Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
To understand this post, you will need to see the photo that accompanied the USA Today news feature that ran under an A1 headline stating: “Shifts detected in support for death penalty.”
So what is the mainstream press to do with President Barack Obama’s refusal — so far — to take a clear stance on gay-rights issues, especially same-sex marriage?
On one level, it’s easy to note that media coverage of the unexpected death of faith-based superstar artist Thomas “Painter of Light” Kinkade has moved past the early headlines and into an all-to-familiar second stage that is very popular with the mainstream press. I am referring to the fallen evangelical superstar with secrets stage.
It was clear, this weekend, that the major West Coast newspapers didn’t expect the controversial (yes, I used that word deliberately) artist Thomas Kinkade to die at 54 years of age. Thus, the newsrooms did not have pre-written obituaries about the self-proclaimed “painter of light” ready to update and publish.
As the Divine Mrs. M.Z. has already noted, this is a red-letter news day on the religion-and-baseball beat. This is especially true here in Baltimore, where our city’s beleaguered Orioles fans are marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of Orioles Park at Camden Yards, the park that in many ways saved baseball from suburbia.
Imagine a knock-down, drag-out fight between divorced parents over what age to baptize the children. I mean, really, who wants to read about that?
A horrible shooting happened yesterday at a small Christian vocational school in Oakland, California. A former student went on a shooting rampage, killing seven people and injuring three.
Anyone who read GetReligion for more than a week or two knows that we are not big fans of religious labels.
