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Payer, Margarete <1942 - >: Informationsmarktverzerrung durch Fundamentalismus am Beispiel der USA. -- Kapitel 1: Einführung. -- 7. Fundamentalistische Medien. -- Fassung vom 2005-04-25. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/fundamentalismus/fundamentalismus017.htm
Erstmals publiziert: 2005-03-23
Überarbeitungen: 2005-04-25 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-18 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-11 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-07 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-05 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-04 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-03-28 [Ergänzungen]
Anlass: Lehrveranstaltung an der Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart, Sommersemester 2005
Copyright: Dieser Text steht der Allgemeinheit zur Verfügung. Eine Verwertung in Publikationen, die über übliche Zitate hinausgeht, bedarf der ausdrücklichen Genehmigung des Verfassers.
Diese Inhalt ist unter einer Creative Commons-Lizenz lizenziert.
Dieser Text ist Teil der Abteilung Länder und Kulturen von Tüpfli's Global Village Library
Die wichtigsten fundamentalistischen Medien sind christlich-fundamentalistisches Fernsehen und Rundfunk. An zweiter Stelle kommt wohl das Internet, dann Bücher und Videos.
Religious broadcasting is broadcasting of television and radio by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. In the United States, Christian organizations are by far the most widespread compared with other religions, with upwards of 1,600 stations across the country (not necessarily counting broadcast translators, though because many outlets have low power and repeat national telecasts, the difference is often hard to define). Christian radio is very common, and can be funded either commercially or through some sort of public broadcasting-style arrangement (churches are generally recognized as non-profit organizations).
Christian television outlets usually broadcast in the UHF band in the U.S. For many, these stations may be among the first deleted from channel line-ups when a new television is purchased and configured, along with channels such as the Home Shopping Network. Religious organizations large and small also often have a presence on cable television systems, either with their own channels (such as the 3ABN service) or by transmissions on public access (common for local congregations) or leased access channels. Sunday mornings often see religious broadcasts on regular commercial broadcasting outlets.
Christian broadcasters in the U.S. are organized through the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) organization."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_broadcasting. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
"Christian radio is an even more pervasive medium. There are about 1,200 full-time Christian radio stations in the United States. After country music and what is called "adult contemporary" music, Christian broadcasting stations are the most popular form of the radio medium. Standard fare on a typical Christian radio station—there are three I can listen to here in the Bay area—includes a few hours a day of political talk shows mixed in with music and inspirational teaching. KFAX in the Bay [Webpräsenz: http://www.kfax.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-10] area plays James Dobson's interview show twice daily along with the weekday Concerned Women for America broadcast, which in only four years on the air has built an estimated audience of 500,000. Host Beverly LaHaye routinely uses the program to get her listeners to lobby Congress. On the hour, KFAX broadcasts the "Family News in Focus" spot, a mini-newscast of items of concern to the Christian Right. At 3:00 p.m. we get the daily commentary of Gary Bauer's Family Research Council, and by the late afternoon, there is an hour-long talk show, usually of a political nature. Christian radio is popular because it gives people emotional sustenance along with the news, traffic reports and what they need to know to be politically active." [Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Facing the wrath : confronting the Right in dangerous times. -- Monroe, Me. : Common Courage Press, ©1996. -- 236 p. ; 20 cm. -- ISBN
1567510787. -- S. 44.]
Ein Bisschen Statistik:
"Radio
- 29% of all adults listen to Christian teaching or preaching programming in a typical week. (1998)
- Almost half (48%) of born again Christians listen to Christian radio in a typical week. (1998)
- Among people who are 53 or older, 43% typically tune in to Christian preaching or teaching on the radio. (1998)
- African Americans (57%), residents of the South (39%), and women (34%) are among the most likely Christian talk radio listeners in a typical week. (1998)
- Three out of every four listeners to Christian teaching and preaching on the radio are Protestant (75%), while 10% attend Catholic churches and the remaining 15% are atheists or are affiliated with non-Christian faiths. (1998)
- Adults who describe themselves as politically conservative were nearly twice as likely as self-defined political liberals to listen to Christian radio (37% versus 20% respectively). (1998)
Television
- 28% of Americans (29% of born again Christians) get their programming via satellite dish. (2003)
- 73% of Americans subscribe to cable TV. Among born again Christians the penetration level is 71%, respectively. (2000)
- In a given week, 52% of adults turn off a TV program because they don't like the values or viewpoint it presents. (1998)
- Over 3 out of 5 born again Christians (63%) have turned off a TV program because they did not like the values or viewpoint it presented in the last seven days (compared to 44% of non-Christians). (1998)
- The chance that someone would turn off a TV program because they did not like the values or viewpoint it presents rises significantly with age. 40% of busters have turned off a program in the last seven days compared to 54% of boomers, 55% of builders, and 68% of seniors. (1998) "
[Quelle: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=27. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-11]
Webpräsenz: http://www.nrb.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
"Who Are We? NRB is an international association of Christian communicators with over 1700 member organizations representing millions of viewers, listeners, and readers. The Association exists to represent the Christian broadcasters’ right to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
All Members subscribe to the NRB Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics in their business practices.
NRB serves its members, the industry and the public by protecting ACCESS while promoting communications EXCELLENCE. NRB maintains rapport with the FCC, the broadcasting industry and government bodies through its Washington legal office contacts at Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
Public Service
As a central source of information concerning broadcasting, NRB strives to keep its members up to date. Releasing news to the religious and secular press, NRB speaks for hundreds of Christian program producers and station operators.
Functions
- Maintains rapport with the FCC.
- Dialogues with other media associations regarding current industry development and keeps members informed of this information.
- Encourages growth of Christian broadcasting.
- Provides services, discounts and benefits to enhance the quality of our stations and programmers.
- Fosters high professional standards through the NRB Code of Ethics and membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) for tax exempt organizations.
- Gathers research data on audiences, programs and effectiveness of Christian broadcasting.
Financial Accountability Requirements
Non-profit members of NRB whose donated broadcast revenue equals or exceeds $500,000 annually must join and comply with ECFA Standards of Compliance.
Non-profit members of NRB whose donated broadcast revenue is less than $500,000 annually will meet NRB's in-house standards established by the NRB's Ethics Committee.
Denominational and church sponsored broadcasts are exempt from the accountability requirements.
For-profit members of NRB are exempt but are asked to comply with membership standards as set by the Ethics Committee.
[Quelle: http://www.nrb.org/whoweare. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
Statement of Faith and Code of Ethics Statement of Faith
Code of Ethics
- We believe the Bible to be inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
- We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and glory.
- We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
- We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Recognizing the vital and increasingly important role played by radio, television, Internet and other emerging technologies of mass communication, and the desire of the National Religious Broadcasters "to foster and encourage excellence in religious broadcasting by establishing and maintaining high standards with respect to content, method of presentation, speakers' qualifications and ethical practices...," the NRB also recognizes that the general public looks to us to bring conformity to ethical behavior into our broadcasting, programming, business, management, financial, and relational responsibilities. Recognizing the Bible as the standard by which we must evaluate all beliefs, instruction, policies and practice, and subject to Article I of the Bylaws, the NRB has adopted and each of its members has subscribed to the following Code of Ethics:
I will conduct my personal life corporate ministry, and business affairs in a way that will not bring shame or reproach to the name of the Lord or the NRB or its members. Rather, I will speak to bring glory and pleasure to our Lord and encourage others to do likewise. [1 Peter 1:14-16, 2:12, 4:11]
I will speak the truth in love. [Ephesians 4:1-16]
I will recognize and respect what the Lord is doing through other individuals and organizations while refraining from unnecessary criticism of them. [1 Peter 3:8,9]
I will not use media to knowingly speak falsely against anyone. [Exodus 20:16]
When I believe a fellow member has sinned against me or the Lord, or has violated this Code of Ethics, I will follow the principles and procedures set forth in God's word and in Article I of the Bylaws. [Matthew 18:15-17]
I will honor my obligations to my vendors, neighbors, community and government. [Romans 3:7-8]
In matters of dispute with other Christians, I will attempt to submit my grievances to Christian arbitration for resolution rather than to the courts of the land (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). Nothing herein shall be construed so as to prohibit a member from expressing his genuine concern to another brother in the spirit of love and in accordance with Matthew 18:15-17.
[Quelle: http://www.nrb.org/CC_Content_Page/0,,PTID308766|CHID568980,00.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
"Jim Bakker (born January 2, 1939 in Muskegon, Michigan) is an American televangelist, Assembly of God preacher, and evangelist beset by scandal, and the former host of The PTL Club (PTL being an acronym for 'Praise the Lord' and 'People That Love') with his then-wife Tammy Faye Bakker. History in Christian broadcasting
In the early 1960s, Bakker and his new wife Tammy began working with Pat Robertson at Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, which at the time barely reached an audience of thousands. The Bakkers greatly contributed to the growth of the network, but their success with a variety show format (including interviews and puppets) sparked controversy, and they were eventually forced out by Robertson in the early 1970s. Bakker was distraught but continued on. Robertson retained for his 700 Club show the successful format the Bakkers had devised, and that show became one of the longest running and most successful televangelism programs ever.
Teaming with Paul and Jan Crouch, the Bakkers created the "Praise the Lord" show for the Crouchs' new Trinity Broadcasting Network in California. While that relationship only lasted about a year, this time the Bakkers retained the rights to use the initials "PTL", and they traveled east to Charlotte to begin their own show, The PTL Club. This time with the Bakkers fully in control, their show grew quickly until it was carried by close to a hundred stations, with average viewers numbering over twelve million, and the Bakkers had established their own network, The PTL Network. They attributed much of their success to decisions early on to accept all denominations and to refuse no one, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation or criminal record.
By the early 1980s the Bakkers had built Heritage USA (in Fort Mill, south of Charlotte), then the third most successful theme park in the US, and a satellite system to distribute their network twenty-four hours a day across the country. Annual contributions requested from viewers were estimated to exceed one million dollars a week, with proceeds to go to expanding the theme park and mission of PTL.
Between 1984 and 1987, the Bakkers received annual salaries of $200,000 each and Jim awarded himself over $4 million in bonuses. Their assets at that time included a $600,000 house in Palm Springs, four condominiums in California, and a Rolls Royce. In their success, the Bakkers took conspicuous consumption to an unusual level for a non-profit. PTL once spent $100,000 for a private jet to fly the Bakkers' clothing across the country. It also once spent $100 for cinnamon rolls because the Bakkers wanted the smell of them in their hotel room. According to Frances FitzGerald in an April 1987 New Yorker article, "They epitomized the excesses of the 1980s—the greed, the love of glitz, and the shamelessness—which in their case was so pure as to almost amount to a kind of innocence."
Scandals
Abb.: Jim Bakker: I was wrongOn March 19, 1987, following threats of the revelation of the payoff to Jessica Hahn, whom Bakker's staff members had paid $265,000 to keep secret her sexual services to him, Bakker resigned from the PTL. Jerry Falwell called Bakker a liar, embezzler, sexual deviate, and "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in two thousand years of church history." Falwell was rumored to be using the situation to gain control of a leading broadcast competitor. Bakker's absence resulted in a fierce fight for control of The PTL Network among several other prominent televangelists, which Falwell won. Upon taking over, Falwell fired Bakker's entire staff, and he provided much of the damning information presented at Bakker's later fraud trial. Under Falwell's leadership, the PTL Network within a short time went bankrupt and was liquidated at a deep discount.
Financial irregularities in the PTL organization led to another scandal. From 1984 to 1987, Bakker and his PTL associates had sold "lifetime memberships" for a $1,000 or more that entitled buyers to a three-night stay annually at a luxury hotel at Heritage USA. According to the prosecution at Bakker's later fraud trial, tens of thousands of memberships had been sold, but only one 500-room hotel was ever completed. Bakker sold more "exclusive" partnerships than could be accommodated, while raising more than twice the money needed to build the actual hotel. A good deal of the money went into Heritage USA's operating expenses, and Bakker kept $3,700,000 for himself. Bakker, who apparently made all of the financial decisions for the PTL organization, kept two sets of books to conceal the accounting irregularities. Reporters at The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, discovered and exposed the financial wrongdoings.
