ROME, April 22, 2013 (Zenit.org) – The image of fatherhood in modern television is the theme of a two-day conference currently under way at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (PUSC).

“The Figure of the Father in Serial Television” is the latest conference on the theme of “Poetics, Communications, and Culture” hosted bi-annually by PUSC’s Institutional Church communications faculty.

The conference aims to offer a study of fatherhood as it is represented in popular television series: specifically, the father’s role in the family; the absence of the father figure; and the relationship between a father and his children.

Today’s session began with a presentation on the “golden age” of fictional television by Professor Alberto Nahum García from the University of Navarra. He was followed by RAI journalist Costanza Miriano, mother of four, who spoke on the role of the father within the family, while Dr. Alberto Fijo, director of the newspaper Fila Siete and head editor of Acerensa, provided an analysis of three British television series: “Downton Abbey,” “Luther,” and “The Hour.”

Fr. John Wauck, professor of institutional communications at PUSC and one of the panel moderators, told ZENIT that the theme for this year’s conference was chosen, in part, to “draw attention to the huge role that fatherhood plays in many contemporary television shows.”

As a pontifical university, he said, “we’re interested in, above all, theological and sometimes anthropological, philosophical, moral questions. In an academic environment, we frequently forget that it’s not necessarily in textbooks or in classrooms where these questions are being addressed.”

Some of the speakers in today’s session, he continued, noted how “we’re living through … a ‘golden age’ of television, in which there’s the luxury of having an enormous amount of time to tell very long and complicated stories with technology that now is almost on a par with the technology that’s used in feature films. The difference between television and film, therefore, has been reduced in terms of quality.”

Unlike films, Fr. Wauck noted, which are generally limited in length to around two hours, television series are able to delve into complex questions about life and existence over the course of many hours: “Questions of identity, fatherhood, the relationship between fathers and children, the moral issues involved in the exercise of parental authority, the reaction of children to the presence of a father, or the absence of a father, or the various defects or deficiencies of fathers. All of those things are able to be treated in a more profound way in these long television series where you don’t have to finish everything in a couple hours.”

“The saga of a family is hard to do in two hours, but in these television series you can, and that’s what you’re seeing.”

Television and the crisis of fatherhood

The aim of this year’s Church communications conference is not to offer a solution to the problems within the family, but to identify the crisis from the point of view of television. “Frequently, the problem in many television series is the absence of a father, or a father who is somehow inadequate. Looking for perfect fathers is going to be very difficult in today’s world of television. One of the papers that’s being presented has to do with ‘Pa’ from ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ but even that’s going back a long ways to find that kind of father figure.”

“Most of the father figures that you find in contemporary television series are deeply flawed, if they’re present at all,” he said, noting how “sometimes the real story of fatherhood in a series is the absence of the father as it is in the society at large.”

An outside perspective

Although the majority of the television shows being studied are from Britain and the United States, the speakers are almost exclusively comprised of Spanish and Italian experts. “There’s a very international dimension to the conference,” Fr. Wauck said, “not just from the fact that people come from different countries, but that there’s this cultural distance on the part of the presenters from the programs they’re talking about. They are therefore able to look at American television series with an eye that’s a little different than what you ordinarily run into in American commentary.”

He also noted how it was significant when one of the speakers, wife and mother Costanza Miriano of RAI television, said in her talk that she does not have time to watch television. “That is a very valuable point to take into account at a conference like this because it raises the question: If the people who are doing the parenting don’t have the time to watch programs where parenthood is being talked about, who is watching? Apparently it’s not the people who are raising the children today.”

PHILADELPHIA, April 24, 2013 (Zenit.org) – Following the call to the new evangelization, founders of the band Scythian are using their own success to help other musicians promote a culture of life with their music through a new initiative: Village Square.

Founded in 2002 by classically trained brothers Daniel and Alexander Fedoryka, Scythian has spent the last 10 years traveling the country mostly on the festival and music venue circuit. Their style is largely rooted in Celtic music, mixed with folk traditions from around the world. Other current band members include Josef Crosby, Andrew Toy, and Ben-David Warner.

“Being Ukrainian,” Daniel Fedoryka told ZENIT in describing their style, “our Eastern Heritage has also made it into the mix as well as bluegrass, zydeco and contemporary sounds. There’s a little of something for everybody, no matter what age.”

