I have listened to Sean Hannity for years. I’ve been amazed at how he has done a good job at presenting both sides of issues facing the United States today. While I agree with most of his politics, I object to something he said today.
I wish I could quote him, but he said something to the effect that a person’s religious beliefs shouldn’t matter in politics. Now, I know what he was trying to say. He was trying to say that the United States is close to being a religiously bigoted country.
I agree with him. The U-S is quickly become that — if it isn’t already. Conservative Christians have been the targets already. The liberal left has been quite open that they don’t want Christian in any part of the government. That’s obvious with the number of President Bush’s judicial nominations that have failed.
While I don’t agree with the way Hannity presents ‘both sides’ of the issue, he does it. He allows both sides to talk about the issues, whether he agrees with them or not.
I think many Christian radio stations have failed to provide similar type of radio, whether it be in the news department, or during morning or afternoon drive shows. I believe the reason is because most of the people (not all) in these position don’t know about most of these issues to present both sides and they probably don’t have the ability to guide a conversation without losing control.
Perhaps this is the reason why Republicans lost the mid-term elections. Radio stations that have typically aired programs like Focus on the Family, Famiily Life Today, Probe and other like features to help keep their listeners informed, are no longer doing that. Why? For more music.
There’s nothing wrong with more music, but there is something wrong with Christian radio stations not providing information that can help their listeners be better informed when making a decision when they go to the polls.
That’s why news is vital to Christian radio programming. I’m not blaming Christian radio entirely for losing the mid-term election. The republicans did enough to blow it on their own. But, I’ve noticed in the last few years quality news and information on Christian radio is rare.
Perhaps we need to think more proactively about how we can provide quality, compelling information that can help education our listeners to be more active in the marketplace.
