The fast-paced emergence of new media must be built upon an ethic where the public interest remains at its center, according to the Rev. Robert Chase, who delivered the UCC's 25th annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture on Sept. 18.

"In too many conversations about media policy in recent years, the public interest in simply absent," Chase told a crowd of 200 gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. "I am not suggesting that marketplace values are invalid, but they are insufficient for the common good."

Chase, the UCC's former communications director who left in August to become founding director of the New York-based organization Intersections, provided a mind-boggling litany of statistics related to the emergence of new media: 31 billion emails are now sent daily; a new blog is created every second; YouTube surpassed 150 million monthly visitors; and more than 9.5 million people are participating in Second Life.

Chase argued that, in the midst of radical technological advances, the poor and other marginalized groups will not benefit fairly, unless faith communities and justice advocates insist that all be served.

"We need to dispel the myth of the level playing field," Chase said. "In contemporary American society, with its huge disparities in wealth, playing fields are inherently uneven. We need an ethic that tilts toward the small."

Chase said religious people, in order to be faithful today, are being called to "not hide from media exposure and engagement."

"Why?" Chase said. "Because media is broken, dwelling on the superficial and the sensational."

Chase said journalists increasingly lament how the "bottom line" shapes news coverage, and profit drives programming, while important news stories go unheard.

The lecture and luncheon also included presentations of awards to several media justice advocates. Among those honored were U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) who, in accepting this year's Everett C. Parker Award, lauded the UCC for the historic role it has played in media reform. (See separate story. )

The text of Chase's lecture is available online.