Conviction and prisonBakker was indicted on federal charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering. In 1989 after trial in Charlotte, Judge Robert Potter convicted Bakker of fraud and conspiring to commit fraud and sentenced him to forty-five years in federal prison. Bakker's associate, Richard Dortch, senior vice-president of PTL, and associate pastor of Heritage Village Church, also went to prison. In 1992, Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye were divorced at her request. Reminiscent of biblical passage Matthew 25:36, evangelist Billy Graham visited Bakker in prison, as did his son, Franklin Graham, repeatedly saying, "Jim Bakker's my friend."
The Bakker scandals and conviction affected the reputation of other televangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart. Richard Dortch said that pride, arrogance and secrets led to the scandals. While most people never face temptations on the same scale, he said, the ingredients are the same as in seemingly smaller failures. Dortch said the men in PTL's leadership felt they were above accountability, that they felt specially called by God and accountable only to Him. He said they didn't plan the scandal, but that it was the natural result of living for oneself rather than for God. Bakker's actions were defended by one of his attorneys, however, who commented, "If a man raises over $150 million for a business that competed with Disney and the major networks and kept $3 million for himself, he may be guilty of mismanagement, naïveté, even stupidity, but should it be a crime? Do you think Falwell lives in a 5-room house?"
In early 1991, a federal appeals court upheld Bakker's conviction on the fraud and conspiracy charges, but voided Bakker's 45-year sentence, as well as the $500,000 fine, and ordered that a new sentencing hearing be held. At that hearing, Bakker was sentenced to eight years prison. One of his cellmates during his incarceration was political activist Lyndon LaRouche.
After prisonIn 1993, after serving almost five years of his sentence, Bakker was granted parole for good behavior. Upon his release, the Grahams paid for a house for him and gave him a car. At that point many Christians found themselves able to forgive or at least accept him. In 1995 he addressed a Christian leadership conference where 10,000 clergymen cheered and gave him a fifteen-minute standing ovation. "I thought people would spit on me," he later recalled. "Instead they received me with open arms."
On July 23, 1996, a North Carolina jury threw out a class action suit brought on behalf of more than 160,000 onetime believers who contributed as much as $7,000 each to Bakker's coffers in the 1980s.
The Charlotte Observer reported that the Internal Revenue Service still holds Bakker and Roe Messner, Tammy Faye's husband since 1993, liable for personal income taxes owed from the 1980s when they were building the Praise The Lord empire, taxes assessed after the IRS revoked the PTL ministry's nonprofit status. Tammy Faye Messner's new husband said Bakker and his former wife didn't want to talk about the tax issues: "We don't want to stir the pot." He also said that the original tax amount was about $500,000, with penalties and interest accounting for the rest. The notices reinstating the liens list "James O. and Tamara F. Bakker" as owing $3 million, on which liens the Bakkers still pay.
In 1996 Bakker published the book I Was Wrong, describing his rise and fall. In 1998 he released another book, Prosperity And The Coming Apocalypse, and in 2000, The Refuge: The Joy of Christian Community in a Torn-Apart World.
In January 2003, Bakker began broadcasting the "Jim Bakker Show" with his second wife, Lori Graham Bakker, whom he married in 1998. He denounces his past teachings on prosperity, saying they were wrong.
External links
- Jim Bakker Show. -- http://www.jimbakkershow.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17
- Jim's Son Jay Bakker's - Revolution Church. -- http://vivalarevolution.org/. -- Zugrif am 2005-03-17
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17]
Webpräsenz: http://www.tbn.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02
"The Trinity Broadcasting Network, or TBN, is the world's largest Christian television network, with a larger U.S. viewership than its three main competitor networks combined. TBN was founded in 1973 by Paul and Jan Crouch. TBN now owns twenty-three U.S. full-power television stations and 252 low-power rural stations, is carried on over six thousand television stations, and boasts five million viewer households per week in the U.S. It is also carried on thousands of cable television systems in seventy-five countries around the world, with its programs translated into eleven languages. According to the TBN website, TBN has several hundred affiliate stations, although just 61 of these stations are regular UHF or VHF stations. The rest are low-powered stations, requiring a viewer to be within several miles of the transmitter.
In early 2004 TBN began digital broadcasting and three affiliated channels, the Spanish-language "Enlace USA", the youth-oriented "JC-TV", and "The Church Channel" for church services.
TBN broadcasts from its International Production Center in Irving, Texas near Dallas and from its Trinity Christian City International facility in Costa Mesa, California. It also operates Trinity Music Center USA, a Christian entertainment center outside Nashville, Tennessee, formerly Conway Twitty's "Twitty City". It maintains 400 employees in the U.S.
Paul Crouch is TBN's president and chairman, Jan Crouch is its vice-president and director of programming. Their son, Paul Jr., is its vice president for administration. The network maintains production deals with their other son, Matthew. TBN began in 1973 when the elder Crouchs rented air time on a local UHF channel in Santa Ana, California. Jim and Tammy Bakker assisted them with the network and lived with them for a time. The Bakkers soon left—Paul Crouch claiming that Jim Bakker attempted to take over TBN but failed—and the Bakkers headed for South Carolina where they founded their own PTL Network. TBN spread from UHF stations to cable outlets and then to satellite distribution.
ProgrammingTBN is an ecumenical Christian network, showing Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Messianic Jewish programming. Its cornerstone program is Praise the Lord, a two-hour nightly program featuring talk, music, and prayer.
Financial issues and criticismTBN generates $170 million in revenue annually, with two-thirds coming from viewer contributions and one-fifth coming from other televangelists' payments for running their programming. Its $120 million donation revenue is larger than any other television ministry. It has posted average annual surplusses since 1997 of about $60 million. It holds two week-long fundraising telethons per year, as well as numerous other solicitation drives. It maintains a direct mail database of 1.2 million names. As of 2002, it boasted $583 million in assets, including $238 million in government-backed securities and $31 million in cash. Also among its assets are a $7.2 million Canadair Turbojet and thirty houses in California, Texas and Ohio with values ranging up to $8 million. The elder Crouchs and their son Paul Jr. earn a combined annual income of $850,000. In September 2004 the Los Angeles Times characterized their personal lifestyle as a "life of luxury". The network reports that during the first twenty years of the network's operation, Paul and Jan were paid roughly one-tenth their current income, with the amounts rising in the past ten years as they approached retirement.
The network has attracted criticism for its continuous fundraising activites, including a "prosperity gospel", an offshoot of the Word of faith doctrine that appears to promise donors, including impecunious ones, that God will make them rich as long as they have faith and give to TBN. Paul Crouch has made statements to his viewers such as, "Have you got something that you have been praying about ten, fifteen, twenty years? You have been praying for it and haven't gotten it...It could be that you haven't gotten it because you are a tightwad and you haven't given your ten percent [referring to ten-percent tithing]." During a 1997 program, he conversely said, "If you have been healed or saved or blessed through TBN and have not contributed...you are robbing God and will lose your reward in heaven." The network reports that seventy percent of its donations are in amounts under fifty dollars. Some viewers consider the Crouch's prosperity as a positive demonstration of the success of their prosperity gospel message. A group of critical Christians has banded together to attempt to jam the TBN phones during its telethons as a protest against its fundraising, which the group's organizer, a retired pastor, likens to robbery.
The network cancelled its November 2004 "Praise-a-thon" fundraising telethon in favor of showing forty hours of reruns from past telethons. Network officials blamed the cancellation mostly on health concerns for both Paul and Jan Crouch, the latter of whom had recent gall badder surgery. The Associated Press reported those officials also noted, however, that the cancellation would take pressure off other religious figures who would have appeared on the live telethon, in the wake of recent revelations that Paul Crouch paid $425,000 in 1998 to a male former employee to keep him quiet about claims of a homosexual tryst with Crouch, and the AP also cited the recent newpaper reports about the Crouchs' "lavish lifestyle." Paul Crouch Jr. voiced his belief that other ministries were concerned "they are going to be next on the hit list." R. Marie Griffith, a Princeton University scholar studying evangelical Christianity and the media, said that "to take the live broadcasting off...suggests...the chaos" at TBN.
Because of the network's focus on the Word of faith doctrine, conservative Christian critics have often labelled it "The Blasphemy Network."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Broadcasting_Network. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]"Paul Crouch (born 1934) is the co-founder, chairman and president of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, or TBN, the world's largest Christian television network. Crouch, raised in Missouri, is the son of Pentecostal missionaries. He became interested in amateur radio at an early age and announced he would use such technology to "send the Gospel around the world." He attended the Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Missouri. In the early 1950s he worked for the Assemblies of God as a film librarian. He married his wife, Jan, in 1958. In 1961 he was hired to run the Assemblies of God's broadcast production facility in Burbank, California. From there he left to start TBN in 1973. He claims a vision from God in 1975 led him to move the network into satellite transmission.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2004 reported Crouch's annual personal income as $403,700. The network reports that during the first twenty years of the network's operation, he was paid roughly one-tenth his current income, with the amounts rising in the past ten years as he approached retirement.
Although he stars with his wife in TBN programming, former employees of TBN allege he is essentially estranged from her and lives separately. In September 2004 the Los Angeles Times characterized his lifestyle as a "life of luxury", and reported that Crouch in 1998 paid a former employee a $425,000 formal settlement to keep silent about an alleged homosexual encounter in 1996. TBN officials acknowledge the settlement but characterize the accuser as a liar and an extortionist. The accuser, who has written a book manuscript about the encounter but has been forbidden by an arbitrator to publish it because of the settlement, alleges he was pressured by Crouch into the sex act on fear of losing his job.
Crouch is the author of an autobiography, "Hello World!"
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Crouch. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]
Jan Crouch (born Jan Bethany, 1937) is the co-founder, vice-president and director of programming of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, or TBN, the world's largest Christian television network. She is the daughter of an Assemblies of God pastor. She married her husband, Paul, in 1958. Crouch claims God resurrected a pet chicken of hers when she was a child. Others have questioned her claim, arguing that "resurrecting" "dead" chickens is a well known party trick. This trick is done by stroking the chicken slowly and rhythmically along the back. This causes the chicken to play dead, probably an evolved trick to fool predators. After a few minutes, the chicken will seem to come back to life.
In 2003, Crouch underwent regular surgery, relying on Jesus to give the doctors medical wisdom in the proceedings. After the surgery, she believed her recovery to be a miracle from God.
In the course of a legal proceeding, Crouch in 2001 testified that she did not know she was a corporate officer and could not recall the last board meeting she attended. Although she stars with her husband in TBN programming, former employees of TBN allege she is essentially estranged from him and lives separately. Former employees also claim she has a penchant for expensive antiques.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2004 reported Crouch's annual personal income as $361,000. The network reports that during the first twenty years of the network's operation, she was paid roughly one-tenth her current income, with the amounts rising in the past ten years as she approached retirement. In September 2004 the Los Angeles Times characterized her lifestyle as a "life of luxury".
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Crouch. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]
Webpräsenz: http://www.cbn.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02
"The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is, as its name implies, a Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. CBN was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson in the early 1970s. In its early years evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, who were briefly associated with the network, devised for it a religious variety program format that has been successfully used in religious broadcasting ever since. One of the mainstays of the network is "the 700 Club," Robertson's program using that same variety format, which has run from the 1970s through to the present.
CBN also has an international focus, producing local programs, from Solusi (Indonesia) to From Heart to Heart {Thailand). CBN India alone produces five weekly series. CBN has versions of the 700 Club aimed at Latin American (Club 700 Hoy) and British audiences (The 700 Club With Paul and Fiona) [1] (http://www.cbneurope.com/about/staff.asp). Altogether CBN has broadcast programs in over 70 languages.
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Broadcasting_Network. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]
Webpräsenz: http://www.cbn.com/700club/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06
The 700 Club is a right-wing Christian news and talk show hosted by religious leader Pat Robertson, airing on cable's ABC Family and in syndication throughout the United States and Canada. It is the flagship presentation of the Christian Broadcasting Network. The show presents news stories from a Christian perspective, often relating stories to passages from the Bible which are generally followed by commentary on them from the hosts. It also features celebrity and other interviews about their feelings on Christianity. The news segments frequently emphasize eschatology and have been attacked as explicitly political. The style of news reporting on the show has also been criticized as unfairly biased, often framing stories in a manner said to reflect the views of Pat Roberson rather than simply presenting the facts.
The number 700 comes from the Robertson's first televised telethon for his ministry. In it, he set a goal of 700 members paying $10 each a month, a number which would meet the industry's operating budget at the time. Robertson came to refer to these members as the '700 Club' and the name stuck.
