Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Since day one, a major theme here at GetReligion has been the need to portray the specific beliefs of specific believers whenever possible, instead of taking the easy road and settling for simplistic labels.
Back when the Occupy Wall street protests began, I complained about the lack of coverage in general and the lack of coverage of religion angles in particular. When the coverage improved, I made sure to note that as well. It’s my observation that the best reporting comes from ideological outfits, particularly (as you might suspect) on the more progressive side of things. ReligionDispatches is a great resource, for instance.
No, the title of this post does not refer to a now forgotten second tier ’80s band. Mollie and the Spin Doctors will not join Souxsie and the Banshees, Hootie and the Blowfish, Adam and the Ants, and Echo and the Bunnymen in the remainder aisle at Wal-Mart. I chose this title to tell a cautionary tale about religious journalism concerning one of my colleagues at GetReligion, Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, and the Communications Office at the Episcopal Church.
I do not expect a second wave of Steve Jobs religion coverage at this stage of the game, even with the fascinating, almost civil religion tone of the official Apple memorial service.
Last week we looked at some of the few stories about Muammar Gadafhi’s death that engaged religion angles. This past weekend, the religion angle became unavoidable.
âIn miracles we are dealing . . . with the unreal world of fairy-tale,” Matthew Arnold wrote over 125 years ago in God and the Bible. An observer of the BBC’s religion reporting would not be wrong in concluding the Corporation follows this general line, treating faith with a modicum of skepticism.
As I write this, Tim Tebow is three for five in the passing department for a total of 24 yards early in his start for the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins. He has not, to my knowledge, parted the waters off South Beach or performed any miraculous act (unless there was a healing in the pre-game ceremonies).
The New York World, a Columbia Journalism School publication, had a big story last week about how a Brooklyn bus line segregates its passengers according to sex. It was picked up by the New York Times the next day:
Back in 2007, the divine Mrs. M.Z. Hemingway headed to the doctor for a perfectly ordinary reason. However, there was a twist in the plot that she described in a highly personal post entitled, “Brave New World,” which focused on a New York Times science story. Her post started like this:
