Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 27, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Baden-Württemberg’s Minister-President Günther Oettinger (CDU) told «Bild am Sonntag» that it would be desirable for commercial media, too, to show consideration for the religious feelings of the majority of citizens. This had not been achieved this Easter. CSU General Secretary Christine Haderthauer expressed a similar view. The Easter days should be days of peace and togetherness. Brutal TV was out of place then.
The media representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Markus Bräuer, also criticised the programming. The film «Die Hard» was just as inappropriate as its accompanying trailer featuring a melting Easter bunny, Bräuer said.
Broadcasters Sat.1 and RTL rejected the accusations. «Die Hard» was a popular film classic, Sat.1 spokeswoman Kristina Faßler told the newspaper. RTL spokeswoman Anke Eickmeyer stressed that a balanced programme for the whole family and every taste was shown on Christian holidays as well. According to «Bild am Sonntag», the action and horror films from Good Friday to Easter Monday added up to just under 40 hours.
Bishop Gebhard Fürst told «Spiegel» in his capacity as chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference’s commission for communications: «Apparently the commercial broadcasters assume that religion is a private matter and does not have to feature on their channels. Unfortunately, they only look at ratings. This is an attack on public order.» If the state banned dancing events on Good Friday while television simultaneously showed murder and manslaughter, «citizens can no longer understand the plausibility of state regulations». Fürst noted that the churches had a «good presence» on public-service radio but had «massive problems» with television broadcasters.
The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, urged the mass media to exercise social responsibility during a pontifical Mass at Freiburg Minster on Easter Sunday. Possible dangers of the media included not merely depicting reality but «creating certain events themselves in a suggestive way for the sake of higher ratings», Zollitsch said. At the same time, he also reminded media users of their responsibility. «Each and every one of us has the freedom not to watch certain things or to press the off button in time.» Zollitsch drew particular attention to parents’ responsibility for bringing up their children.
The Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx, also criticised the broadcasting of violent and action films in an interview with «Bild am Sonntag»: «I do not watch things like that, and such programmes are of course not an appropriate way of handling the Easter message either.» In the archbishop’s view, the Christian parties also bore responsibility for the standard of the television landscape. «The CDU did promote commercial television – and believed that TV quality would improve. I was always sceptical about that. The free market does not always ensure quality.» But blaming the media alone for the decline in morals did not go far enough.