Notable international versions of The 700 Club are Club 700 Hoy, broadcast in Latin America, and The 700 Club With Paul and Fiona, in Great Britain. Begun in October 2004, the latter is co-hosted by Paul Jones and Fiona Hendley Jones.
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_Club. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
"The 700 Club is a live television program that airs weekdays before a studio audience from The Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) broadcast facilities in Virginia Beach, Virginia. On the air continuously since 1966, it is one of the longest-running programs in broadcast history. Hosted by Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson, and Terry Meeuwsen, with news anchor Lee Webb, The 700 Club is a mix of news and commentary, interviews, feature stories, and Christian ministry. Seen in 95 percent of the television markets across the United States, the program is carried on ABC Family Channel cable network, FamilyNet, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and numerous U.S. television stations, and is seen daily by approximately one million viewers. CBN WorldReach broadcasts, which include the international edition of The 700 Club, have been translated into more than 70 foreign languages, can be seen in more than 200 countries, and are accesible throughout the year by more than 1.5 billion people around the world. 700 Club Format
The 700 Club is a news/magazine program that has the variety and pacing of a morning show with in-depth investigative reporting by the CBN News team. Whether reporting live from the scene of a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, CBN News brings coverage on major events affecting our nation. The Washington Bureau reports on news from the Capitol, and correspondents report on events and trends that shape the world from Moscow to Jerusalem. The 700 Club also includes live guests, special features, and music.Background of The 700 Club
The 700 Club television program is an outgrowth of a 1963 telethon in which founder Pat Robertson asked 700 viewers to join the "700 Club" by pledging $10 a month, money needed to meet CBN’s monthly budget. After a very successful "700 Club" telethon in 1966, Robertson decided to add to the end of his station’s broadcast day a program with a format of prayer and ministry coupled with telephone response. He named it The 700 Club, hoping to build a nationwide audience based on this earlier success. Seen in 95 percent of the television markets across the United States, The 700 Club now airs in nearly 90 million homes and averages about one million viewers on a daily basis.700 Club Highlights
Over the years, The 700 Club has become well known for its fresh and insightful interviews, hard-hitting special reports, and dramatic features.
Breaking News Coverage
- 2004 presidential Election
- Coverage of the war in Iraq from embedded CBN News journalist Paul Strand
- September 2001 terrorist attacks against America
National/International News
- Persecution of Christians around the world, including Sudan, Pakistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Burma and Indonesia
- Latest health research
- Up-to-date facts and forecasts on the stock market and the economy.
News Guests
Sports Celebrities
- Janet Parshall, radio show host
- Tom Delay, U.S. Majority Whip
- Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Prime Minister
- Bill Bennett, author and former cabinet member
- Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, hosts of Fox News Hannity & Colmes
- Oliver North, author and syndicated columnist
- John Zogby, independent pollster and columnist
- John Fund, columnist and member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal
- Fred Barnes, columnist for Weekly Standard and Fox News contributor
- Peggy Noonan, conservative columnist and former Presidential speechwriter
- Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
Motivational Speakers
- LaDanian Tomlinson
- Frank Reich
- David Thompson
- Richard and Kyle Petty
- Kurt Warner
- Jeff Gordon
- Bethany Hamilton
- Chris Carter
Entertainment Personalities
- John Maxwell
- Valorie Burton
- Zig Ziglar
Spiritual Leaders
- Chuck Norris
- Charlton Heston
- Kathie Lee Gifford
- CeCe Winans
- John Tesh
- Amy Grant
- Kirk Franklin
- Billy Ray Cyrus
- Charlie Daniels
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Special Features & Segments
- Franklin Graham
- Vonette Bright
- Corey Ten Boom
- Che Ahn
- John and Carol Arnott
- Wellington Boone
- Gloria Copeland
- James Robison
- Shirley Dobson
- Anne Graham Lotz
- "Bring It On," where Pat Robertson fields surprising and often provocative questions on the spot
- "Unsung Hero," which highlights people who quietly devote their time to helping others
- "America's Church of the Week," focusing on honoring churches for their stellar efforts in reaching people for the Kingdom of God
- Dramatic life changing stories of people who believe in the power of faith and prayer
- Powerful celebrity and sports testimonies"
[Quelle: http://www.cbn.com/700club/ShowInfo/About/about700club.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
Abb.: The 700 Club"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this edition of the 700Club
During a 1963 telethon, Robertson created the idea of the "700 Club." If 700 viewers would donate $10 per month, the TV ministry could remain in the black. By 1978, CBN had 300,000 contributors, 140,000 of whom were members of the "700 Club," which meant that the minimum monthly intake was $1.4 million. In 1976, CBN was reported to have received $20 million in contributions.50 By 1985, Robertson had an annual budget of about $230 million and was on the air on nearly 200 U.S. TV stations; a syndicated version of the "700 Club" was airing in about 60 countries.
An analysis of money raised on the air from "700 Club" viewers indicated that in 1985 Robertson was raising only about $100 million from viewers. According to CBN Public Affairs Director Earl Weirich, the rest came from "sympathetic corporations." CBN is not obliged to disclose the source of its individual or corporate donations, but the presence of Holly Coors, wife of the famous Colorado beer magnate, on the board of CBN University, provides a clue as to where some of it comes from. In Shout it From the Housetops, Robertson described the generosity of the billionaire H.L. Hunt family in Texas. In 1970, Hunt helped launch Robertson's broadcast in Costa Rica, with an initial donation of $10 million.
Aside from confirmed and presumed corporate support, several key factors have added up to make Robertson's CBN the most successful of the religious media empires. From the beginning, the secret to Robertson's television popularity was his decision not to mimic the leading TV preachers of the time, Oral Roberts and Rex Humbard. Instead, Robertson turned CBN into the first religious talk and variety show. In the early years, the "700 Club" featured live interviews with popular charismatic Christian leaders interspersed with performances from Christian musicians. It was not until the late 1970s that the interview subjects became increasingly political. By then, Robertson was joined by a black cohost Ben Kinchlow who, until his departure in 1987, could be counted on to enliven the program. It was Kinchlow who did most of the emotional preaching on the "700 Club" set, but he served mainly as a sidekick to Robertson. While Pat would rattle on about this or that, Ben would interject questions that the audience might ask if they had the chance.
Rather than directly begging the audience for donations, Robertson pioneered the technique of the "phone-in counselling center." Viewers are encouraged to call toll-free numbers to report miracles or request prayer. CBN's trained counsellors document each call using printed forms of different colors for "salvation reports," prayer requests, viewer questions and the like. Each phone call generates a new name and address for CBN's direct mail fundraising.
In 1978, CBN began a news department, headed by former assistant national editor for the New York Times Robert Slosser who went on to become the President of CBN University. Robertson claims that male viewer-ship of his "700 Club" rose by 77 percent when he began featuring news segments on the program. "The thing I'm thrilled about is that young married couples are watching the program," said Robertson. "This is a key audience." The switch to a news and talk format in the late 1970s was made possible in part by the technological innovation of the "live by satellite" interview, according to Gerard Straub, a fonner producer of the "700 Club." Once Robertson was no longer dependent on notables who were willing and able to travel to his Virginia Beach studios, he could expand his guest list tremendously. With bureaus in the major power centers—New York and Washington, D.C.—he had instant access to leading politicans and opinion makers. The new format relied on studio or live satellite interviews in combination with pre-produced mini-documentaries designed to look like the popular network "magazine" programs.
Throughout the 1980s, the basic "700 Club" format went like this: the first ten to fifteen minutes consisted of a "60 Minutes"-style news feature with a serious tone and an appearance of objectivity. CBN news reporters—some of the stars were Scott Hatch, John Dadakis, Kathy Bullock, Kathy Sindorf and Sam Walker—would routinely deliver a thinly veiled CBN editorial while standing on Capitol Hill, in front of the White House or in some other auspicious location, microphone in hand, with an air of objectivity reminiscent of any network nightly newscast. The "report" would then be substantiated through the heavy use of charts, graphs, maps and statistics, plus numerous film clips with several interviewees speaking within a narrow range of pro versus con. Unlike most mainstream TV news reporting, which goes through the motions of offering more than one "side" to a story, CBN news pieces are typically framed within even narrower parameters of opinion. The typical segment would then be followed by Robertson, or occasionally cohosts Kinchlow or Danuta Soderman, interviewing a guest expert live on the living room set or by satellite for commentary on the pre-produced feature segment. After the guest had left, Pat would chat with the cohosts who played the role of Everyman or Everywoman, asking such questions as, "Well, what about the Russians?" or "How is this going to affect my family finances?" The more sophisticated and erudite Robertson would provide the appropriate "Christian" response on issues ranging from nuclear arms control to private school tuition tax credits.
Over the years, Robertson mastered several basic propaganda techniques, including:
- framing a "debate" with two nearly identical "sides";
- heavy use of loaded terminology, i.e. "terrorist," "satanic," "demonic" and "violent" to describe political opponents;
- outrageous statements couched as quotes from unnamed sources: "someone told me..." or "our sources over there tell us..."
- "shocking" or violent film footage used simultaneously with scripts about the "enemy" (for example, AIDS updates repeatedly use film of gay men embracing; stories on the Soviet Union invariably include footage of military parades).
Combined with these techniques, Robertson's unusual access to Reagan administration officials and foreign heads of state made his program invaluable to the process of shifting audience viewpoints rightward. Unlike most network news, which is shallow and devoid of contextual background, the "700 Club" piece distinguishes itself as news with a context. For example, during Reagan's first Geneva arms summit with the Soviets, the average TV news consumer got 30 seconds of Dan Rather reporting, while the "700 Club" viewer got to see Robertson conduct a two-part exclusive interview with chief U.S. arms negotiator Max Kampelman, who expounded on the "moral implications" of satellite weaponry. In 1985, when Israel officially withdrew its troops from Lebanon, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu gave his first TV interview to the "700 Club" where, without commercial interruptions, he had ample time to elaborate on Israel's role in successfully "eliminating terrorism" in the region.
Following the serious "700 Club" news piece, the program generally moves to a dramatized "salvation story." It is a Pentecostal tradition for believers to tell the "good news" of "what the Lord has done" in their lives. On most of the Christian talk shows, guests describe how the Lord led them from a wretched state of unbelief—invariably accompanied by a host of personal problems—to their current state of spiritual and material well-being. A variation on this theme is the tale of adversity experienced after salvation, such as an illness or financial hardship, overcome supernaturally. Everyone lives happily ever after.
The "700 Club" uses the dramatized "salvation story" to personalize the topics dealtwith in "news" segments. Several times, news reports on the AIDS epidemic were followed by the same story of a "former" gay man in San Francisco who in his youth dabbled with drugs and transvestism; after watching friends die of AIDS, he "turned to the Lord" and now hands out gospel tracts on city streets.
Some of the short vignettes are performed by professional actors. The themes focus mostly on family and lifestyle issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, marital infidelity, miraculous recovery from diseases or escape from catastrophic car wrecks. The use of appropriate music and symbolic imagery—slamming doors, the rising sun, horses running free— charges these little morality plays with emotion, making rhetoric about faith and Christian family values unnecessary. In the process, the complexities of interpersonal dynamics are whitewashed and social causes of personal problems, such as racism, sexism and unemployment are ignored. The short and intense video format, repeated daily, thus becomes the ideal medium for a form of ideological education that shifts the cause of personal problems away from institutional factors and toward the failings of the individual and/or the unjust intervention of supernatural, demonic forces."[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Spiritual warfare : the politics of the Christian right. -- Boston, MA : South End Press, ©1989. -- 292 S. -- ISBN 0896083616. -- S. 13 - 16]
Webpräsenz: http://www.familynet.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02
"About FamilyNet... FamilyNet is the entertainment and information television network dedicated to providing a reliable, safe viewing destination for today’s family. Owned and operated by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, FamilyNet has award-winning programs for the entire family.
Preschoolers and children enjoy shows like Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop starring Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton, Nana Puddin’, Bloodhounds, Poochini and Davey and Goliath.
Teenagers are drawn to programs such as TruthQuest: California, In Your Face, This Generation, Straight Talk and Just the Facts.
Both youth and older adults like Swan’s Place, Gary McSpadden’s Gospel Jubilee, Gaither Homecoming Hour, Country Crossroads, and Family Showcase. At Home Live with Chuck and Jenni and Your Health with Dr. Richard and Cindy Becker provide daily enrichment. The Call, Family Enrichment Series and Healthy, Wealthy and Wise with Frank Jordan also strengthen today’s family.
