There’s an Associated Press story today that is equal parts interesting and frustrating. The set-up for “Texas church bans child’s photograph of Passion,” is certainly intriguing:
Context ex nihilo
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5Q+1: Peter Smith on what we believe vs. what we do
We spend a lot of time here arguing for the importance of considering faith in reporting, and journalists on religion beat do this every day.
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Healthcare nunsense
I have a friend who has been on the health care beat for her paper for years. I saw her last week at a party and she looked a bit weary. I gave her my own views on the matter and she replied, in all sincerity, “I just want it to be over.” It is very difficult to be a journalist covering this thing. It’s hardly the most transparent thing to have been debated in Congress, it has about a million moving parts, special interests are fighting for last-minute inclusions or exclusions, and the legislative machinations are confusing for all but the most nerdy of parliamentarians.
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New lines on Baptist map in Texas?
Once again, we enter the complex and confusing world of the people called “Baptists,” that diverse crew that ranges from the Rev. Bill Moyers to the Rev. Pat Robertson.
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St. Patrick didn't drive errors out of journalism
In his thought-provoking essay “Reclaiming St. Patrick’s Day,” Christianity Today‘s Ted Olsen talks about how Christians could emphasize the day by highlighting issues related to the great saint (e.g. fighting human trafficking, celebrating multi-ethnic communities and incarnational ministry). Here’s how it begins:
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The camel's nose called 'evangelism'
Before we look at the journalistic essay that has me so hot and bothered, let us pause and read two crucial passages in a document that used to be dear to the heart of old-fashioned liberals — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This cornerstone of human-rights work was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.
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Headlining Pope Benedict's Connections
I’m guessing most reporters hate writing headlines. Your stories are often so nuanced or complex that no one can possibly condense it down to a few words. We’ve been reading several stories related to Pope Benedict XVI’s connections to Peter Hullermann, a priest who had been convicted in 1986 of sexually abusing minors, and we’ve been taking special notice of whether the headlines and the story make the appropriate ties.
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Same-sex marriage, different response
Apparently I wasn’t the only Washington Post reader who thought the paper’s coverage of same-sex marriage last week was a bit lopsided. I noticed one of the reader questions posed in an on-line chat to the Post‘s Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli mentioned it as well:
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Hands of God? Hard to tell
For anyone who doubts the powerful role of religion in people’s lives, consider the case of Chris Pollock.
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