The Bible speaks about the wisdom of receiving Godly council. But, for over 50 years, Christians in America have been receiving their council on "what the news is," and, "what the current events of the day are," from a news industry that has become more and more secular and increasingly hostile toward the Biblical World View.

With today’s communications technology, the average newspaper editor, radio or TV news show director has thousands of news stories a day to choose from. A newspaper has only so many pages. Radio news last only 3 to 5 minutes at the top of the hour. The TV network nightly news is only half an hour long. The values of the editor will determine what news will be reported. His World View will determine how much space or time a story gets, where it is placed in the line up, or on what page, and what "spin" is on the story! When you look at a newspaper today, you are seeing the world through the Secular World View of the editor.

Christian leaders including; Dr. James Dobson, Chuck Colson, Josh McDowell and the late Frances Shaffer, have said that we are locked in a "civil war over values." I agree. This is not only happening in America but world wide. It is the Secular World View vs the Biblical World View! Is there a Creator God in Heaven, making all life unique and valuable, with moral absolutes and eternal truths; or is man just a biological accident of nature, with all truth being relative, and all religions leading to a heaven, or nowhere? Are Christians "Heroes of the Faith," or "right wing extremists and bigots." Are Christians showing love in trying to save the lost, or are we being judgmental and intolerant and trying to force our views on the rest of society? Only one world view can dominate and right now the dominate world view in America is the Secular World View, but that can change!

I call the secular media "secular" because that is what they are, "without God." Ninety six percent of Americans say they believe in God. 90 percent of Americans say they have attended a church service in the last year. However, according to a Lichter-Rothman survey, 85 percent of those involved in the media say they seldom or never attended religious services. Only 8 percent of the media said they attend a church or synagogue in the last week. When asked their religious affiliation, 50 percent of the media said "none."

Eighty percent of clergy, asked in a 1993 poll, said that they think the news media coverage of religious issues and events is biased, yet, 80 percent of the media felt the coverage is not biased. Another poll shows: 90 percent of the members of the news media believes that a woman has a right to have an abortion on demand, 75 percent said homosexuality is not a sin, and only 47 percent said adultery was wrong. Clearly the spiritual values of those in today’s dominate news industry are not the spiritual values of Bible believing Christians and of most Americans.

No news media in America would send a reporter to cover the World Series or the Super Bowl that did not understand the game or the importance of the event, yet daily secular news media send reporters to cover Christian issues, personalities, and events that have no understanding, appreciation, knowledge, or respect for Biblical values or those who try to live by them.

In a political debate, if you can control the meaning of words, you can control who wins that political debate. By sheer volume and repetition, the secular media controls the meaning of words! Some examples are: "the family" is no longer Mom and Dad living with the kids, but any number of adults and children, not necessarily related by blood or marriage living together. Its no longer a baby, its a fetus or a blob of tissue. An abortion is now called "the procedure." Suicide is now "death with dignity," and "Sexual preference" is now "sexual orientation." Those who like pornography are now "mature audiences". Knowing right from wrong is no longer a virtue but intolerance!

A 1995 study of three national newspapers and of network television, conducted by the Media Research Center, showed the media clearly favored abortion advocates. Republicans who advocated legal abortion were described as "moderates" in 116 stories, Pro-Life Republicans were labeled "far right", "hard right" or "extreme right" in 37 stories. Corresponding terms for abortion advocates such as "hard left," or "far left" were never used.

In a recent poll released by the Freedom Forum; 91 percent of the 139 Washington, D.C. based journalist and reporters said they consider themselves liberal or moderate. Only 2 percent identified themselves as conservative. Eighty nine percent said that they had voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. Liberalism is a by-product of secularism!

Because of this and other documented bias in the secular news media, a recent Louis Harris Poll found that only 14 percent of Americans have "a great deal" of confidence in the press, while 57 percent had "only some", and 30 percent "hardly any."

A Times Mirror Poll found that 66 percent of the people "distrusted the media."

Ten years ago, the major media (the Associated Press, ABC, CBS, NBC, CCN) and a few national newspapers and radio networks controlled 98 percent of the news received by most Americans. Today, due to talk radio, 500 channel cable TV, the Internet, and a few small independent newspapers, their monopoly is down 40 percent. Readership of daily newspapers is down 25 percent.

Today’s secular news industry does not meet the needs of Christians. I say to the secular newspapers, "Do not patronize us with your 'Religion' sections in your publications!"

A hundred years ago, the news information industry in America was Christian owned and operated. The Biblical World View was the dominate world view in our society.