More than 50 hours of original, values-based programming produced by FamilyNet are included in the weekly schedule. A number of other programs are also exclusive to FamilyNet. In short, FamilyNet is values-added entertainment for the whole family."
[Quelle. http://www.familynet.com/content/AboutFamilyNet.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]
Webpräsenz: http://www.salem.cc/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06
"Salem Communications Corporation is the leading provider of radio programming, online resources and magazines targeted to the Christian and family themes audience. For over 25 years our core business has been the ownership and operation of radio stations in major U.S. markets. We have also developed a radio network, which offers talk, news and music content options to stations through affiliate partnerships. We own and operate magazine publishing and Internet businesses, both of which share our commitment to our target audience. We continue to look for opportunities to strengthen our leadership position in the distribution and development of Christian and family themes content across multiple media. Radio Stations
Salem Communications currently owns and operates 95 radio stations nation-wide, with 60 stations located in the top 25 most populated U.S. markets. The majority of our stations operate within clusters involving three strategic formats. Our foundational format is Christian teaching and talk, featuring well-known speakers such as James Dobson, Janet Parshall, Charles Stanley and Chuck Swindoll. We have also been adding second and third stations in existing markets, which feature news/talk or Christian music formats.
The audience for religious and family themes content is large and we believe it will continue to expand. Religious formats constitute the third largest radio format in the United States. Currently, over 2,000 radio stations are identified as having primarily a religious format. Approximately 52% of Americans been identified as listeners to religious formatted radio.
Revenue Diversification
Salem Communication's broadcasting operations generate revenue from a number of sources. In addition to the traditional revenue sources consisting of local and national advertising, the Company derives substantial revenue from the sale of block programming to organizations that offer teaching and talk programs. Most of these block programmers are long-term partners who provide a strong, reliable and growing stream of revenues and corresponding cash flow. Salem also operates complementary print and online business to further the service of our niche audience.
Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy is focused on the top 50 U.S. markets. We have built a national presence, including 60 radio stations in 23 of the top 25 radio markets. We are currently the third largest radio broadcaster in the top twenty-five radio markets, measured by the number of stations.
The approach we take to acquisitions does, however, vary from that of our radio broadcasting peers. For the most part, radio broadcasters purchase stations based on a price that is a multiple of current cash flows of that station. Most broadcasters are not only purchasing the radio frequency, but also the format that it broadcasts. In Salem Communications' case, there is rarely the opportunity to acquire a radio station already operating in one of our strategic formats.
Therefore, our focus is on acquiring a station with a strong signal, in a large market, that based upon internally developed financial projections will deliver an appropriate return on investment. f return. We then reformat the station, market and promote the new format to develop our listenership, and cultivate our customer base to grow revenues. The start-up to maturity process in most cases is a span of three to five years, beginning with a period of start-up losses, moving to breakeven, and then growing profitability. "
[Quelle: http://www.salem.cc/aboutRadioBroadcasting.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
"Radio Formats Christian Teaching & Talk Format
Christian teaching/talk is our foundational format. Through this format a listener can find Bible teaching and sermons, as well as answers to questions relating to daily life, from raising children to religious legal rights in education and the workplace. This format serves as both a learning resource and personal support for listeners nationwide.
With stations that are strategically located in America's largest markets, our stations are a very important means for our block programmers and advertising customers to reach large audiences. As well as generating advertising revenue, this format derives substantial revenues from the sale of uninterrupted blocks of broadcast time (usually in 26 or 55 minute increments) to block programmers desiring an opportunity to broadcast to a specific market or across the nation. The exposure that our block programmers receive on our stations is very important to their survival and growth, and, as a result, we experience minimal cancellations. There are no other radio groups that provide these programmers with a comparable national platform.
This block programming business represents 80% of the broadcast day on stations with this format and approximately 35% of our total revenues.
Contemporary Christian Music — The FishTMChristian music has continued to become more popular. In 2002, album sales in contemporary Christian music remained strong and consistent while overall music album sales were down 8.7%. Christian music represented over 7% of total U.S. album sales and was the sixth most popular music genre in America in 2002. We believe that this listener base has been underserved in terms of radio coverage, especially in the larger markets. We continue to launch our FISH contemporary Christian music format to take advantage of the opportunity to super serve our target audience.
News/Talk
News/talk programming is the second most popular radio format in the country, based both on listenership and number of radio stations. Traditional research has shown that news/talk is highly complementary to our core format of Christian Teaching/Talk. Both formats express conservative views and family values.
This format also provides us the opportunity to use the syndicated talk programming of our network, Salem Radio Network® (SRN), both reducing the overall costs of operating these radio stations and increasing sales opportunities for our national sales company, Salem Radio Representatives (SRR). In fact, with the significant growth in station acquisitions and the expansion of this new format, SRN and SRR represent opportunities for growth in the years to come. SRN features some of the most compelling and well-known on-air personalities on radio. Our nationally syndicated programs reach an audience of over 1,500 affiliates."
[Quelle: http://www.salem.cc/aboutRadioFormat.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-06]
Abb.: Sherley and Dick Bott,
Founders and Pioneers of Bott Radio Network
[Bildquelle:
http://www.bottradionetwork.com/brn40kc.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07]
Webpräsenz: http://www.bottradionetwork.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07
"Bott Radio Network's purpose is to serve the Lord's people and to help strengthen each Christian family in our listening audience. Bott Radio Network is an arm of each Bible preaching local church and, as such, will encourage each listener toward a closer walk with the Lord.
Bott Radio Network presents the finest Bible Teaching and Christian News & Information programming in America. We continue to offer your family quality Christian programming 24 hours a day!
Bott Radio Network now serves 15 markets including Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City/Columbia, Springfield, Richmond, Kirksville, Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, as well as Topeka & Wichita in Kansas, Memphis, Tennessee, Central Oklahoma, Central Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Fresno/Modesto, California areas.
The Bott family and staff members are committed to excellence and service to glorify God and be a blessing to each listener. Quality Christian Radio is not simply transmitting towers and microphones, but people who really care and want only God's best for each life that is touched each day. That's why Bott Radio Network is "In the Air for Good!" "[Quelle: http://www.bottradionetwork.com/aboutBRN.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07]
"The Birth of a Network [Dick] Bott began to look for a radio station. When a country and western station came up for sale in Kansas City, MO, a metropolitan area of just about the right size, he snatched it up. On November 12, 1962, the Bott dream became a reality when KCCV, Kansas City's Christian Voice, was born. The Bott innovation had begun.
Not only was Bott innovative in beginning a Christian station paid for completely by advertising and selling air time, but also in formatting the station as Christian talk. Early features were J. Vernon McGee, Back to the Bible, Heaven Rest, Morning Chapel Hour, and other classic programs.
However, not everything was instantly smooth sailing. Kansas City Christians didn't know if they were ready for Dick's vision. "I knew what I wanted to do and I was full of myself," Bott admits. " I remember driving in my car one morning listening to my own radio station. Theodore Epp was speaking about Moses. He was saying Moses had everything going for him, but God couldn't use him until he broke him. He had to reach a point where nothing was working out.
"When I heard him say that," I thought, "I've got to trust and have faith in the One who knows more than I do. I really laid that at the foot of the cross, and from that point, things started to click. When I kept doing what I knew was right and letting the Lord fill in the blanks, it really started to click."
From then on the station flourished. When a rock station came up for sale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bott snatched it up. At that point he made a decision that affected the development of his vision. When others found he'd bought the station, they informed him, "Your talk format won't work in Oklahoma. You have to put on some of the southern preachers and throw in some hillbilly music."
Bott contemplated their words but decided not to accept the stereotype. As he explains, "I thought, that doesn't make sense at all if you consider it. Every market has a mixture of everything. The very same Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles will set the format for Boston, Miami, Oklahoma City, and Timbuktu.
"And (what about) a program like Back to the Bible in Nebraska? Epp didn't change the program or the message for people in different cities. So why should we change our format? I know that in Oklahoma City or anywhere else, there are people who want the truth, and they want it delivered in an interesting quality way," Bott emphasizes. "My job was to construct a programming format that our audience could have confidence in and trust. I didn't care how much money was involved, we never carried programs that we could not feel good about and be proud of!"
Next, Bott purchased stations in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and St. Louis, Missouri. Critics then began to encourage Dick to slow down. "Just put in translators," they advised." Why do you need a whole station?"
"That's up to the St. Louis people to decide," Bott remembers saying. "There used to be towns where a circuit-riding preacher was the only thing people could afford. As the town grew and the capacity increased, they would want their own church and pastor. The circuit-riding preacher couldn't meet the need when the people could afford more.
Not only did the St. Louis people fully embrace the station, but they also responded enthusiastically when Bott purchased another station.
Growing up in GraceNow Bott Radio Network spreads the gospel to millions of people, primarily through the heart of the nation. Over the years, Bott considered changes in programming. Critics complained that Bott stations are against modern Christian music. "Not so," Dick retorts, adding that it's a matter of knowing your target audience and what they like.
"There is always pressure to do anything that other people are doing successfully," Bott notes. "I don't know. Maybe there will be markets in the future where we'll run a two-track. I think carrying CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) is great for people who feel that's what God wants them to do. But we're designed right now to be talk radio. Take a talk station in secular radio. If they start putting 30 minutes of music in what they're doing, that will mess it up. I feel our format is carefully constructed to reach an audience that enjoys reading. I think a music station is probably ill-advised to start breaking up that format with talk, but I also think a talk station is ill-advised to start breaking it up with music."
He recalls another point at which the vision was challenged. At an NRB convention, broadcasters were being encouraged to reach out and make their formats more evangelistic. "We're talking to ourselves!" cried some. Dick carefully considered their words. I remember thinking, "Well, what's really wrong with that? For instance, around our dinner table as a family, we're talking to ourselves, but that's pretty important talk," Bott points out.
"What's wrong with a Christian radio station talking to the Christian community? That thought was presented as something that's wrong, but it struck me that what you're saying will help them. How can you help Christians be stronger, and help them grow? How can you help them be focused, while having a broader vision? People grow strong in eating good food."
The formula continues to work. Besides offering "good food" in the form of a talk-only format, the Bott Radio Network is also innovative in helping local listeners stay abreast of local issues, as well as national issues that concern the morality of our nation.
Future GrowthAnd the dream continues to grow. Although Bott remains president and CEO of Bott Family Radio, he spends little time in the Overland Park, Kansas Corporate Office. His Lake of the Ozarks home is equipped with the latest technologies to make him as close to the office as if he were in an adjoining building. Meanwhile, his son Rich works with him as vice president and will take over as president when Bott retires, planned within a few years.
Rich is excited about carrying on the family legacy. After all, he was a familiar face around the studio when he was a youngster. As a teen, he hosted the radio program Teen Tempo. During high school, Rich committed his life to serving God in a missionary sense at a Youth for Christ camp. After graduation from high school, Rich attended Bob Jones University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.
And the mission field? Rich feels he's there. "I'm very excited about the opportunities to serve the Lord in this arena," Rich reveals. "I really view it as a discipleship ministry to help strengthen the body of Christ. We're in a partnership with quality Bible teaching ministries to change lives across the Midwest. This is my calling. I have a very strong sense that this is the area of service, of missions, the Lord wants to use me in."
Bott Radio Network plans to add more stations as the opportunities develop. Projects include using more translators and developing an Internet ministry to support its radio outreach.
The Bott men are still fascinated by airwaves. They've enjoyed building a legacy that they hope will continue ministering through the next generations of their family. In the vastness of the Bott vision, they´re still empowered by the feedback of individual lives they've helped to change.
Bott is thrilled to recall a letter he recently received from a blind Memphis listener. The man depends upon the radio for much of his spiritual growth and repeatedly encourages his friends to make listening to the Bott station a priority in their lives. Rich recalls meeting an Ozarks neighbor who recognized the family name from being an avid listener to a Bott station.
The men are thrilled when God uses one of their stations to bring someone to salvation. Raised Jewish, St. Louis, Missouri Congressman Jim Talent happened to be listening to KSIV while he was driving in St. Louis. The speaker told the audience they could be a Christian right then if they wanted. Talent pulled his car into a public school parking lot, bowed his head and accepted Christ.
