The downfall of Cardinal Keith OâBrien, Britain’s senior Roman Catholic cleric, has not shown the press at its best. While the Observer, the Guardian newspaper’ Sunday edition, deserves high praise for breaking the story of the cardinal’s misconduct, a number of stories have adopted a gleeful and sanctimonious tone. Sex and religion sells newspapers â â but coupled with sloppy language and malicious hyperbole good reporting can be squeezed out of a story.
All the anonymous Vatican voices in the Gray Lady
At this point in the conclave process, I’m sure that millions of liberal Catholics are carefully watching The New York Times daily coverage to see what the world’s most powerful newspaper has to say about who will be, and who should be, the next occupant of the Throne of St. Peter.
Media coverage of Roe v. Wade at 40
One could write several volumes under this headline, but we’ll just look at a few items to come out in recent days. Let’s start with this from NBC:
The ghost of abortion in adoption stories
Like many Americans, I’ve been developing an interest in Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. I came across a blog post that asserted something provocative:
Mixing scales of justice and songs of praise
Telling Newtown's story sensitively
I hope you can see the picture here. If you can’t, please click here for a larger image. I saw it on Adam Gabbatt’s Twitter feed on Dec. 15. He’s a reporter for The Guardian. He added:
Savita's tragic death and media ethics
The tragic death of Savita Halappananvar continues to produce headlines, particularly in Europe and India. We looked at some of the initial coverage three weeks ago, where I noted that the US media had adopted the pro-choice movementâs certainty about the circumstances surrounding Savita Halappanavarâs death.
Should Fox News be telling you to lie and steal?
I realize I’m the fuddy duddy around here who is always telling kids to get off my lawn, but there have to be other people who were saddened by this FoxNews.com story headlined “Hotel confidential: Secrets to scoring hotel freebies.”
Missing the grasshopper in the stem-cell debate
Master Po: Ha, ha, never assume because a man has no eyes he cannot see. Close your eyes. What do you hear?