In the past, the news media viewed itself as a watch dog, a defender of society and all that was good and right. Today, most students go into journalism "to change society," and society, as well as the news industry, has changed. What was once seen as needing defending, is now seen by the secular news media as the very institutions and values that need changing.

Christians unfortunately have funded, and continue to fund, with their advertising dollars the very media empires that now threaten our nation, families, faith and values with their misinformation and secular spin on the news! It is time we as Christians supported Christian news media that will report the news without first running it through a secular filter.

Let me say something about what this Christian newspaper is going to be: We will not be "the voice of the Christian Community," or "the voice of God!". We will be a newspaper serving the Christian Community. We will not be a lobbying force. We will not be a power broker. We will not be trying to tell you what to think or how to think.

We simply will try to report the news and events of the day that are important to Christians and families from a point of view that upholds and reinforces the Biblical World View.

As a Christian newspaper we hold ourselves to, and we are held to, a higher and different standard than the secular newspapers. Jesus is "The Truth"! If we call ourselves Christians, we represent Jesus to the world. We represent "The Truth." We can not knowingly print an untruth. We can not twist or spin an article to promote or harm a politician we may support or dislike.

The news we print will not always be "good" news. To only print the "good" news would be as much an untruth as to only print the "bad news"!

Neither Christian radio nor Christian television carries a lot of news programming. You can listen to Dr. Dobson or Chuck Colson on the radio and get excited, but when you go to tell someone about what you heard, you may forget half of it. With this Christian newspaper, you will have it in writing!

I have been advised by "the experts" to only establish only a web site! "The web is the way of the further," they say. But not every Christian has or wants access to the World Wide Web. We can't

reach mainstream America with just a web site! We have to reach them where they live, work and play. A Christian newspaper can get into places Christian TV, radio, and a web site can not! This newspaper will be in grocery stores, family restaurants, government buildings, airport terminals, almost everywhere, almost anywhere! Studies have shown that between 1/3 to 1/2 of the readership of Christian newspapers are non-Christians. This newspaper will be written first to Christians, but non-Christians will also read it and it will have an impact in their lives, too.

The vision the Lord has given me is to build a nationwide Christian weekly newspaper, much like the USA Today, only Christian, but with a local news section inserted inside. It would be like getting a USA Today with your local daily newspaper inside. This business plan is the plan for such a newspaper.

Is It Doable? Yes!

The secular newspaper, USA Today, also the nation's largest newspaper, sells 2.2 million papers a day. There are about 50 Christian newspapers of various quality and formats that are members of the Christian Newspaper Association. Some are supported by advertising. Some are church or denominational supported. Some of these papers

are "news" papers. Others are issue or theological in topic. Because of the lack of financial support, all these papers are monthly publications. Most are distributed as free counter top newspapers. However, together these 50 or so monthly Christian publications have a combined readership of over 1.1 million.

The readership is there! There are over 4000 Christian bookstores in America that are members of the Christian Bookstore Association. There are another 4000 Christian bookstores that are not members. There are over 1600 Christian radio stations and 242 Christian TV stations in the United States. America has over 287,000 churches!

Conservative thought is the growing force in America, yet most newspapers and media are of the liberal political slant. Rush Limbaugh claims over 25 million listeners for his daily radio talk show.

Rather than launch a paper nationwide all at once that would take hundreds of millions of dollars to do, with hundreds of employees, this plan is in several Phases. Conservatively speaking, 1,000,000 papers a week for a quality Christian newspaper, with a pro-life, pro-family, conservative, traditional family value political lean, upholding and reinforcing the Biblical World View, is only a beginning point! The average newspaper is read by 2.7 readers. One million papers translates into over 2.7 readers, on the average, but we will not be publishing just an average newspaper! The newspaper that I published was read by sometimes up to 7 people, according to readers' surveys.

Yes, a nationwide weekly Christian newspaper is doable! Imagine getting once a week a newspaper about the size of a USA Today with a section inserted in the middle of local Christian Community news, all for 50 cents! Imagine the unity this could bring. Imagine the impact of putting into the hands of mainstream Christian America, in a timely fashion, the kind of information they need.

I do not plan to compete with the secular media, I plan to replace it! With your help, input, and prayers, I know this paper can become a reality! If you would like to be part of this vision, please contact me.

Our mission is our advantage in the business arena!

Next time you are reading a newspaper, ask yourself, "From which World View does this newspaper report?" and "Does this newspaper support my Biblical Values?" Then ask yourself, "Why don't I have something better to read?"

l We offer the World Hope, - JESUS!

Jerry Fennell, editor

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