Every story of salvation and growth excites the Bott men. With awe, they've discovered that when a man dedicates his interests and talents to God, the Lord can use that man to reach the world. "[Quelle: Jeannette Gardner Littleton. -- http://www.bottradionetwork.com/aboutBRN_history.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07]
Abb.: Familie Crawford
[Bildquelle:
http://www.ruthandpercycrawford.com/extra-pict-pg-261-lg.html. -- Zugriff am
2005-04-07]
Webpräsenz: http://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07
"Crawford Broadcasting Company is the industry leader in reaching radio's most loyal and responsive audience, providing the very best in Christian and secular programming with cutting-edge radio station facilities. Company Profile
Founded in 1959, the Crawford Broadcasting Company has a rich history as the pioneer in Christian broadcasting. The company currently operates 29 AM and FM radio stations in 12 markets from coast to coast. Strong clusters with exciting possibilities and economies of scale exist in Chicago, Detroit, Portland, Denver, Colorado Springs, St. Louis and Birmingham."
[Quelle: http://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07]
"The founder of the Crawford Broadcasting Company was Dr. Percy B. Crawford. He was a broadcast visionary. An evangelist, Christian educator and businessman, he realized early on the value of radio and television as a means to promote the Gospel and to reach people. In 1932, he founded the non-profit organization, the “Young Peoples Church of the Air” (YPCA) through which radio time was purchased. Dr. Crawford produced the very first religious network radio program heard on the Mutual Radio Network linking some 400 radio stations in every state of the Union. That national radio network outlet was supplemented by the purchase of broadcast time from local and regional radio stations, and in addition to the programming of the Young Peoples Church of the Air, Pinebrook Praises was also broadcast live from Philadelphia for some 25 years.
In 1949, Dr. Crawford founded and produced the first Christian television broadcast, which aired on the ABC Television Network with outlets in virtually every major city in America. That program continued for some four years on the network, followed by a series of releases of the same programming on regional and local television stations for an additional seven years.
In 1958, Dr. Crawford devised a strategic business plan for the purchase and acquisition of radio stations. From 1958 to 1960, seven stations were purchased or had construction permits issued by the FCC. The seven original stations were located in Miami, Buffalo, Des Moines, Portland, Chicago, Lancaster and Detroit.
Dr. Crawford passed away in 1960 after having acquired Channel 17 in Philadelphia, owned and operated by the YPCA. His estate operated the seven radio stations, selling three, maintaining three (Detroit, Chicago and Lancaster), and two years after his death, building the station in Buffalo. Ruth Crawford Porter, his wife, functioned as Executrix but the family’s business interests were managed by Dr. Crawford’s oldest son, Donald B. Crawford.
The company expanded rapidly from 1968 to 1979, acquiring stations in Birmingham, Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma City through the auspices of the Young People’s Church of the Air. In 1979, a number of stations were sold and the remainder was divided among family members. Donald Crawford retained ownership or an ownership interest in Detroit, Chicago, Birmingham, Dallas and Buffalo.
In 1980, Donald Crawford acquired KBRT(AM) in Los Angeles. This station, along with the other five, formed the core of the Crawford Broadcasting Company from 1980 to 1991. An expansion program began in 1991, and key purchases were made in Portland, San Francisco, Denver, St. Louis, Rochester and Albany. Later acquisitions were made in Chicago, Rochester, Albany and Birmingham. The company’s rapid growth was accomplished almost entirely through its own resources and its considerable ability to generate cashflow. "
[Quelle: http://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com/~cbc/history.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-07]
Christliche Fundamentalisten nutzen im Algemeinen sehr professionell das Internet. Dieses Skriptum bietet überall Beispiele davon, sodass sich hier weitere Ausführungen erübrigen.
In den USA gibt es zahlreiche christliche Buchläden:
"A typical Christian bookstore is like a small department store. There are racks of Bibles, greeting cards, and calendars; aisles full of T-shirts, compact discs, and cassettes; and display cases for jewelry and embroidered nickknacks. There is a trend toward converting bookstores into one-stop superstores, though publishing is still the driving force behind the thriving $3 billion a year Christian bookstore business. The Bible—in every shape, size, and binding imaginable—is an eternal bestseller, as are children's books, adult fiction, and manifestoes on why Christians should be involved in politics. The popularity of Christian TV and radio does not hurt book sales but instead seems to create a book market driven by evangelical celebrities: Tim LaHaye, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, and Charles Col-son, to name a few. Books promoted through religious broadcasting are guaranteed success at the retail outlets. In the 1990s, revenues in the Christian publishing industry have grown steadily. Christianity Today magazine reported that between 1991 and 1994, religious book publishing increased by 92%, from 36.7 million books to 70.5 million books.1 The popularity of evangelical books sustains some twenty-five hundred Christian bookstores, and the secular chains, too, now carry the bestselling Christian titles."
[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Not by politics alone : the enduring influence of the Christian Right. -- New York : Guilford Press, ©1998. -- xiv, 280 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 1572303859. -- S. 43f.]
Die christlichen Buchländen sind in CBA (ursprünglich = Christian Booksellers Association) organisiert. Webpräsenz: http://www.cbaonline.org. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04.
"Who We Are CBA is the international trade association of Christian retailers and product suppliers. It serves more than 2,500 U.S. member retail stores, and more than 1,000 stores in 40 countries with member chapters in 16 countries. These stores provide Bibles, Christian books, curriculum, apparel, music, videos, gifts, greeting cards, children’s resources, and other materials.
CBA also serves nearly 700 member publishers, record companies, gift companies, and other resource suppliers.
Why We Are Here
CBA’S VISION:
We will be the leading force in bringing the Christian retail channel together and be a champion for its growth and success.
CBA’S MISSION:
We are committed to growing a healthy and successful Christian retail channel by equipping our members with highly valued business solutions.
CBA’S COMMITMENT:
To champion the value of excellent Christian resources.
To champion the vitality and growth of our members.
To impact lives for Christ.
CBA'S CORE VALUES:
Christ-honoring
Member-driven
Integrity
Ministry-motivated and business-based
Impacting people's lives"
[Quelle: http://www.cbaonline.org/General/About.jsp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04]
CBA's Zeitschrift "Marketplace" ist das christliche Gegenstück zu "Publishers Weekly":
"Christian publishing owes its success in part to the ease of niche marketing. Publishers know which popular Christian magazines to advertise in, which Christian talk show hosts have the biggest audiences, and which specialized Christian mailing match their target audience. Just as the National Religious Broadcasters association serves evangelical TV and radio entrepreneurs, the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) facilitates the coordination of the evangelical publishing industry. The CBA was formed in 1950 at a time when only a handful of businesspeople managed Christian bookstores. Among the founders were directors of several evangelical publishing houses, including Moody Press. The idea was for retailers to share information with each other and get to know the publishers. Eventually, CBA began publishing a glossy magazine for everyone in the Christian media business. For many years, it was called Bookstore Journal and then, in 1997, the name was changed to Marketplace, reflecting the fact that books are but one commodity in Christian retailing. Marketplace is the Christian counterpart to Publishers Weekly, full of ads, reviews, and tips on the latest trends in marketing. Since the 1950s, the CBA has held an annual convention, which is now one of the two hundred largest trade shows in the United States. The CBA makes an effort to invite stars and executives from the religious broadcasting industry to its conventions. Sending authors out on the TV and radio circuits is key to the publishers' success.
Aside from its annual convention, the CBA is pivotal to the industry in other respects. Marketplace is a goldmine of information not otherwise available to the managers of Christian bookstores. Each issue offers the latest research data on sales trends and tips on how to market books to specific age, gender, and ethnic groups. The popularity of the Promise Keepers (PK) men's rallies, for example, has coincided with the release of dozens of new men's books. The CBA follows this trend and encourages retailers to cater to male customers even though, the CBA reports, women account for 80% of the sales in Christian retail stores. In 1997, the CBA reported a 49.5% increase over the previous year's sales of men's books, and attributed the growth directly to the popularity of the PK rallies. The CBA encouraged booksellers to get ready for upcoming PK events, especially the national gathering in Washington, DC, in the fall of 1997. "As record numbers of Christian men gather in the nation's capitol for prayer, expect a storm of media attention," one Marketplace article advised. "That and the prayer gathering's historic impact are likely to drive both curious and devoted men into your store."
Aside from tips on how to create a more man-friendly store environment—by downplaying frilly window displays and beefing up men's racks with Bible-study software—CBA recommends that store owners "more aggressively seek out the African-American consumer." One way to attract blacks is to feature books by Tony Evans, T. D. Jakes, and other African American men who speak at PK rallies. The CBA encourages retailers to tap into the $400 billion worth of African American purchasing power by courting black clergy. "If you can get the pastor as a regular customer in your store," the CBA recommends, "he can become an opinion leader. This is more so than with Anglo leaders because the black pastor is one of the few voices of authority in the black community."
Another hot market is homeschooling families. Reportedly, homeschooling families purchase five to six times as many books as other customers. In the 1990s, the CBA reports, the numbers of homeschooling families grew by about 20% a year. Because homeschool parents tend to be solidly middle class or upper middle class and spend about $500 per year per child on school supplies, the CBA recommends that retailers cater to these customers by staying in contact with local homeschool associations. The CBA notes that once homeschool parents are in the store, they are likely to buy more than just books for their children.
Like other publishers, Christian publishers depend on a few bestsellers to sustain the rest of their lists. Word Publishing, for example, specializes in celebrity bestsellers. In late 1995, three of the five bestselling Christian novels were Word books: Frank Peretti's The Oath, Pat Robertson's The End of the Age, and Charles Colson's Gideon's Torch. The CBA calls Christian publishing a "backlist-driven industry" because a handful of popular titles continue to sell well year after year. In 1996, the top one hundred titles together sold nearly ten million copies, with the top eight titles selling more than two hundred thousand copies each.
The books sold can be divided into several categories. Bible study and devotional books accounted for about 20% of sales, up from 16% in 1995, and inspirational titles accounted for 8% of sales. A group of "gift titles" made up 15% of sales. "Christian living" books accounted for 16% of sales, and books on love, marriage, or parenting another 6%. Men's titles accounted for 4% of sales. Fifteen percent of the titles sold were works of fiction. Smaller percentages of books were sold in the categories of prophecy, autobiography, financial management, and health. Within each of these categories, a few titles distinguish themselves. In 1995, the best-selling book was Dr. James Dobson's Life on the Edge about issues effecting young adults. Two books by Hal Lindsey about the coming end of the millenium were among the top twenty, and the Promise Keepers movement's manual, The Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, was number fifteen on the list. In 1996, the top three books were all little collections of devotional themes. Number four was John Hagee's The Beginning of the End, which looks at current events in Israel as signs of biblical prophecy. The novel Left Behind ranked seventieth on the bestseller list.
Christian booksellers see themselves as promoters not just of commodities but also of moral values and enduring truths. The annual CBA conventions are occasions at which industry luminaries pontificate on moral decay within the secular culture. For example, at the CBA's 1995 convention, Charles Colson delivered the keynote address. In the 1970s, Colson went to jail for his role in the Nixon administration's Watergate scandal. Subsequently, Colson became a born-again Christian, the director of a prison counseling ministry, and a bestselling author of inspirational books. Just prior to the release of his first novel, Gideon's Torch, Colson spoke to the CBA audience about morality, and said that "a society that has confused liberty and license . . . [is] a grave danger to the liberties that we enjoy here in America." As in the secular media world, the viewpoints of celebrity authors are considered inherently newsworthy. In the 1990s, Colson has spoken at conferences for the Christian Coalition and Concerned Women for America, not because he is still a political operative, but because he has assumed a sort of folk hero status. He was a sinner when he worked in the White House, but now that he has submitted himself to the will of God, he performs deeds of charity and yet he can recall firsthand the corruption of which he speaks."[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Not by politics alone : the enduring influence of the Christian Right. -- New York : Guilford Press, ©1998. -- xiv, 280 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 1572303859. -- S. 44 - 46.]
