On Wednesday The Chicago Tribune turned its pages over to advocacy journalism representing the unfortunate attitude that the West knows best, and the “poorer parts of the world” must conform to the rules established by modern experts to keep the world from falling into a state of calamity. This article by the Tribune‘s London correspondent Laurie Goering proclaims that everyone should have fewer children (though it fails to provide the precise number) in order to prevent global warming and keep the planet from over-populating.
Your Basic conversion story
I don’t know what’s more surprising. That Joe Eszterhas became a Christian or that a mainstream media paper did such a good job of telling the story of his conversion.
Evolution as article of faith
In The New York Times, reporter Amy Harmon wrote about a Florida ruling that requires state schools to teach evolutionary biology. Her lede began with the story of a high school teacher who attempted to instill evolution’s principles into his students:
You gotta have faith
So I’m out here in beautiful Denver covering the Democratic Convention (I also came for my sister-in-law’s awesome naturalization ceremony last week!) and it’s been a blast. The spectacle is amazing, the crowds are enthusiastic, the alcohol is flowing (even in the morning!), the protesters are fun to watch. It’s everything I could have hoped for in a convention.
Saw one ghost, missed another
The general public may be tuned out, for the most part, but for political primates here inside the DC Beltway, the national political conventions remain The Shows, a kind of crazy cross between the Olympics and reality TV.
Hammon's mission to Russia
Before the Olympics wrap up, we must highlight a story that has been covered primarily by newspaper columnists. Becky Hammon, a WNBA player for the San Antonio Silver Stars from South Dakota, signed up to play with the Russian Olympic basketball team after she received a four-year contract worth $2 million to play with one of the country’s professional teams. This meant accepting Russian citizenship, marching into the Olympic Stadium under the Russian flag and wearing the Russian uniform.
Media narratives, media myths
The “God gap” has to be one of the biggest religion stories of the year. It seems we can’t go more than a few days without an additional story about Democratic outreach efforts to religious voters.
Back to church with Warren
The Religion News Service offered another story on the Rev. Rick Warren’s Sunday sermon after the Saddleback forum shindig. And, like the Los Angeles Times, the basic facts about the sermon didn’t really make it into the story about the sermon, even in a report from the excellent wire service that focuses on religion.
Interfaith and no faith
One of the things that annoys me about journalists’ lack of institutional memory is the way religious activism in politics is constantly being rediscovered. Over and over. Year after year.
