RNS: Mass Media That Unites

Through RNS, many Americans may have had their first glimpse of a celebration of Purim or a saint’s feast day. Non-Protestant neighbors are now less exotic to the majority Protestant public. The RNS photos enabled Americans to see the rebuilding of Europe after World War II, the wars in Asia that followed, the civil rights movement, and the peace movement through a variety of religious lenses. These photos, with their carefully bias-free captions, sought to counter tribalism in our national conversations, to “lay aside . . . disfiguring prejudices which obstruct our vision.”