I was reading Pope Benedict XVI’s recent speech to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps when I came across this quote:
One is the loneliest number
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Why is the marriage debate so scary?
Of the many heavy-handed copy editing ticks employed over the years at the Washington Times, one of the most contentious was the use of scare quotes around the term “gay marriage.” Actually, I think they used the term “homosexual marriage.” One of the first acts former editor John Solomon performed when he took over two years ago was to tell the copy desk to knock off the quotation marks.
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The sacrament of the sneer
When the firestorm erupted over Brit Hume’s suggested that Tiger Woods receive the forgiveness and redemption offered by the Christian faith, I hoped we’d see some more substantive coverage rather than just the religiously sub-literate offerings of the histrionic. We’ve seen a few good stories about Buddhist beliefs and I was also appreciative of Lisa Miller’s post explaining evangelical Christianity to her Newsweek audience:
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'Devastating to Godreporting'
First came the news that the Boston Globe‘s award-winning religion reporter Michael Paulson had been promoted to city editor. Jen Peter, the Globe‘s previous city editor, was recently upped to metro editor and her first act was to promote Paulson. This is great news for him, but a loss for religion reporting. When Paulson hinted at this in his most recent Articles of Faith blog post, he mentioned that the Globe would find a new religion reporter if he were to leave the beat. We’ll keep you updated.
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New Moons rising
I’ve lived in Washington for a dozen years and as I was reading this fascinating piece by the Washington Post‘s Michelle Boorstein, it occurred to me that I knew next to nothing about the Unification Church. Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his church have strong ties in the area, including ownership of the Washington Times. And mention of the Unification Church, the Rev. Moon or the Moonies isn’t unheard of ’round these parts. But when was the last time you read a decent story about what the church teaches?
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The word is "abortion"
We’ve had more than a few readers point out this article in the Washington Post about a changing of the guard at Emily’s List. And that’s because it reads like a press release from the organization.
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Hume can't say that!
Fox News analyst Brit Hume has taken some major hits over his advice to Tiger Woods that he embrace Christianity if he wants redemption. I’ve embedded the clip here. In a society that is deeply uncomfortable with any substantive discussion of religious differences, that Hume favorably compared Christianity to Buddhism is downright shocking. Now, I’m sure that there are readers here who think Hume admirably showed concern for Woods’ soul and readers who think he’s an anti-Buddhist bigot (and many other views). But I think the whole brouhaha is most interesting for the media freak out over response to his words.
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Remembering Deborah Howell
The news of Deborah Howell’s death hit the journalism community hard this weekend. Howell was loved by many in the business — known for being ruthless in pursuit of breaking and accurate news, but also for being a pioneer of female leadership and colorful cussing. She was a top editor in the Twin Cities — one of the first female editors of a major newspaper — before coming to Washington to head Newhouse Newspapers Washington Bureau.
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The 'why' of terrorism
Last week I read a Washington Post article about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man charged with attempting to bomb a flight to Detroit. In the same way that some media coverage of Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan explored his mental state, this Post article took the clinical approach with Abdulmutallab. Like Hasan, he was lonely and wanted to find a wife.
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