Christian Media

In the cluttered and competitive world of media, the need to be unique and noticed sometimes takes a strange turn.  In my book “Branding Faith” I talk about branding and identity as something that comes out of your nature.  Your brand story is the essence of who you are.  It’s not something you make up or add on, it’s the compelling story about the real you.  But as I watch a new generation of younger pastors and religious TV personalities, I’m noticing such a desperation to get noticed, that they’re often coming up with some really ridiculous things. ... read more

Paul Crouch Jr. shared some interesting audience survey results from Trinity Broadcasting with me that might start to change assumptions about who the audience for religious television might be.  Because of confidentiality, I can’t reveal the entire survey, but there are some fascinating elements that Paul gave me permission to write about.  For instance, here are the things that stood out: ... read more

I'm working on a book on the future of Christian media and I'd love to know your thoughts. Will Christian media (particularly radio and TV) exist in 5-10 years? Will it look like it does today? Will it be effective? What will it look like? ... read more

I often make fun of what I call the “Christian media bubble.” For those non-believers in the audience, that simply means people who live inside Christian radio, publishing, TV, or music. For an earlier generation, people of faith actually interacted with the surrounding culture. But 30-40 years ago, when we noticed the Christian audience was a buying audience, we stopped preaching to the world, and started preaching to each other. As a result, ... read more

Mary Hutchinson of Creative One sent me this “Top Ten List of Fundraising Tips” for Christian media programmers. It’s particularly focused on religious and non-profit media, but many of the ideas could impact the way you raise money outside of media as well. Do you agree with these techniques? Let me know your thoughts... ... read more

The day after the Oscars, Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein wrote a searing column in the Times about the need for the Oscar telecast to get a reality check. He wrote that it’s now painfully obvious that the Oscars need a face-lift. Ratings are down dramatically, and younger viewers are leaving in droves – 25% down from last year. But as I read his post, I couldn’t help think of comparing his criticism to religious media, which needs to wake up from a similar dream. The truth is, many of Goldstein’s complaints about the Oscars really parallel religious media.
For instance: ... read more

According to Ellison Research, new study data shows six out of ten Americans believe charities and non-profit organizations spend more than is reasonable on overhead (fundraising, administration, etc.). The average American believes non-profits typically spends over 36 cents out of every dollar on overhead, while at the same time saying just over 22 cents out of every dollar is a reasonable proportion to spend on overhead. See the results of the report here. What's been your experience? Do they spend too much on overhead? ... read more

When you check this blog, don't just stop at the front page. We've kept every single post I've done (and your responses as well) archived on the site. You can access them in either of two ways - one, you can scroll to the bottom and read through page by page, or two, you can use the SEARCH box in the upper right. Either way, there's a wide variety of subjects and issues you can digest and discuss throughout the site, so search away today! ... read more

One of the things that’s most disconcerting to me during the Senator Charles Grassley affair is just how little unity there is in the church today. It’s no wonder we’re not making more of a cultural impact. Reading over various blogs last night, it’s amazing how many Christians out there are applauding Grassley. I'm sure he's a good man and has done many great things in office. The truth is, if you read this blog very much, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of many TV ministries. There are people on that list that I have plenty of problems with, and I’m pretty vocal about it. I probably spend as much time ... read more

Whenever I visit local churches, most of the time I'm faced with a frustrated local media producer who's at his or her wits end. They're usually good producers, often with extensive experience, plus a real calling to use media to take the gospel to the culture. But in nearly every case, he or she is either burned out, upset, or ready to quit. ... read more

It’s happening.  Just as I’ve been discussing over the last year, the rush of studios to release “Christian” themed films is causing them to pick up some junk (can I say “crap?”), thus screwing it up for future filmmakers.  This is from a review by William Lobdell in the Los Angeles Times about the film “Conversations with God”.  Granted, it’s not a strictly “Christian” film, but it falls in the faith-based category.  He says dislikes it so much he wants to ask God: ... read more

In reading the responses from the last week regarding Randy and Paula White and Juanita Bynum, I’m amazed at the wide range of opinions and ideas. I didn’t post to start a conversation about the ethics or Biblical perspective of the marital problems – although that’s not a bad idea for someone else. I do believe that ... read more