IMBALANCED COVERAGE
Only 8% of Americans are atheist, reports The National Cultural Values Survey conducted for the Culture and Media Institute (CMI). Yet the U.S. news media does not subject atheism or atheists to the same skepticism to which it subjects Christians and Christianity. From the 105 atheist-themed stories reviewed, 80% had a positive tone while 20% were neutral. Surprisingly, no feature stories were negative. Only 54% of atheist-themed stories included a religious counterpoint, compared to the 71% of the Christian-themed stories that included atheist counterpoints. Although the media is not obligated to give equal treatment to all religions, the failure to subject atheism to the same scrutiny as Christianity suggests a "deplorable double standard," claims CMI.
(Christian Post 3/19/08)