Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
A brief unscientific survey of Utah newspapers’ coverage of Mitt Romney’s speech on Thursday shows that reporters were quite aware that Romney hardly delved into his church’s teachings.
Things have been pretty busy for me lately, but that will change in just under two weeks. Apologies for my low level of posts lately. I wanted to slip in a brief note to highlight what seems to me an impressive journalistic endeavor for a local newspaper. The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., sent reporter Trevor Aaronson along with a local Baptist church’s mission group to India to report on missionary work in the world’s second-largest country.
What is the point of reporting on Web rumors that are plainly false and contribute little to the political discussion? Unfortunately it becomes necessary when the rumors and false reports become too much of the story.
The business section of The New York Times had another story in its series on how religious institutions in America benefit from government accommodations.
Michigan State University’s student newspaper, The State News, had a solid feature story a couple of weeks ago by Petra Canan that takes a fresh and personal look at the local Christian Science congregation. Apologies for not mentioning this sooner, but it is important not to let this one slip by.
Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., resigned over the long holiday weekend over a series of allegations of misspending the institution’s funds to support expensive shopping trips and trips to the sunny seas of the Caribbean. Only a handful of news agencies have picked up the story, but a few are worth highlighting.
Indiana media were attentive to the prayer opening the legislative body’s proceedings this week (earlier coverage). The ACLU and others had protested what they considered sectarian prayers at the opening of General Assembly sessions. They successfully sued in 2005, barring prayers in the Statehouse that used the name Jesus Christ or endorsed any single religion. That decision was tossed out on procedural grounds earlier this year, but that didn’t mean the case was over.
Two stories in Wednesday’s Washington Post were placed in interesting ways. On the front page there is a straight political poll-based story bringing the world the news that former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee exists and could just possibly win in Iowa. On the front of the Style section is a piece telling us, in a rather pushy way, that Republicans in Iowa are still searching for a savior.
Stories about interfaith issues are tricky these days, particularly when they involve conflict. Down in Austin, Texas, a Baptist church’s rejection of an interfaith Thanksgiving service because of the involvement of Muslims has sparked an intense discussion of the holiday and how people and organizations of different faiths are supposed to interact with each other in today’s society.
