Media corporations influence
The first thematic panel of the 6th CMRC this Tuesday (12) debated the interface between corporations, media and culture. Dr. Azonzek Ukah, from the Department on Religious Studies of the Bayreuth University, in Germany, presented his paper “Banishing Miracles: Politics and Policies of Religious Broadcasting in Nigeria”, pointing out the monopoly that the Nigerian government has over the communication, media which silences the voices of social organizations in that country. “For the Nigerian government, religions can create situations that cause problems, threatening their power”, revealed Prof. Ukah. “There is a contradiction, because religious liberty is protected by law, but in practice, this liberty is restricted by the government, not allowing people to express their religion”.
According to Profesor Ukah, 213 communication media are controlled by the government and 78 are private. “Owning most of the media, the government makes laws and controls the ways they are implemented”. The Professor explained that this situation ends up influencing violence. “The minorities are dominated and victimized by this situation and there is a need for the laws to be reformulated”, he emphasized.
The great power of the governments and corporations was the focus of the discussion in the morning. Professor Sarah M. Pike, from the Department of Religious Studies of the California State University (USA), presented her study about “Corporate Youth Culture and the Gods of Nature”. “Nature Religion, which is invoked by some movies and teen TV series, worries some American conservative Protestants”. Dr. Pike mentioned the TV cartoon “Captain Planet” and the books “Golden Compass” and “Harry Potter”, which present elements that put animals and the environment above humanity, God’s supreme creation, according to conservative Christians. “Visual media, especially in the 90s, has affected the public’s opinion when it comes to nature, and created Earth worshippers”, revealed the Professor.
Another major “media corporation”, according to Dr. Leonildo Silveiras Campos, from the Methodist University of São Paulo, is represented by Neopentecostals that, from the 1970s on, have established their power in the media. “The Pentecostal insertion has created negative feelings in the businessmen that control the media, especially Globo Network”. Dr. Silveira presented the paper “The New Brazilian Pentecostals in the Media – Visibilty, Challenges and Scandals”, which shows a panorama of the media concessions in Brazil and how these groups had access to the control of the communication media. “The concessions of communication media in the country are basically given by political agreements. That’s why religious groups are so interested in having their representatives in parliament”. According to the Professor, one of the most recent legislatures had about 63 evangelical congressmen. After successive scandals of corruption involving some people of this group, this number decreased to 35. “It’s a fact that the Pentecostals are present in the media and in the country´s politics”, concluded.
GIANA ZEFERINO
