does the American media hate atheists?

[butitjustis]

Hi all. I'm brand new to this forum, so nice to meet everyone!
I'm a student studying at NYU's journalism department and a pretty dedicated atheist.
currently I'm working on an assignment for class about how atheists are presented in the media, and I wanted to know what you guys think.
Mainly, how do you think the American media has been at shaping society's perception of atheists?
Do you think atheists are misrepresented, unfairly sensationalized, or ignored?
I read a couple of news articles that seem to show a very strong christian bias.
and also, do you think the lnternet has been helping you connect with fellow atheists? take this forum for example. has the support you have gotten from other members helped you find your voice as an atheist?  
anything you wanna say that's related would be awesome. thanks! hope this isn't too boring a topic!

[Whitney]

I think it depends on what media and who is covering the story.  We've had surprisingly fair coverage of atheist/freethought activites here in Dallas but also some less than favorable coverage from other media sources (namely those run and paid for by Christian groups).

I found the ad that showed below your post to be very related to your OP:

[LoneMateria]

I got the same add too Whitney.  Also the treatment given to atheists just depends on the news organization.  If, for example, fox news were to run a story about atheists they will spin it (lol or fabricate it) to make atheists look like unpatriotic, immoral, devils who want to kill America.

How long until this paper is due?  It's a good time of year to do this paper with Christmas coming up.  Many Christians are trying to create a "war on christmas" which will give the media a chance to place atheists in the spotlight.  I honestly don't know if a news organization will fairly cover atheists during this season.  Time will have to tell.  Until then we can look at the atheists coverage in recent months with the billboard adds.  When a non-fox news station covers the billboards they seldom focus on atheists, they instead focus on the masses who are literally one step above a monkey who are screaming about it.  They mention the death threats made against the owners of the companies and the attempts to deface the billboards.  They basically re-affirm that atheists are the most hated minority in the United States.

We shall see in weeks to come though exactly how biased everyone is.  It's the most wonderful time of the year  

[G-Roll]

Xmas is the only time I hear atheists mentioned in the news. And yes it’s a poor spotlight because we are trying to change America into some secular state…. Or a nation where you can choose your religion…. Or something less 1600’s puritan… or wait…. There are other religions other than Christianity? In America? NO!?!?!
I don’t think most Americans care about atheists until the holidays. Just like most Americans don’t care much about Jesus until the holidays either. For the except few I don’t think religion plays a role in most people’s everyday life. In 90% of my sober conversations day to day, religion doesn’t rear its ugly head.

[MommaSquid]

[rant]
Am I the only one who hates it when nOObs show up asking for help with a school project?  Can't they at least throw us a couple of posts before they ask us for a favor.  
[/rant]