HOW did a softly spoken, 77-year-old man who eschews the material life start the largest conversation going around?
And how did that same man come to grace the covers of flashy magazines and dominate social media sites?
Welcome to the world of Jorge Mario Bergoglio – or Pope Francis as he is known in the mainstream media fuelling this great conversation.
The reasons for the Pope’s media domination are various but driven by that alluring quality – his is essentially a people story with an air of mystery. Throw in the power of the “reverse” and some apparent conflict and Pope Francis is big media business.
It’s why he has featured on the cover of Time and Vanity Fair Italia magazines and why he was the most discussed topic on Facebook in 2013.
And it’s why Rolling Stone – the music bible that has featured scantily clad women, rebellious rockers and hard-living actors – placed him on the cover of its February issue.
This is some achievement for Pope Francis because the mainstream media tends to shy away from overt religious coverage.
It is more comfortable reporting news that involves religious organisations, such as the tragic stories of institutional sexual abuse, than their beliefs. But Pope Francis has created the perfect storm of interest for mainstream media.
He is an example of the power of the reverse – the story that takes a twist readers don’t expect.
One of the most shared stories online in recent years was the obese woman who wanted to get larger. Readers expected overweight women to want to shed kilograms, but this one vowed to get larger. That’s a classic reverse and people want to read about it.
This pope was elected to an office that had become renowned in the mainstream media for its lavishness, secrecy and adherence to doctrine.
Yet Francis has reportedly shunned the comforts, opened discussion on Church views and even taken on some menial tasks himself.
The story of the Pope, a few months after his election, ringing his Argentine newsagent to cancel his paper delivery went viral.
He has opened up in homilies, speeches and interviews with an honesty that has shocked mainstream media.
This has reportedly brought him into conflict with some Vatican veterans – and readers love to know about conflict.
They take sides and develop an emotional attachment to the story. But, at its heart, this is a people story. And those stories sell.
It’s about a 77-year-old man who was reportedly considering to where he would retire when he received one of the world’s best-known jobs.
And then he did things no one expected while retaining mysterious edges. Has he been brave or foolish or just plain honest?
Media audiences, regardless of whether they believe in God, have an opinion. And what will he do or say next? Those same audiences want to know.
They want to join or listen to a conversation that is running at full speed almost 12 months after it began.
Michael Crutcher is the former editor of The Courier-Mail. He is a member of the St Agatha’s Clayfield Pastoral Council and the director of media strategy business 55 comms. www.55comms.com.au
