With so many Roman Catholic bishops speaking out against Notre Dame University’s decision to honor President Barack Obama at this year’s commencement, we’ve seen quite a few stories in the mainstream press. When Mary Ann Glendon declined to receive the Laetare Medal in protest, we saw even more. But it’s been hard to put the story in perspective or context since there have been few stories looking at the overall scenario.
The fantasticks
Keeping up with the "none" crowd
I meant to put a link up to this fascinating little essay earlier, but forgot in the blitz that is the final week of the semester at the Washington Journalism Center.
We need a better torture discussion
Yesterday we saw quite a bit of coverage of new Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life analysis which had — to the many who read it splashed across the interweb, cable television, and newspapers — some shocking results. Here’s CNN, for instance:
Aiming for accuracy
Earlier this week, Elizabeth opened a discussion about what standards religion journalism blogs should be held to. Some mainstream reporters insert quite a bit of personal opinion while others retain their journalistic distance. Some use the blogs as a means of unloading information that couldn’t make it into brief stories. Many use a slightly more personal tone.
From football to "frum"
“From football to faith,” the TV reporter begins, “you’ve heard that before….But this story is different. You are about to meet a former NFL player from Miami who has to be the only ultra- Orthodox Jew who wears a Super Bowl ring when he prays.”
Religion ghost drifting into baseball
Religion ghosts float in and out of news stories, good stories as well as shallow, incomplete stories. Sometimes people see the ghosts and that’s a good thing.
Yes, we need the MSM shark
Let’s pull this comment from the Dallas Morning News religion-beat funeral post right out front. It comes from long-time reader Chris and deserves open debate.
Black flag flying in Dallas (updated)
This is certainly a day of mourning for journalists who know anything about the history of religion-news coverage in the mainstream press.
