Media support for the Pope on the rise

The media image of the Pope in international TV news, 2013-2015

Rapperswil, September 23, 2015 - With his recent decision to simplify the resolution of Catholic marriages and the environmental encyclical “Laudato si” Pope Francis has revived his image in international TV news. But a recent evaluation by the research institute Media Tenor International also shows that the visibility of the Pope has declined significantly compared to the first year of his papacy.

At the beginning of his pontificate, international television news reported intensively about the unconventional communication style of the new pope. “Pope Francis pursues his own media strategy, which aims to circumvent the established news channels of the Curia and to build up media pressure on the forces in the church, which are critical of his plans,” explains Dr. Christian Kolmer, Head of Political Research at Media Tenor International. The media has eagerly picked up the sometimes surprising statements of the new pope during his first year at the helm of the Catholic Church. “But the approval for Pope Francis also contained an element of criticism of Catholic structures, for instance with regard to homosexuality and the role of the laity,” explains Dr. Kolmer.

The media image of the Catholic Church has improved considerably worldwide in 2015, ever since the reports of sexual assaults by priests have declined, and the scandal in Limburg has disappeared from the headlines after the dismissal of Bishop Tebartz van Elst.

On the other hand, the visibility of the Pope declined significantly since Fall 2014. “The Pope has recently managed to strengthen media support for his positions again,” said Dr. Kolmer. With his commitment to the refugees, who are fleeingto Europe, coupled with a request that "every Catholic community, every spiritual community, every monastery and every refuge ... accommodate a family” * - Francis connects the Church with the flow of secular events. The criticism the Pope earned for his view that “dignified corporal punishment” does not hurt a child, did not bring any long-term adverse consequences for his media image. “The Pope is traveling to Cuba and the United States with a media tailwind, and journalists expect further evidence of his strategy of opening the Church to the world.”

For this evaluation, the employees of Media Tenor International analyzed all reports about 428,365 protagonists in 21 international TV news shows during the period between January 1 and September 15, 2015 and for the long-term comparison 346,046 reports on six German, English and U.S. news programs since 2013. Of these 3,449 focused on Pope Francis. In the 2nd quarter of 2015, inter-coder reliability averaged 86%.

(* http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/papst-fluechtlinge-105.html)

Contact: Dr. Christian Kolmer - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - 0049 176 19134512