Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
You have to admit it. This Associated Press story includes a direct quote from a source that is, under normal circumstances, hard to quote — except from printed documents of an ancient nature.
Did it seem like there were no religion news stories last week? Maybe it was because all the religion reporters and writers were partying at the Alamo at the Religion Newswriters Association’s annual convention. Gary Stern blogged about it last week and even posted a video blog upon his return. Unfortunately the report included no funny stories or gossip about other religion beat professionals.
Anyone who knows the history of religion writing in the American press knows that Time played a major role in proving that religion is, in fact, news and, come to think of it, that cover stories about religion can move large numbers of copies off the store shelves. Cover stories about religion have often fueled debate about American religion (like the old yet still famous “Is God Dead?” story) as well as reflected the news.
Let’s make another trip into that massive GetReligion Guilt file in my computer. I kept trying to write something about this one while I was in Prague, but never got to it.
This is one of the Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon’s early posts at his TitusOneNine blog, reacting to the statement released yesterday by the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this interesting religion news from the Associated Press out of Malaysia: Malaysian cosmonaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will be part of a Russian crew heading to the International Space Station next month.
There’s a lot of coverage out there right now on the tense gathering of U.S. Episcopal bishops down in New Orleans. You can go to the usual places on both sides to follow the maze of details.
It’s a mantra that I have used with my students for years now. Repeat after me: The most important words in journalism are “comma, space, said, space, name, period.”
