Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
On this week’s Crossroads, host Todd Wilken and I discussed the odd way in which the media covers President Obama’s religious rhetoric — which is to say that they typically avoid it.
Ask religion reporters to name the part of the beat that bugs them the most and a high percentage (give me your estimates, Godbeat walkers) will say that they worry about finding new, valid, interesting stories linked to religious holidays.
Earlier this year, I complained about the lack of coverage surrounding President Barack Obamaâs confession of Christian faith at a pre-Easter Easter breakfast he hosted at the White House. I wrote:
Faithful GetReligion readers and others who walk the religion beat will know the byline of Mark I. Pinsky, who in news circles is best known for his work at the Los Angeles Times and then at the Orlando Sentinel. Then there is another circle — mainly people who consume and study popular culture — who know him as the author of “The Gospel According to the Simpsons” and several other volumes of pop-culture criticism, with a religious bent.
The pros in the Obama White House are facing a number of tough decisions as they head into the 2012 election. However, nobody expected a Democrat to face a growing sense of panic about the Jewish vote.
Yesterday, Bobby looked at media coverage of 9/11 commemorations. There are some interesting stories to be found in who was and who wasn’t invited and what people think about it. In Washington, the commemoration will be an interfaith service. In New York, clergy aren’t part of the program.
So let’s say that you are covering a news story that focuses on some Catholic organizations that have been accused of fraud. Right in the middle of the scene is a Catholic priest who has been close to the accused and was clearly in communication with them during the time in question.
The New York Times profiles one of Levi Aron’s attorneys. He’s the man accused of a horrific crime — kidnapping, killing and dismembering young Leiby Kletzky. All of New York City was focused on the crime but it was particularly tragic for the Borough Park, Brooklyn, Hasidic Jewish community.
