Faith leaders challenge religious stereotyping in the media

Religious stereotyping in the media will come under the microscope at the Churches' Media Conference at Swanwick in Derbyshire from 7- 9 June. "Leading figures from different faiths will contribute to a discussion about a problem facing us all - including, it has to be said, Christian churchmen and women", said John Lloyd, Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee. "We want to ask the questions: just how prevalent is the stereotyping of religious faiths and people, and should journalists and broadcasters feel a responsibility to change things? "With panellists Dr Fiaz Hussein from the UK Islamic Mission, the Revd Christine Musser from BBC television's Seaside Parish, Nirmala Parmar from the Birmingham Council of Faith and Rabbi Jonathan Romain, writer and broadcaster, we've assembled a strong line-up to discuss the issues from many different perspectives" Around 300 journalists, broadcasters and church communicators will be attending the conference entitled: Telling the truth: media, theology and religion today. For more details see: www.churchesmediacouncil.org.uk.