CBA veröffentlich monatlich Bestsellerlisten [Webpräsenz: http://www.cbaonline.org/TrackingLists/BSLHome.jsp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04] . Die Bestsellerliste für April 2005:
Ranking Title Author/Publisher 1 The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren, Zondervan,c&p 2 The Five Love Languages Gary Chapman, Northfield (Moody),p 3 Humor for a Friend's Heart Various, Howard,p 4 Your Best Life Now Joel Osteen, Warner Faith,c 5 Powerful Prayers for Your Family David & Heather Kopp, WaterBrook,p 6 Love and Respect Emerson Eggerichs, Integrity,c 7 Come Thirsty Max Lucado, W Publishing (Nelson),c 8 What Every Man Wants in a Woman What Every Woman Wants in a Man John Hagee, Charisma (Strang),c 9 Wild at Heart John Eldredge, Nelson Books (Nelson),c 10 Obsessed Ted Dekker, WestBow (Nelson),c 11 Every Young Woman's Battle Shannon Ethridge, WaterBrook,p 12 Dateable: Are You? Are They? Justin Lookadoo & Hayley DiMarco, Revell,p 13 Beyond Tuesday Morning Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan,p 14 The Power of a Praying Wife Stormie Omartian, Harvest House,c&p 15 Love Talk Les & Leslie Parrott, Zondervan,c 16 It's Not About Me Max Lucado, Integrity,c 17 The Case for Christ Lee Strobel, Zondervan,c&p 18 Heaven Randy Alcorn, Tyndale,c 19 The Bible Promise Book (NIV) Toni Sortor, ed.; Barbour,p 20 Believing God Beth Moore, Broadman & Holman,c 21 Waking the Dead John Eldredge,Nelson Books (Nelson),c 22 The Maker's Diet Jordan Rubin, Siloam Press (Strang),c 23 Straight Talk Joyce Meyer, Warner Faith,c 24 Tie Every Man's Battle Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker, WaterBrook,p 24 Tie Yada Yada : a Devotional Journal for Moms Vicki Courtney, Broadman & Holman,c 26 The Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment T. D. Jakes, Penguin,c 27 My Utmost for His Highest (updated) Oswald Chambers & Jim Reimann, ed.; Discovery House (Barbour) 28 Wonderful Names of Our Wonderful Lord T.C. Horton, Barbour,p 29 The Power of a Praying Parent Stormie Omartian, Harvest House,c&p 30 Epic John Eldredge, Nelson Books (Nelson),c 31 He Chose the Nails Max Lucado, W Publishing (Nelson),c&p 32 Faith That Breathes for Women Michael & Tiffany Ross, Barbour,p 33 A 31-Day Guide to Prayer Andrew Murray, Barbour,p 34 The Purpose Driven Life Journal Rick Warren, Inspirio (Zondervan),c&l 35 Grace for the Moment Max Lucado, J. Countryman (Nelson),p,c&l 36 The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance James Strong, Nelson Reference (Nelson),c 37 Praying the Names of God Ann Spangler, Zondervan,c 38 Redeeming Love Francine Rivers, Multnomah,p 39 Tie Black Ted Dekker, WestBow (Nelson),c 39 Tie The New Strong-Willed Child James Dobson, Tyndale,c 41 Every Young Man's Battle Stephen Arterburn, et al.; WaterBrook,p 42 Getting Through the Tough Stuff Charles Swindoll, W Publishing (Nelson),c 43 Battlefield of the Mind Joyce Meyer, Warner Faith,p 44 The Journey of Desire John Eldredge, Nelson Books (Nelson),p 45 Ending the Search for Mr. Right Michelle McKinney Hammond, Harvest House,p 46 For Women Only Shaunti Feldhahn, Multnomah,p 47 More Than a Carpenter Josh McDowell, Tyndale,p 48 Who's Who and Where's Where in the Bible Stephen Miller, Barbour,p 49 Winning With People John Maxwell, Nelson Books (Nelson),c 50 The Bible Promise Book (KJV) Toni Sortor, ed.; Barbour,p p designates paper; c, cloth; l, leather
This list is based on actual sales in Christian retail stores in the United States and Canada during February, using STATS as the source for data collection. All rights reserved. Distribution and copyright ©2004 CBA and Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
[Quelle: http://www.cbaonline.org/TrackingLists/top.jsp?w=b. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04]
Alle Televanglisten treiben ein florierendes Geschäft mit Videos und oft auch mit Büchern. Da diese oft nicht über den Buchhandel vertrieben werden, ist es kaum möglich zuverlässige Statistiken zu bekommen. So kann hier leider keine Bestsellerliste über diese gegeben werden.
[Quelle der Abb.:
http://www.christianfictionreview.com/whychristianfict.html. -- Zugriff am
2005-04-04]
Seit den 1990er Jahren gibt es einen Boom in Christian Fiction.
Für April 2005 nennt C.B.A. folgende Bestseller aus dieser Gattung:
Ranking Title Author/Publisher 1 (10) Obsessed Ted Dekker, WestBow (Nelson),c 2 (13) Beyond Tuesday Morning Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan,p 3 (38) Redeeming Love Francine Rivers, Multnomah,p 4 (39) Black Ted Dekker, WestBow (Nelson),c 5 The O'Malley Chronicles, Vol. 1 Dee Henderson, Multnomah,c 6 Glorious Appearing Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins, Tyndale,c&p 7 A Place Called Home Lori Wick, Harvest House,p 8 One Tuesday Morning Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan,p 9 Opal Lauraine Snelling, Bethany House,p 10 The Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan, Barbour,p 11 The Prodigal Beverly Lewis, Bethany House,p 12 Oceans Apart Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan,p 13 Reunion Karen Kingsbury & Gary Smalley, Tyndale,p 14 River's Edge Terri Blackstock, Zondervan,p 15 Every Storm Lori Wick, Harvest House,p 16 Redemption Gary Smalley & Karen Kingsbury, Tyndale,p 17 Hadassah Tommy Tenney & Mark Andrew Olson, Bethany House,c& 18 A Love Woven True Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller, Bethany House,p 19 The Warrior Francine Rivers, Tyndale,p 20 Rejoice Karen Kingsbury & Gary Smalley, Tyndale,p Numbers in ( ) denote Top 50 placement. / p designates paper; c, cloth
This list is based on actual sales in Christian retail stores in the United States and Canada during February, using STATS as the source for data collection. All rights reserved. Distribution and copyright ©2004 CBA and Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.
[Quelle: http://www.cbaonline.org/TrackingLists/fic.jsp?w=t. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04
Rezensionen zu Christian Fiction findet man z.B. in der Christian Fiction Review. -- http://www.christianfictionreview.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04
Eine Rezension zum erstplatzierten Buch:
Abb.: Umschlagtitel"As I began Obsessed, I noticed that Ted Dekker's first book, Heaven's Wager, came out in October, 2000. That means that in less than five years, he has had eleven books published (including the two he co-wrote with Bill Bright). While other writers may have matched that, few could claim the diversity and quality that Dekker has demonstrated in that short time. From psychological thrillers like Thr3e to fantasy trilogies and more, he's run the gamut of genres and generally succeeded in each.
Now along comes Obsessed, a novel set in the 1970s, but with extensive flashback sequences set in the 1940s in the Nazi death camps. At its surface, this is about a treasure hunt: the search for the legendary Stones of David, the five stones he picked up when going to fight Goliath. But, of course, the story is far more than that.
Stephen Friedman, California Realtor, has just made a shocking discovery about his past and an unbelievable treasure. At first, he tries to deny his own connection to the discovery, but as he begins to investigate, he is drawn in. In no time, the search for the treasure and the other secrets of his heritage becomes an absolute obsession. Both Stephen and his friends wonder how far he is willing to go to uncover the truth. On the other side of the obsession is Roth Braun, serial killer, son of a Nazi war criminal. He, also, is willing to do anything to obtain what he desires.
Like Thr3e, Obsessed contains only the most basic of theologies. Also like that previous book, it's trying to make a point about a specific aspect of Christianity. In this case, that aspect is the obsession we should have with pursuing God. At times, Stephen's actions become, by turns, hilarious, intense, and downright insane. How should our obsession with God be seen by the rest of the world? A casual Sunday event? Or closer to insanity?
With Roth Braun and his father, Dekker has created a pair of his most memorable villains yet. Truly evil, the Brauns seek power above all else, and their occultic pursuit of it requires them not to just kill, but to raise false hope in a purely sadistic manner, before dashing it.
I would not say that Obsessed is Dekker's best book. In fact, I would rank at least three or four of his previous novels ahead of it. (That may change with multiple readings.) However, there's nothing really wrong with it, either. It's not as good as his best, but Dekker's second-best is still better than most of the rest. Highly Recommended."
[Quelle: http://www.christianfictionreview.com/Reviews/obsessed.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04]
Hal Lindsey Bestseller Romanserie Left behind" wird gesondert behandelt in:
Kapitel 6: Apokalyptische Außenpolitik. -- 5. Left behind — Romanserie über das Schicksal der Nicht-Entrückten. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/fundamentalismus/fundamentalismus065.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04
Abb.: Hefttitel
Webpräsenz: http://www.charismamag.com/. -- Zuriff am 2005-04-04
Die beliebteste evangelikale Zeitschrift ist "Charisma".
"The most popular magazine is the monthly Charisma, with a circulation near a quarter million.15 Charisma looks like a cross between People magazine and Reader's Digest. It is loaded with photographs and short, easy-to-read stories. It features flattering promotional articles on all the latest celebrities in the evangelical subculture: TV
preachers, authors, musicians, missionaries, political movers and shakers. Charisma is packed with ads and reviews of books and recordings. It is a key link in the chain between consumers and publishers, recording companies, and retail outlets."[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Not by politics alone : the enduring influence of the Christian Right. -- New York : Guilford Press, ©1998. -- xiv, 280 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 1572303859. -- S. 46f.]
Abb.: Hefttitel
Webpräsenz: http://ChristianityToday.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17
"Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. Readers can keep abreast of matters concerning books and culture, campus life, Christian history, Christian parenting, leadership skills, marriage, men and women, Bible study, preaching and spiritual help. Begun in 1956 as a way to bring the evangelical Christian community together, the magazine was founded by the famous evangelist Billy Graham. Its first editor was Carl F. H. Henry. Notable current writers include author Philip Yancey, Fuller Theological Seminary's Richard Mouw, Yale University law professor Stephen Carter, and Prison Fellowship's Charles W. Colson.
The magazine's presence on the Internet, originally named ChristianityOnline, began in 1996. Today it and its sister publications, which range from the popular (Today's Christian Woman) to the intellectual (Books & Culture), reach well over 2 million readers in both traditional paperbound and Internet forms.
Although the magazine ran some of the first advertisements for Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, its editorial positions tend to be politically and theologically centrist. Founding editor Henry was an advocate for the labor movement, and in the past decade the magazine and its sister publications have run articles both promoting and criticizing the Intelligent Design movement."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_Today. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17]
"The hallmark distinguishing Christianity Today was a commitment to the trustworthiness of Scripture as the Word of God, with all of the ramifications of that commitment. Of supreme importance to me also was our editorial strategy. Instead of using the stick of denunciation and criticism, we would present a positive and constructive program. We would attempt to lead and love rather than vilify, criticize, and beat. Conservative Christians had failed with the big-stick approach; now it was time to take a more gentle and loving direction. Thousands of young ministers and theological students in churches and seminaries were ready to be led, but at any pushing, probing, and fighting they would rebel. We would not compromise the essentials of our faith, but we would use a positive approach to gain the same objectives that conservative Christians had failed to win using other means for twenty years. We knew that not everyone, especially extreme fundamentalists, would follow the magazine. However, it was my vision that the magazine be pro-church and pro-denomination and that it become the rallying point of evangelicals within and without the large denominations." [Quelle: Graham, Billy <1918 - >: Just as I am : the autobiography of Billy Graham. -- [San Francisco, Calif.] : HarperSanFrancisco ; [Grand Rapids, Mich.] : Zondervan, ©1997. -- xxiii, 760 S., [32] p. of plates : Ill. (some col.), maps ; 25 cm. -- ISBN: 0060633875. -- 0060633433 (pbk.). -- S.291. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]
Abb.: Hefttitel
Webpräsenz: http://www.worldmag.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-05
"WORLD is a weekly newsmagazine, published 50 times a year. WORLD includes sharp, full-color photographs and offers complete coverage of national and international news, all written from a Christian perspective. Each week you will find:
- Thoughtful editorials and commentary
- Cultural analysis
- National and international news
- News that is relevant to Christians
Other regular features include:
- In-depth movie and television reviews
- Book and music reviews
- Business, education, sports, technology, and health coverage
Additional news features are available on worldmag.com.
