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It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: Mitt Romney Speechifying Day. There are so many stories out there that we are able to look at only a fraction of them. And we’ll be sure to follow coverage throughout the days ahead.
So even though I’m normally complaining about how journalists only notice religion when it involves politics, I’m giving myself up to the political machine this week and discussing more stories about Romney and his Mormonism. Coverage has been all over the map. Contrast, for instance, this headline from The Boston Globe:
After the embarrassment of last week’s CNN-YouTube debate, you might think other media outlets wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. Ordinary voters were given the chance to ask candidates questions via video. But many of the questioners weren’t so ordinary, including one man who served on two of Hillary Clinton’s committees.
I’m down in Florida for the week to watch a friend of the family take the next space shuttle into orbit, which means two things. One, I get to read different papers. Two, I’ll be preparing to watch Atlantis lift off when Mitt Romney gives the speech heard ’round the world. I’m sure we’ll be looking at media coverage of one of those two events as we progress through the week.
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reporter Rochelle Olson wrote a story that’s not really about religion. It’s about corporal punishment — whether and when the government can involve itself in private family disciplinary methods. It’s a fascinating topic, although it’s one mostly outside the scope of this blog. But the lede was framed in an interesting manner:
USA TODAY religion reporter Cathy Grossman had a great story the other day about the religion blogosphere headlined “Bloggers keep the faith, contentiously“:
My two favorite parts of some newspapers are the obituary and corrections sections. And Sunday’s New York Times did not disappoint:
Wall Street Journal religion reporter Suzanne Sataline had a lengthy feature on tithing that a few readers sent in. Headlined “The Backlash Against Tithing,” here’s how it began:
Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Mary Kay Cabot wrote up an interesting profile about Browns kicker Phil Dawson. Last Sunday the Browns had an amazing 33-30 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Dawson had kicked the game-winning field goal as well as a 51-yarder to send the game into overtime.