Although Scythian has become well established in the secular market, Fedoryka continued, the brothers have maintained the Catholic ties with which they were raised, and have begun to use their music to serve various initiatives within the Church.

“Alexander and I were both raised by parents who had an authentic relationship with God and who loved the Church and its traditions. From an early age I remember going to the Carmelites for the Holy Face Devotion, praying for Mother Teresa and her nuns every night. Later on in life my mother became choir director for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.”

Scythian accepted an invitation to play for the Little Sisters of the Poor in Philadelphia earlier this year to raise funds for their mission. “We are a headliner on the Celtic Festival Circuit and were looking for a good venue to play in Philadelphia for St. Patrick’s Month,” Fedoryka recounted. “We were narrowing down our search when we got this offer from the most unlikely of corners. We read up on the Little Sisters and their mission and were sold. We knew it would be amusing for our fans to see we’re doing a show entitled ‘Little Sisters of the Poor Spring Concert’ instead of a big music venue, but we had a suspicion that the nuns would blow them away — and that indeed did happen. We were happy to be a part of their effort to raise funds for such a worthy cause and excited about sharing the Sisters’ story with our fans.”

“We have done over 1,200 shows as Scythian and noticed that there was something very different about the Little Sisters’ show,” Fedoryka continued. “Since everyone was there to support a worthy cause, there was a spirit of openness and generosity which spilled over into the show and created a real community. It felt like a village wedding with young and old dancing shoulder to shoulder.”

Following their show for the Sisters, and at the encouragement of Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia to become more engaged with the New Evangelization, the Fedoryka brothers, along with other musicians, “formed a new project called Village Square Productions, which combines quality music with almsgiving, creating what Pope Benedict calls ‘an economy of generosity.’”

The aim of Village Square, he continued, “is to aid Catholic musicians who are producing quality music in gaining the exposure necessary to survive. Recalling the old adage ‘you are what you eat’ we’re seeking to encourage the faithful to be aware of the music they take in — mostly produced by the culture of death — and encourage them to promote a living, thriving Culture of Life by supporting young artists who are faithful to Christ’s teaching.”

Fedoryka said: “It is hard to make a living as a musician and unless people actively support these artists, they will have to retire as soon as they get married and have kids. Our goal is to help these artists to get the exposure they need to make a living and keep contributing to the Culture or Life.”

Proceeds from each of their shows, which will begin next May, will go to a designated charity. “We hope,” Fedoryka said, “that the crowds we pull will form new friendships and yet other cells of faithful living and evangelization.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 24, 2013 (Zenit.org) – Catholics in the US can support Church communications through contributions the weekend of May 11-12 to the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) annual collection.

The second collection, taken up in most parishes in the United States May 11 and 12, supports national and international media projects. Fifty percent of the collection targets local media efforts, such as print publications, television and radio programs, and digital initiatives.

“The projects funded by the Catholic Communication Campaign allow the Church to spread the Gospel message in the digital environment,” said Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ CCC subcommittee. “The bishops firmly believe in the importance of these Catholic media projects, which allow the Church to evangelize within the modern communications world.”

The campaign recently supported communication efforts surrounding the election of Pope Francis and an immersion program in the Middle East for Catholic journalists to learn firsthand the concerns of the Middle East’s Christian community.

Another funded project, in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, is developing a digital safety guide for Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian families to stay informed and responsible in their digital activities. The guide offers practical tips for protecting children and families, an overview of the challenges of becoming literate in digital communications, and theological foundations for responsible Internet browsing.

United States:
Internet users tried for days to piece together clues about the culprits of the Boston bombings. The result? They got it wrong – and left innocent people fearing for their safety. Many are now asking: should “crowd-sourced investigations” be stopped?

Thousands have been tirelessly picking through the evidence – every piece of video footage, every photo, every eyewitness account they can get their hands on.

But this investigation wasn’t within the confidential confines of the FBI or local police.

No, these sleuths were working in public – discussing their theories and “leads” within massive communities such as Reddit, 4Chan, Facebook and Twitter.

On Friday, those efforts ended with an apology. After hours of chatter and speculation, the standout suspect identified – and named – was the wrong man.

“I’d like to extend the deepest apologies to the family of Sunil Tripathi for any part we may have had in relaying what has turned out to be faulty information,” wrote Reddit user Rather_Confused.

“We cannot begin to know what you’re going through and for that we are truly sorry.

