Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Your GetReligionistas have, from time to time, asked editors and reporters to ask the “Why?” question in that old journalistic sequence, “who, what, when, where, why and how.” That question can be pretty hard — hellish even — in some stories linked to tragedy and disaster.
Kavita Kumar of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about a Catholic college’s decision to not stage a production of “The Vagina Monologues” on campus. Her story claimed that officials at St. Louis University canceled the controversial play for various reasons:
For the last 23 years, John Foley was the main communications official at the Vatican. His department coordinated media relations for Pope John Paul II’s funeral and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. He also oversaw all film, television and photographic work at the Vatican. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York.
There’s a controversy in Cincinnati about the “Bodies … The Exhibition.” However, it appears that there is no controversy at all about the same show in Baltimore.
If you know nothing about ayahuasca, you should read Gina Piccalo’s lengthy and detailed piece about it in the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Ayahuasca is a shamanistic therapy that uses psychotropic plants native to the Amazon. If you are looking for any updates on its legality or any new angles on its use, the article probably won’t help you much.
Yesterday I highlighted some of the thoughtful and interesting media coverage of the death of Gordon Hinckley, the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Commenters began discussing whether it was a lock that the next president would be the most senior (in terms of experience) church leader.
The January/February issue of Psychology Today features a 5,000 word story, ostensibly on clergymen who lose their faith. While you have to get a copy of the dead tree version to read the whole thing, you can read the first few hundred words here. Having just finished writing a history of atheism for another magazine, I was excited to read the piece.
I wonder exactly how many reporters the St. Louis Post-Dispatch will use to cover the Rick Majerus story.
There’s a controversy brewing in St. Louis that poses some interesting questions for journalists. St. Louis University basketball coach Rick Majerus went to a Hillary Clinton campaign rally on Saturday night where he was interviewed by KMOV, a local television station. During the interview, he expressed some views that are not in line with Catholic teaching. Which wouldn’t be news if he weren’t also being paid $650,000 a year by a Catholic university.