WORLD Mission Statement: To report, interpret, and illustrate the news in a timely, accurate, enjoyable, and arresting fashion from a perspective committed to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. "
[Quelle: http://www.worldmag.com/world_about_us.cfm. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-05]
"WORLD Magazine is a weekly news magazine based in Asheville, North Carolina. WORLD describes the news according to a biblical and politically conservative worldview: Its mission statement is "to report and analyze the news on a weekly schedule in an interesting, accurate, and arresting fashion, and to combine reporting with practical commentary on current events and issues from a perspective committed to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God." Launched by Joel Belz in 1986, the magazine started small, requesting donations in every issue to stay financially afloat. It has grown steadily ever since, and its publishers express hope of someday reaching the circulation level of the nation's top, secular newsweeklies.
Currently, Marvin Olasky is the magazine's editor-in-chief, and in the past, Cal Thomas was a frequent contributor.
Each issue features both national and international news, cultural analysis, editorials and commentary, as well as book, music and movie reviews."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_(Magazine) . -- Zugriff am 2005-04-05]
Abb.: Marvin Olasky"Marvin Olasky (born June 12, 1950) is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas, a leading conservative pundit, and the editor-in-chief of World magazine.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts into a Russian Jewish family, Olasky became an atheist at 14, shortly after being bar mitzvahed. In college, he discovered Communism and became a Communist in the early 1970s, after graduating from Yale University in 1971 with a B.A. degree in American Studies. By 1976, however, Olasky had become a born-again Christian, after questioning his atheism while reading Lenin and then the New Testament in Russian. Also in 1976, Olasky graduated with a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan.
Olasky began working as a speechwriter and public affairs coordinator for DuPont in 1978, and in 1983, he began teaching journalism at the University of Texas, becoming a full professor in 1993. His initial writings gave him to opportunity to win funding from the Bradley Foundation in 1989, allowing Olasky to begin his most famous work, The Tragedy of American Compassion, which was first published in 1992. Coldly received at first, the book soon gained the endorsement of William Bennet and Newt Gingrich, who gave a copy to every incoming Republican freshman representative in the 1994 Congress. Critics called the book short on research and excessively reliant on anecdotal evidence, but supporters lauded it as a key work in defining "compassionate conservatism" as it relates to welfare and social policy. In it, Olasky argues that care for the poor must be the responsibility of private individuals and organizations, particularly the Christian church, instead of government programs like welfare. He suggests that government programs are ineffective because they are disconnected from the poor, while private charity has the power to change lives because it allows for a personal connection between the giver and the recipient.
In 1995, Olasky became an occasional advisor to then Texas gubernatorial candidate George W. Bush, who put some of Olasky's policy suggestions into action during his term as governor by encouraging the use of religious charities to solve social problems. Christian ministries were called in by the state government to help in a variety of ways, most notably with the rehabilitation of drug and alcohol abusers and the counseling of prisoners. Their disputable success led Bush to make faith-based programs a major component of his 2000 presidential campaign, and in 2001, Olasky saw the national implementation of his ideas when President Bush created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
In 1992, Olasky became an editor of World magazine, the fourth most read news weekly in the United States, for which he writes a weekly column and maintains the magazine's blog. His writing appeared regularly in the Austin American Statesman from 1996-2003, and occasionally in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and Investor's Business Daily. He is also a senior fellow at the Acton Institute and a prolific author on the topics of conservative social policy, American culture, and Christian journalism. In 1998, he was instrumental in the creation of the World Journalism Institute, an organization with the goal of training Christian journalists for positions at World and in the mainstream media."
[Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Olasky. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-05]
"Charisma gives readers a sense of what is happening among fellow Christians across the country. At the local level, about fifty independent monthly evangelical newspapers serve a similar role. The newspapers are available by subscription or are given away free at Christian bookstores. Display advertisements from local Christian-owned businesses absorb much of the page space and pay the costs of publication. Ads for bookstores, private schools, car dealerships, and real estate agencies reflect the degree to which evangelicals can, if they choose, live as a closed society and deal only with fellow believers. The Southern California Times [jetzt: Christian Examiner. -- Webpräsenz: http://www.christianexaminer.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04] is big enough to sustain three versions, one each for San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles. San Diego has such a large evangelical community that it is also home to another monthly newspaper, Good News, Etc. The typical format for these papers is about thirty pages in a tabloid-sized format. There is the Colorado Christian News, the Dallas/Ft. Worth Heritage, the Good News in Tucson, and another Good News in Eugene, Oregon. The papers are all similar in content. They lean heavily toward local reporting from pastors, parishioners, and profamily activists. Each paper also has its own calendar of upcoming Christian events.
The material is repetitive from one newspaper to the next because much of it comes from the Evangelical Press News Service (EPNS) in Minneapolis. EPNS is a syndicated news-gathering service that sends a weekly packet of articles to some 280 Christian media outlets for an annual subscription price of $100. EPNS's weekly packet includes regular news coverage on such topics as abortion-related legislation, election campaigns, and meetings of major Christian Right organizations. By mixing local coverage with EPNS file stories, the regional publications function as everyday newspapers for readers seeking an evangelical spin on the news. The regional papers serve to unify and solidify an evangelical worldview, and this has political implications. Here is just one example.
In February 1995, EPNS reported an incident in which a dozen members of an activist group called Lesbian Avengers entered the Bay Area office of Exodus International. Exodus is the leading antigay counseling ministry. It is well known to evangelical readers as an effort to turn homosexuals away from their "sinful lifestyle." Inside the Exodus office, the Avengers—accompanied by a reporter from a San Francisco gay newspaper—released hundreds of live crickets and waved signs urging God to send a plague on the organization. The incident got little coverage in the local mainstream media. But thanks to EPNS's short dispatch, the story was picked up by many of the regional evangelical newspapers. The story carried a potent message. Exodus executive director Bob Davies was quoted as saying that the incident was "another confirmation that many gays are not interested in tolerance and diversity." Davies warned that the incident was a "foretaste of things to come for all members of the conservative church. The lines are being drawn."16 Indeed, the protest action of the Lesbian Avengers, regardless of their intent, succeeded in reinforcing in the minds of evangelical readers the view that gay people will break the law and damage private property in order to flaunt their message. The story gave legitimacy to the antigay cause precisely at a time when the Christian Right sought support for its anti-gay rights ballot initiatives. In EPNS's version of events, Exodus was just minding its own business when it was attacked by aggressive lesbians. The story mined the twin themes of "religious persecution" and "gay excess," amplifying an otherwise minor event into a Christian Right parable for a national readership.
The Avenger story typifies the circulation of informational tidbits through the evangelical media. Much of what is published and broadcast is more subtle than the Avenger story, and involves the creation of a general view in which born-again believers can see themselves both as special and protected from secular influences. The sheer volume of Christian media enables evangelicals to live culturally in a parallel universe alongside secular society. Believers may partake of the secular entertainment and news media to their hearts' content. They can talk sports scores and Hollywood gossip with non-Christian coworkers and still rely on a safety net of information and inspiration coming from their own media institutions."[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Not by politics alone : the enduring influence of the Christian Right. -- New York : Guilford Press, ©1998. -- xiv, 280 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 1572303859. -- S. 47f.]
Abb.: Hefttitel
"The regional newspapers are small-scale projects with circulations each numbering in the tens of thousands. The rest of the evangelical media is big business. Apart from publishing, the major growth industry is contemporary Christian music (CCM). CCM grew out of the youthful Jesus movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, when the goal was simply to make a joyful noise for the Lord. The old church hymns did not capture the spirit of the new converts, so young Christians created their own music by setting born-again lyrics to a rock beat.
By the 1980s, CCM was a phenomenon driven less by the needs of Sunday worshipers and street evangelists and more by the Christian music celebrities who sell millions of dollars' worth of CDs and concert tickets. Singer Amy Grant was the first to gain national fame, but she was soon followed by a long list of superstar solo artists and bands, including Steve Green, Gary Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Ron Kenoly, Petra, DC Talk, and the Newsboys. In 1995, CCM record sales and concert tickets grossed about $1 billion, or one-tenth of the entire $10-billion-a-year music industry.17 By the late 1990s, with CCM expected to continue to account for 10 to 13% of all music sales, the executives at many secular record labels were rushing to create their own CCM divisions.
The key to CCM's success is the diversity of the music. Gone are the days when "Christian music" meant either gospel singing or Pat Boone in his white, patent-leather shoes crooning happy-snappy tunes about Jesus. CCM artists attract a wide following because they span all the popular musical genres, including country, folk, jazz, heavy metal, grunge, and hip-hop. There is even a Christian reggae band, Christafari, whose members, both black and white, wear their hair in dreadlocks and sing about God as "Jah." What distinguishes Christian music is its lyrics, which stress the saving grace of Jesus and put a Christian spin on "contemporary," controversial themes such as abortion and teenage chastity.
The first wave of CCM was heard mostly at the outdoor gatherings of young self-described "Jesus freaks." Then the recordings began to air on Christian radio stations. Since 1978, the music has had its own trade magazine, simply titled Contemporary Christian Music [Webpräsenz: http://www.ccmcom.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04], with ads and articles about all of the latest hot singers and bands. Major Christian record labels include Sparrow and Star Song. The latest recordings are reviewed frequently in popular Christian magazines such as Charisma, and the industry even has its own version of the secular Grammy awards, the Dove awards.
About half of all Christian radio stations devote at least part of their broadcast schedule to CCM. A survey by evangelical pollster George Barna found that about 44% of all Christians tune in to CCM some time during a given year. Christian radio is no doubt pivotal in the promotion of CCM record sales. In turn, CCM is a major reason why listeners keep their radios tuned to religious stations. In a 1996 analysis of the growing popularity of CCM, Religious Broadcasting magazine reported a survey of CCM radio listeners conducted by a media consultant affiliated with the National Religious Broadcasters. The survey found that listeners to CCM radio use the medium for both entertainment—they like to sing along—and for spiritual uplift, as part of their daily worship routine. CCM radio listeners also expressed strong dissatisfaction with secular radio. They listen to CCM as a way of avoiding secular music, particularly its lyrics. In terms of demographics, the study found that about 65% of regular CCM radio listeners were female and about 35% were male. Age-wise, 73% of listeners were between the ages of twenty-seven and forty-five. Eighty-three percent were Caucasian; 13% were Hispanic; and 2% were African American. Most listeners had some college education; most had middle-class incomes; and most were members of nondenominational or charismatic churches. Seventy-nine percent identified themselves as politically "Consrvative", while only 16% self-identified as "moderate" and 3% as "liberal."
Just as secular fans often seek to emulate their favorite music stars, CCM artists conceive of themselves as role models for fellow Christians. Much of their message differs little from that promoted by the secular music business: Buy our CDs. Buy tickets to our concerts. Buy the products we endorse. Copy our styles. Believe that you, too, can get rich in this society if only you try hard enough.
But apart from offering its own version of mainstream consumerism, the CCM industry is also a ministry for preaching Gospel morality. On a regular basis, Charisma magazine profiles Christian recording artists and allows them to explain to their readers the point of their music. Some seek to console the broken-hearted. For example, the singers with a group called East to West explain that they come from divorced families; that they found Jesus only after they enrolled in college; and that their songs are about "relatfing] to Generation Xers who struggle with divorce and forging through an immoral society that often points to the wrong path."
The pages of Contemporary Christian Music magazine are full of interviews with handsome industry celebrities, who use their stardom to promote religious themes and the message that they should be listened to because they represent God. For example, in an interview, the young singer Greg Long was asked what he is "required to do" by God, and he answered this way:I think it's just required of me to be an example. It's required of me to never let people down. On the same hand, I'm trying to balance that with trying to be Christ-like. That's really my goal because He was always giving, always loving. He was the servant of all and proved it when He gave up even His own life. How much less should I be able to do?
By casting themselves as emissaries of Christ, the CCM artists and their handlers set unrealistic, and presumptuous, expectations for themselves. Yet the marketing of CCM artists emphasizes their moral superiority over run-of-the-mill secular entertainers. Some Christian record companies go so far as to include a "morality clause" in their artists' contracts, thereby allowing the companies to cancel deals if a performer is found to have engaged in adultery. This happened to Michael English after he confessed to having had an affair with a female Christian vocalist. English's company stopped selling his records and forced him to publicly disclose the affair by threatening to hold their own news conference if he did not. Similarly, Sandy Patty, who had been voted Female Vocalist of the Year by the Gospel Music Association for ten years in a row, came under fire when she revealed in an interview with Christianity Today magazine that she had been unfaithful to her first husband. Word Records, which had been scheduled to ship Patty's 1995 Christmas album to stores, postponed its release after she revealed her past infidelities. But unlike English, who was forced to reinvent his career by moving to a secular recording company, Patty was treated more generously by the evangelical community and by the CCM industry, which eventually resumed promotion of her music. The difference in treatment was attributed to Patty's more forthright confession and her public pledge to seek counseling from her pastor.
