious backgrounds. Dale responds to
a question about this: “I grew up as a Protestant I think. No, no a
Presbyterian.” Bonnie was raised Southern Baptist. Both parents now iden-
tify themselves as religious people, and a good deal of what they talk
about is inflected with their religious values and religious ideas. When
asked what is important to them as a family, for instance, they say both
family “quality time” and a “spiritual upbringing.” They see themselves as
involved parents, and express that in part through the rules they try to
maintain for their boys’ media exposure. 9
As is the case with many families, though, their descriptions of media
practice in their home are a bit vague. When asked what television
programs they regularly watch, Dale and Bonnie respond “news,”
affirming that they mean, first, local news. When asked if they watch
“CNN or Tom Brokaw or anything” by the Interviewer, Dale responds
“We do watch MSNBC.” They then go on, simultaneously saying
“Dateline.”

Interviewer: So you’re watching the news every day?
Dale: We do get news every day.
Interviewer: How long?
Dale: Night time, I guess about two hours.
Interviewer: Two hours of news every day?