“Several users, Twitter users, and other sources had heard him identified as the suspect and believed it to be confirmed.

“We were mistaken.”

‘Racist Where’s Wally’

In the preceeding hours, Mr Tripathi, who has been missing since mid-March, became a trending topic on Twitter as his name and picture were shared far and wide.

Information had been gathered on a specially created section on Reddit – known as a subreddit – entitled Find Boston Bombers.

Members had been posting their ideas and footage, offering suggestions over what they saw as crucial clues in what has been described as a crowd-sourced criminal investigation.

While undoubtedly set up with noble intentions, innocent people were routinely singled out in pictures captioned with such apparent evidence as “not looking at the race”, or because of sketchy similarities between the rucksacks being worn by onlookers and the bag that contained the bomb.

The New Statesman went as far as to call it a “racist Where’s Wally”, with the suggestion that there was emphasis on pointing out non-whites among the crowds.

One “suspect” was 17-year-old Salah Barhoun, described on Reddit simply as Blue Robe Man thanks to the tracksuit top he had worn.

Users posted information relating to his whereabouts, and pointing out the “sagging” in a shoulder bag he was holding – a sign, some thought, that he was carrying something heavy.

Hours later, the same pictures that had circulated on Reddit and 4Chan found their way to the front page of the New York Post.

Under the headline “bag men”, Mr Barhoun and a friend were said to be wanted for questioning – but the tabloid added: “There is no direct evidence linking them to the crime.”

The pair were not involved in the bombing – and Mr Barhoun told ABC News he now fears for his life.

There were more: White Hat Black Jacket Guy, Blue Duffel Bag Guy and Green Hat Guy, to share a few.

With each suspect, a rush to find their real identities – and in some cases, social media profiles and groups were peppered with threatening messages.

‘Disgusting’

When the real suspects – as confirmed by the FBI – were identified, the moderators of the Find Boston Bombers group told members that any posts about other people would be deleted immediately.

It meant much of the focus in the subreddit had shifted to the morality of what had occurred.

“This subreddit has been a disaster that has done more harm than good,” wrote Reddit user DarrenGrey.

“It ended up an epicentre of unstoppable finger-pointing and wild conjecture.

“And worst of all the mainstream media leapt on the information here like hungry hyenas.

A dedicated section on Reddit was launched to discuss theories

“Unreliable crowd-sourced material plus the media’s ravenous desire for fresh information has proved a disgusting mix. Let’s never ever do this again.”

But Charlie Beckett, director of the journalism and society think tank POLIS, told the BBC these highly public investigations are unstoppable.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” he said.

“You can’t lock down the internet like you can lock down part of Boston. You have to live with that.”

The only hope, he said, was that this very public and damaging mis-identification serves as a lesson to those eager to be “first” with new information online.

“It’s been a kind of a media literacy seminar – people are learning to be less stupid. You don’t want to be the person who names a suspect who turns out not to be right.”

He added: “I doubt that when we write the history of this event that the intelligence services will be thanking social media over this.”

Police scanners

But one Reddit user, who has spent the past two days posting minute-by-minute updates on the police investigation, defended the actions of those on the site.

“Innocent people will always be singled out,” said Joseph Stuhr in an email to the BBC.

“That’s why we have police. We can give them leads and they will figure everything out using facts and clues.”

At his desk in Virginia, 22-year-old Mr Stuhr has been using a combination of television feeds, local radio and police scanners to report updates. He has been praised by Reddit users for being quicker than mainstream outlets to share information.

In doing so, he said he believed mainstream media could learn a lot about reporting honestly in breaking news situations.

“When I make a mistake I can fix it quickly and many users point it out. I feel it lets the readers get involved, and its better to be honest and say ‘yeah, I messed up. I was wrong. But I fixed it!’.”

Yet perhaps the most poignant conclusion of the whole affair came from the family of Sunil Tripathi themselves.

“A tremendous and painful amount of attention has been cast on our beloved Sunil Tripathi in the past twelve hours,” read a message posted to a Facebook group.

“Now more than ever our greatest strength comes from your enduring support.

“We thank all of you who have reached out to our family and ask that you continue to raise awareness and to help us find our gentle, loving, and thoughtful Sunil.”

Source: BBC News

A recent survey carried out by Australia’s Interactive Games and Entertainment Association found that large numbers of kids are spending many hours a week playing violent video games.