Whereas secular music fans almost expect their idols to misbehave, CCM artists are obliged to play a role well beyond entertainment. It is as if by living out the ideals of the evangelical subculture the CCM artists compensate for the sinfulness in the secular world.
As paragons of virtue, CCM artists are seen as credible purveyors of a range of subtle messages, some as contradictory as those found in secular music. Much of the CCM message revolves around simple praise and worship of God. While some artists stress themes of love and compassion, others promote militancy. One ad for popular male singer Carman's Righteous Invasion of Truth album, for example, pictured him in a tough-guy leather aviator jacket, combat boots, and sunglasses poised as if he were about to leap out of an airplane or march into battle. The same month, Contemporary Christian Music ran an article on two meek, young Christian housewives who write a regular Arizona Republic newspaper column "from a conservative biblical perspective about government, schools, family values and society in general." The same issue of Content- . porary Christian Music featured a lengthy critique of racism still prevalent within evangelical churches and within the CCM industry itself. The article ended with a checklist of "10 Things You Can Do to Help Erase Racism," including suggestions that Christians get out of their "comfort zone and interact with people of other races," that they "hire qualified minorities for all positions," that they stop repeating racist jokes, and that they register to vote and "elect candidates who promote equality."
To make profit, CCM needs to be all things to all people. Musical diversity and slightly hip political stances can only help CCM attract large audiences, especially the young people who are most likely to buy CDs and concert tickets.
For the record companies, if not for the artists and fans, the bottom line is sales. In 1996, DC Talk, a Christian hip hop group, broke all prior sales records by selling eighty-six thousand units of its new album within one week. Ninety percent of the sales were made in Christian retail stores. On a regular basis, music sales account for about 15% of revenues for Christian bookstores. The vitality of CCM encourages a trend toward greater consolidation of record company ownership, particularly in the hands of gigantic secular corporations. Some of the industry's original artists and executives worry that increasing commercialization will eventually water down the music's Gospel message and fuel the same kind of celebrity worship prevalent among secular music fans.
But for Christians interested in evangelism as well as making money, CCM means new vistas. In 1996, the publisher of Charisma magazine, Strang Communications, created a new Sunday-school course for teenagers featuring video footage of the popular Christian rock band the Newsboys. (The name "Newsboys" is a reference to "good news," which is another name for the Gospel.) To help publicize the course, Charisma ran a cover story about the Newsboys, six young men from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, who look no different from any other group of grunge performers [Webpräsenz: http://www.newsboys.com. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04]. The author of the promotional article delights in describing lead vocalist Peter Furler: "A black tank top hangs from his thick arms and shoulders. The hems of his faded jeans disappear into a scuffed, untied pair of black Doc Marten boots. His half-inch-long spiked hair is dyed light yellow." Furler looks like a rock star from central casting, but he and his comrades are on a mission:Like envoys, they take the gospel of Jesus Christ unashamedly into a youth culture that is alienated from the church. But they speak in a language called rock 'n' roll—the voice of raw energy and adrenaline that youth cultures worldwide have listened to since the 1950s.
The Newsboys sum up their purpose in a lyric from "Shine," one of their best-known songs: "Shine—make 'em wonder what you got."
Abb.: Newsboys
[Bildquelle: http://www.newsboys.com/_v17/index.html?http%3A//www.newsboys.com/_v17/. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-04]This is music for young believers who share the musical tastes, if not the secular ideology, of their peers. As CCM evolves, the artists and fans have begun to group themselves into categories of "mainstream" and "alternative." Part of the difference, according to an article in Christianity Today, has to do with the degree to which CCM artists stick closely to predictable themes such as devotion to Jesus. "When I was younger," says one Christian alternative blues singer, "I thought that I was supposed to make all of my songs like evangelistic tracts. After a while, you don't want your music to be just propaganda. You want it to stand outside its context." Alternative Christian music purports to reflect the style and sometimes the dark thematic content of popular secular bands such as Pearl Jam.38 If CCM remains a profitable industry in coming years, it is likely that some of its artists will dilute their evangelistic message. By doing so, they may lose access to explicitly Christian radio stations. But by the same token, they may succeed in filtering subtle religious themes into the secular music world.
In the above-cited survey, CCM listeners indicated that for them the music serves the dual purposes of entertainment and spiritual uplift. There is a more subtle point to this music as well. To the extent that CCM mimics the musical styles of mainstream culture—but with a Christian twist—it keeps believers from becoming thoroughly alienated from normal life. It is much easier to remain part of the evangelical subculture if one does not have to give up one's favorite music. One can blockade an abortion clinic, vote for Pat Robertson, and still play good tapes on the car stereo. CCM enables believers to sustain their religious commitments over the long haul, and have fun, too.""[Quelle: Diamond, Sara: Not by politics alone : the enduring influence of the Christian Right. -- New York : Guilford Press, ©1998. -- xiv, 280 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN 1572303859. -- S. 48 - 53.]
"Contemporary Christian Music Contemporary Christian music (CCM) is one of the fastest growing areas of the music business today. Concert and annual album sales of sixty million units gave rise to a $750 million-a-year industry by 1996. Christian contemporary music, also known as devotional or inspirational music, or "white gospel," now amounts to as much as 10 to 13 percent of total sales in American popular music. Since the 1980s, it has outsold both jazz and classical, and by the mid-1990s more than five hundred radio stations in the United States were playing CCM.
Abb.: Larry Norman
[Bildquelle: http://www.larrynorman.com/photos/concert.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-18]The genre started in the 1950s with evangelical singer Larry Norman, an idiosyncratic songwriter who became the first evangelical performer who dared to combine rock music with Christian lyrics. Norman—who often asked rhetorically, "Why should the devil have all the good music?"— drifted into obscurity, but he paved the way for a number of other Christian musicians who expanded the style during the Jesus movement of the 1960s. After a short slump in the early 1970s, interest revived, thanks to the efforts of gospel patriarchs like Andraé Crouch and Al Green. In the 1980s, however, CCM emerged as a full commercial force, thanks to a Vanderbilt University student named Amy Grant, who made history as the first inspirational singer to have a gold record.
Abb.: Amy GrantGrant's ability to "cross over" into the mainstream market and her subsequent rise to international fame inspired other evangelical performers to seek their fortune among larger audiences. Individuals including Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith gave the style its trademark sweet, "pop" sound. At the same time, other musicians sought to incorporate Christian lyrics into a variety of styles. The rock group petra, which had first performed in the 1970s, was joined by bands like Stryper and Whiteheart, so that by the 1990s Christian performers represented virtually all kinds of music: folk, rap, reggae, grunge, and heavy-metal.
The geographic hub for Christian music is Nashville, Tennessee, because so many gospel recording companies started out as the music division of evangelical publishing houses located there. Today, however, most of the major labels have been taken over by larger recording companies: Gaylord Entertainment owns Word Records; EMI bought Star Song, ForeFront, and Sparrow Records to create the EMI Christian Music Group; and half of Reunion Records—originally founded by Amy Grant's brother-in-law—is now controlled by the German music conglomerate BMG.
These acquisitions were shrewd marketing decisions for the parent companies; Reunion alone generates more than $70 million in annual sales. Following suit, other mainstream labels, such as Sony and Arista, have begun to organize their own Christian music divisions, but it is not only the recording companies that invested in the growing CCM market. There now is a twenty-four-hour Christian alternative to MTV: Z Music [2000 eingestellt]. Every summer, concert promoters assemble music festivals including Inner Seeds in Atlanta and Cornerstone in the suburbs of Chicago to attract audiences as large as fifteen thousand people.
The industry is expected to keep growing; in 1995 Billboard began to include sales receipts from Christian bookstores, where most inspirational music is sold, into its compilations for top-selling albums. Billboard's new reporting also confirmed the industry's belief that more and more inspirational artists were reaching audiences that were not only evangelical. Not only have Christian artists increasingly made it high into the Billboard 200, they also have witnessed similar success on Billboard's specialty charts, such as reggae, rhythm and blues, urban contemporary, and modern rock, thereby challenging the logic of considering CCM a homogeneous genre.
CCM often finds itself pulled in two directions, with dual accountability to Christianity and to the recording companies' bottom lines, for the tastes of secular and religious audiences often conflict. On the one hand, the possibility of entering the mainstream market has tempted many artists to reduce the religious nature of their music. At the same time, however, musicians have long been challenged to maintain a ministry in their music in an effort to mollify the Christian conservatives who can be suspicious of the genre's "worldly" connections. As a result, artists must demonstrate both a strong faith commitment and an ability to uphold evangelicals' lifestyle expectations: Star Song asks all signatories for a written statement of their mission, defining the focus and goals of their music ministry, and other companies have, "morality clauses" in their contracts. Performers like Michael English and Sandi Patty have found that failure to uphold these standards can cripple a performer's career. In recent years, a third facet has been added to the problem. The Christian music industry now has the monetary power to make the same kinds of artistic demands on performers that until recently only mainstream labels could levy. Artists who venture into new musical territory can find their efforts limited by Christian producers, who attempt to shape the music's content and style. Members of popular groups like The Newsboys, Jars of Clay, and DC Talk have expressed frustration over this situation, but taking into account the fact that CCM emerged with a commercial infrastructure from mainstream music, the development was almost inevitable."
Abb.: Jars of Clay[Quelle: Balmer, Randall Herbert <1954 - >: Encyclopedia of evangelicalism. -- Rev. and expanded ed. -- Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, ©2004. -- viii, 781 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN: 193279204X. -- s.v. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]
"Praise Music The term "praise music" is applied to the simple, sweet, melodious music that became very popular in evangelical churches beginning in the 1970s. In part a revolt against the formalism of nineteenth-century hymns, this music, characterized by repetition and a rather narrow musical range, was introduced by the Jesus movement coming out of southern California. Its popularity spread by means of Maranatha! Music, which was associated with Calvary Chapel.
Praise music became common in pentecostal churches, where worshipers would often close their eyes and raise their arms in a gesture of openness to the Holy Spirit. It has also spread— usually by means of overhead projectors—to other evangelical churches."
Abb.: Praise Music Leader neben Projektionswand (links)
[Bildquelle: http://www.wesley.appstate.edu/fr2001.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-18]"Overhead Projector The overhead projector became a fixture in evangelical—especially pentecostal and charismatic—worship in the final quarter of the twentieth century. The catalyst was the widespread use of so-called Praise Music: simple, lilting melodies with an almost mesmerizing quality. Because these songs were new, most had not been published in hymnals (hymnals themselves came to be regarded as stodgy and passé), so the lyrics were projected onto a screen or a wall. The other fortuitous advantage of overhead projectors was that the congregation, freed now from fumbling with the hymnal, could raise its arms in the pentecostal gesture of openness to the Holy Spirit."
[Quelle: Balmer, Randall Herbert <1954 - >: Encyclopedia of evangelicalism. -- Rev. and expanded ed. -- Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, ©2004. -- viii, 781 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN: 193279204X. -- s.v. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]
"Maranatha! Music One of the most direct descendants of the Jesus movement, Maranatha! Music evolved in 1972 from the music program at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. According to John Fischer, this new direction in "church music" emerged when the musical ensemble that was to perform at Calvary Chapel's upcoming service, a group that called itself Love Song, was asked to offer a preview in the crowded pastor's study before the service. Love Song performed its signature piece, "Welcome Back," with its soft, haunting rhythm, and everyone present knew that something big would come of this new style of "Jesus music."
Abb.: DVD-CoverMaranatha! Music, which eventually became independent of Calvary Chapel, issued recordings and published sheet music for various artists and groups associated with the Jesus movement, but it has kept abreast of changes in Christian contemporary music. Maranatha!, with offices in San Juan Capistrano, California, bills itself as "the most recognized name in Christian Music."
[Quelle: Balmer, Randall Herbert <1954 - >: Encyclopedia of evangelicalism. -- Rev. and expanded ed. -- Waco, TX : Baylor University Press, ©2004. -- viii, 781 S. ; 23 cm. -- ISBN: 193279204X. -- s.v. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]
Zu Kapitel 2: Kreationismus und/oder Evolutionstheorie
