Church report says RTK radio must halve 'strictly religious' content

RTK, the Church's radio station, should practically halve its "strictly religious" content and instead intelligently weave the Christian perspective in a wider range of programmes.

Recent figures show that, at the moment, RTK's religious content makes up 16 per cent of its schedule but a Church document recommends this should be reduced to no more than 10 per cent.

Titled The Digital Face Of The Lord, the as yet unpublished 51-page document proposes a programme to implement the proposals of the Synod in the pastoral section of the media.

It proposes that RTK draws up a three-year strategic plan geared to expand its present audience, mostly women aged over 40, to entice more men and those aged 25 years and over to tune in.

The aim should be that at least 55 per cent of the audience should be under 50, since surveys show the bulk of its audience - 51 per cent - is over 65 years, 30 per cent are aged 50-64 and another 16 per cent are aged 30-49.

It also recommends that RTK studies new means of financing the station, among them an annual sum from the Church, which could be given as a form of compensation for the programmes that it wants aired but that are not viable.

From earlier Synod reports it emerged that for a holistic media plan to succeed the Social Communications Secretariat had to be effective and possess a clear strategy plan. This meant that the secretariat had to be overhauled and a delegate appointed so that, together with a council of media experts, the person will coordinate, animate and stimulate the operations in this sector.

This secretariat would be responsible to ensure that broadcasting the Word of God was done in a more coordinated fashion; pastoral work was carried out among broadcasters; and a plan on how the media can be used to promote the pastoral message be drawn up.

The document proposes that the secretariat is set up as an organisation within the Archdiocese and, among others, will be responsible for drawing up, updating and implementing the Church's strategy to broadcast the Word through the mass media. It will also establish the editorial policy of the Church's media and ensure this is practised in a uniform way.

Essentially, it will also be responsible for building a team of people who are qualified in getting the message of Christ and the Church across in an effective way through the media and other means, such as literature, theatre, music and art.

It recommends that the secretariat will be responsible for the communications office of the Archdiocese, in line with the Synod's statement that: "The Church needs a communications office made up of an adequate number of people who are trained and specialised in this field. The function of this office has to be a proactive one".

Keeping this in mind, the document proposes that a new communications office replaces the present public relations office to ensure there is a credible interaction between the Archdiocese and the community.

The proposed communications office will identify issues which require a communication campaign by the Archdiocese; commission regular research in a bid to identify these issues and ensure there is regular contact with journalists and opinion leaders.

The Church should also examine what kind of communication there should be between this office, the Gozo Diocese, religious and lay people and non-governmental organisations who share the same aspirations.

When it comes to broadcasting stations, which are not owned by the Church, the secretariat should meet up with the production houses and offer its services to ensure their religious programmes are of the highest quality.

The secretariat should also tap into the multitude of new possibilities that the digital media presents. It could, for example, study the possibility of opening a new radio station aimed at young people.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese reiterates its decision not to open its own television station, since, as the Synod points out, a number of producers have sprouted within the Church, such as the Media Centre's TV Unit, CAM Productions and U TV.

The secretariat should get these producers, and others within the Church, together to draw up a strategic plan of action and examine how these could look into new areas that go beyond strictly religious broadcasting.

These producers should explore new genres such as game shows and other programme formats not normally associated with religious broadcasting.

From broadcasting media, the document moves on to print media and stresses the need for a decision to be taken on the future of the Church's newspaper, Il-Ġensillum, which, according to the Synod, "has not taken off".

The Church needs to establish whether the subsidies pumped into running the weekly newspaper compared to the number of copies sold and the influence it had on society. Once a decision is made, a strategy on the policy and role of the Church's print media has to be drawn up.

The document also delves into the importance of media education in schools and points out that, despite previous directives, the number of schools teaching this subject had dropped from 35 to 27.

The document ends by stressing the important role the media had in communicating the "digital face of the Lord".

"The Church recognises that its mission of love and service is not an easy one in a pluralistic world, which was constantly being overcome by the winds of neo-liberalism that place profit above all else, including the human being," it said.

"The Church takes on this challenge with courage, humility and optimism. The Church is realistic...," the report says.