Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Although often restrained by their position from writing stories that reveal serious denominational problems, or using quotes that reveal dissenting viewpoints, in-house religious journalists are often a big resource for journalists covering religion stories.
Earlier today we looked at some of the mainstream media reports of the American Psychological Association’s resolution on treatment for those dealing with same-sex attraction. The Wall Street Journal took a completely different approach than almost every other report out there. Religion reporter Stephanie Simon writes on a new therapy for people whose faith and sexual identity are in conflict and how the APA changed its treatment guidelines to allow counselors to help clients reject their same-sex attraction. It was certainly different than the headlines over most of the AP reports. Here’s how she began:
Last week the American Psychological Association passed a resolution that made quite a bit of news. Here’s the top of a somewhat lengthy Associated Press report explaining the basics:
I have been writing about the global persecution of religious minorities, especially persecuted Christians, for a long, long time. Sadly, there is no sign that I will be able to stop writing about this subject any time soon.
Josh Levin, senior editor of Slate, wrote an epic series this week on the theme “The End of America.” The series begins here, and rolls on in eight segments and about 23,000 words. That’s not counting Slate’s embedded notes and thousands more words in The Fray. Slate also offered discussions on Facebook and Twitter, so the most obsessive readers easily could have devoted an entire week to debating Levin’s reporting.
Since I have the pulpit for a bit of tmatt-authorized shameless self-promotion, I’d like to share with you a little UCLA tradition my college roommates and I created and that the university is trying to kill. I’d like to tell you about Undie Run. But I won’t. This really isn’t the right venue for such potty talk.
Ted Olsen over at Christianity Today performed a GetReligion-style look at the Sacramento Bee. And with good reason. In a story headlined, “Fewer refugees finding solace in Sacramento County,” the reporters give the following reason for the drop in refugees fleeing persecution:
Normally I don’t look at book reviews since they’re just opinion pieces, more or less. But this New York Times review of books about Wal-Mart had some problems with how it handled religion. One of the books is To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise by Bethany Moreton.
We need some kind of special award here at GetReligion to salute really fine news stories about religion that still fall one or two facts short of being, you know, just right. It’s frustrating, you know. The story is really enjoyable and then — bzzzzzzz.
