Christian and conservative internet -- is it time to review?

By Michael Bresciani

We have all heard commentators and TV news people berating the news and info sites found on the internet. At the same time they all admit that the largest segment of the broadcast, cable and radio media, commonly referred to the main stream media (msm) are liberal, biased and in some instances – totally corrupt.

Is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black, or are they biased themselves – against the internet.

Perhaps, it is a bit of both.

It suffices to say, that truth and responsible reportage can be found on the internet even though it is fraught with falsehood, mis-information, spectacularism and questionable motives.

In the case of TV we were told that if we don't like what we see, we can turn it off. On the internet the method is – don't turn it on. Just click that!

Sometimes TV reporting cannot see its own weakness such as, the call to say what you have to summarize with only thirty seconds of time left to make your case. That does not happen on the internet. I have seen that some people spend as much as a half hour perusing over some of our articles and their related links.

Also some of the most reputable agencies are now online such as WSJ, Breitbart and others. Dismissing the internet out of hand is no longer an honest or a smart thing to do.

Clean up your own back yard

TV has always been rife with advertisements and fanfare that is an insult to intelligent people and even where the content is good the endless repetition is a force of indoctrination that also insults the intelligence of most people. Thank goodness for the invention of the DVR.

Sadly, after battling with TV we find ourselves clicking on some of the best internet sites only to be bombarded, smothered and beleaguered with pop-ups, pop-backs and intrusions of all kinds – it's like an attack.

Just when the cloud of offers, sign ups and advertisements begins to clear up, the next thing we see is scads of partially clad nude bodies and pictures of some plant, fruit, worm or other indescribable biological that will be the last thing we will ever need to lose weight, cure cancer or recover from death itself. And then comes the videos of Oprah or Ellen crying about their lying – stop please!

The integrity, the dignity and the believability of the site has now dropped a notch or two, but we move on hoping to find the information we went to the site to find in the first place.

Should we send an open letter to ourselves to remind us that the gravity of our efforts is greatly diminished when we abandon dignity in our presentation of our message?

We may want to occasionally make a comparison of the news and stories we are urging readers to take note of and the way we present that information.

With headlines about Isis beheadings, school children in Colorado who have stripped down and written messages on their bodies and Ebola being found in Texas how should we present this serious news to others?

The question is ours for answering, but many sites up on current events are noisily dancing down the information highway like a band of roving gypsies complete with freak shows, potions and scams – why should anyone take us seriously?

We know it's about the money

In this economy no one can fault the sites that employ a full staff of writers, investigators and tech people for trying to raise money. But we are saturated and that is what drives many people to the smaller sites or the ones who find other ways (funding, endowments etc.) to keep their sites up and running.

Some sites maintain an email list and or a newsletter to keep their sign-ups informed, but that too is a very expensive proposition. So instead of just being informed we are also being solicited for support or advertisements for the latest book or product. It becomes the internet's own Ouroboros.

I know of one site that sends an email every morning to its four million subscribers, but they never seem to have enough money to run their site. Then, if they should tackle a controversial subject and say something that some don't agree with, the drop offs write in to be removed from the list by the thousands. What follows – is the drive for more sign-ups and a campaign for more donations. This is our Ouroboros.

I did some math recently and saw that of the 500 or more emails I get daily about half are looking for money. If responded to only half of them I would be sending about $1200.00 dollars a week to political action groups and internet websites that need support and a few scammers that never quite make clear – why they need the money.

I have noted that even though we have never solicited funds for our website – no one has ever offered any. Oddly if we were to ask for funds, I would be inclined to insist that unless they were willing to donate one thousand dollars or more then we would not even ask. Of course that would not work very well, but we might be able to save a little precious dignity – of which, there is so little these days.

We even allow full logo style ads to appear on site for those websites that we believe in and want to promote. We have never charged a cent and after ten years of doing this it would amount to tens of thousands of dollars if we did. So why do it? This is our contribution to those sites in lieu of donations. Will they be catapulted off of the visitor charts because of it – probably not, but our Biblically based site would miss the blessing of this biblical principle.

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Lk 6: 38)

The Blogosphere – The Torture Chambers of Cyber-hell?

We have never missed having an active blog on our site and while I have a blog at Christian Post, I am glad that I do not have to maintain, administer or moderate a blog at our home site.

It would seem that while some bloggers are quite good that it is the moderators who are worth their weight in gold. Anyone with the ability to weed through the endless opinions and trolling and stay sane – is to be lauded if not awarded.

I rather hope for the day when blogs will go the way of chat rooms and slither back into the pits from which come all of modern man's confusion and mis-guidance.

Some articles are like nuggets of fine gold that are reduced to cheap white metal costume jewelry after being subjected to the caustic, drivel and corrosive meanderings of thousands of people who just have to say something – even though they haven't got much to say.

It isn't so much that some good things aren't said, but after a sea of opinions, attitudes and trolling tripe is thrown at a good piece the point is lost.

The question remains – isn't it time for the Christian and conservative internet sites to review and take stock. With Google's ever changing algorithms and the constant search for content isn't good reporting, journalism and analysis still worth something today?

Let's take stock of the endless words and images we lay on our world and remember the words of our Savior.

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Mt 12: 36-37)

Let us assume that the above would also cover our pictures, videos and various other digital presentations.

© Michael Bresciani