Media, Journalism, and Communication by Read Mercer Schuchardt

Media, Journalism, and Communication: A Student's Guide
Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition
Read Mercer Schuchardt
Crossway Books
Pbk; £8:56; 128pp.
ISBN 978-1-4335-3514-7




Media, Journalism and Communication is the latest addition to Crossway’s Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition.

Schuchardt seems to be channelling Ellul in his critique of media. He provides pertinent and apposite warning of the proliferation and all-encompassing nature of the media. This is a warning that needs to be heard and taken on-board by all students.

It has often been said we can identify someone’s worldview by what they do rather than what they think. As Schuchardt points out:

‘When times are compared, our media consumption habits, in terms of hours spent, are far more holy to us than the Sabbath, by any stretch.’

The aim of the book is ‘ to make you a more conscious user, and a less susceptible usee’. The book certainly does that. He ably demonstrates the ubiquity of media and why it matters, particularly today:

‘In the past, media was something you picked up, used, and then put down to get on with your life. Now media is your life, or at least the way you access everything else necessary to get on with your life.’

So much so that media is shaping us into its image.

‘Emojis are the new hieroglyphics’

And

‘Txtng is the new Hbrw’

This book will help all who read it to better discern the ideologies and assumptions behind most media (clue: it’s usually mammon).

My only gripe with the book is that it focuses on the fallen aspects of technology. And it seems, following Ellul (?), that Schuchardt regards technology as a product of the fall and not creation.

‘There was no technology in this environment [Genesis 1] because in a perfect world, you cannot improve it by inventing any form of labor saving or time-saving devices.’

What we need then is a complementary book that deals with the creative and redemptive aspects of technology and media. Nonetheless, this is an important book that demands to be read by all students, and not just students of media.



Book website: https://www.crossway.org/books/media-journalism-and-communication-tpb/