“Children who are constantly exposed to violent media it raises their risks that they will choose to use aggression themselves when put in a conflict situation,” commented Australian Council on Children and the Media CEO Barbara Biggins, in an article published by the Advertiser newspaper on Nov. 5.

The survey follows an earlier report by the International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA) on the effects of exposure to media violence. In December last year the ISRA established an international Media Violence Commission last December, made up of 12 researchers.

Their conclusions, published in the September/October issue of the journal Aggressive Behavior, found that frequent exposure to media violence increased the relative risk of aggression.

“Youth can now download, view, play, and listen to violent material any time of day or night, often from the privacy of their own rooms, and with little supervision from their parents,” the report warned.

Some people reject the idea that violence in the media will affect behaviour, but the report pointed out that when it comes to content that is not violent it is accepted that the media will influence what people do, as is evident from the existence of the multibillion advertising industry

Airlines train their pilots on flight simulators and there are restrictions on sexual content being transmitted on television at times children are likely to be watching. Yet, for some reason, the report commented, there is reluctance to accept that violence in the media will influence behaviour.

The report stated that simply watching a violent movie is not going to cause someone to attack another person. Nor will players of violent video games all end up as violent criminals.

“Rather, the issue is whether watching violent movies and shows or interactively engaging in violent games in a virtual world increases the odds that people may engage in aggressive behavior in a variety of forms, both in the short term and in the long term.”

No single factor causes someone to act aggressively, the report explained. Nevertheless, each individual factor does increase the likelihood of aggression.

The research examined by the commission “clearly shows that media violence consumption increases the relative risk of aggression, defined as intentional harm to another person that could be verbal, relational, or physical,” the report said.

More than 15 meta-analyses, each bringing together multiple studies, have been published on the link between media violence and aggression. The results of all these studies found that exposure to media violence not only increases aggressive behaviour, but also aggressive thoughts, feelings, physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behavior.

It is mistaken to think that the aggression must be immediate or severe, such as shooting someone, the report qualified. It can take a variety of forms, such as a child being more defiant and disrespectful, or an adult being less open to others.

Repeated exposure to violence leads to a learning effect in the brain, the report explained. In addition, humans are inclined to imitate what they see others doing. Violent images can also serve as a trigger for aggressive thoughts and feelings already stored in the brain.

“If these aggressive thoughts and feelings are activated over and over again by repeated exposure to media violence, they become chronically accessible, and thus more likely to influence behaviour,” the report added.

Violence in films, TV, or video games also leads to desensitization, that is the reduction of a behavioral response to a stimulus. This desensitization in turn affects the process of moral evaluation of behaviour by an individual, the report explained.

Video games are particularly influential, as one of the best ways to learn something it to repeat it multiple times.

It’s not just violence that influences behavior. Another report found that exposure to sexual content in movies influences sexual behaviour among adolescents. In a press release dated July 17 the American Association for Psychological Science released the results of a study of 1,228 adolescents aged 12 to 14.

“Adolescents who are exposed to more sexual content in movies start having sex at younger ages, have more sexual partners, and are less likely to use condoms with casual sexual partners,” explained one of the researchers, Ross O’Hara..

What needs to be done, the ISRA report asked. For a start, it recommended that parents monitor their children’s media use and to set limits on both content and time. It also said that public policy should media ratings and classification, and also provide public education about the effects of media violence.

By Father John Flynn, LC, (Zenit)

Archbishop Costelloe on the New Evangelization

New Delhi (CBCI News)Vatican has released its theme for the 47th World Communications Day: “Social Networks: Portals of Truth and Faith; New Spaces for Evangelization.”

The Church recognizes that the world of digital communication is a major tool for evangelization, especially since it can lead people to God. The ability to promote that dialogue will be discussed on May 12th, 2013, during World Communications Day.

This annual tradition was established by the Second Vatican Council and is celebrated on the Sunday before Pentecost. Traditionally, the Pope announces the theme for the World Communications Day on September 29, the Feast of Archangels and the full message is released on January 24th, which marks the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers.

New Delhi (CBCI News)  Realizing the importance of good Public Relations, 29 priests and Religious holding responsibility for Public Relations in their respective dioceses and religious congregations came together at NISCORT to attend a 3-day workshop on Public Relations to hone their skills in this vital area.