NBC News reporter Luke Russert, the son of the late journalist Tim Russert, told CBN News' David Brody that he believes media outlets are biased against people of faith.
Russert's comments will likely be seen as vindication by religious individuals who have long argued that mainstream reporters often mistreat and stereotype the faithful.
NBC News reporter Luke Russert has an exchange with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. (AP)
Russert told Brody he agreed with the claim that those who wear their faith on their sleeve are often covered unfairly, regardless of which religion or faith sect it is.
"I think that’s absolutely accurate and I think the current world in which we live in, specifically with the American media, 'snark' is valued," Russert said. "And it’s very easy to come after people of faith no matter what they’re religion is -- if they're Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu."
Russert, who is a Catholic, said people of faith are sometimes slapped with a "puritanical" label and accused of not understanding others' viewpoints.
He decried media coverage that embraces stereotypes and paints people of faith in a negative light, calling it "lazy" and charging that it inappropriately feeds the masses.
Russert said it's important to remember that not every Catholic or evangelical Christian, for example, is monolithic in his or her viewpoints.
"Issues of faith are very complex. When you cover them as a journalist you simply can’t, I feel, stereotype somebody as fitting into a box," Russert said.
(H/T: The Brody File)
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