Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Last week we looked at coverage of Pat Robertson’s comments that divorce of a spouse with Alzheimer’s can be justified. We talked about whether Robertson’s rhetoric needs coverage and how the Associated Press actually used the Gospel of Mark to counter what Robertson said.
Two executions are scheduled for today. Racist Lawrence Brewer will be killed in Texas for the savage murder of James Byrd. Troy Davis will be killed for the murder of Mark MacPhail, a police officer in Savannah, Georgia.
Who cares about the Emmy Awards ceremony that was held on Sunday? What really matters are the latest award winners from the Religion Newswriters Association. The group’s 62nd (!) annual conference was held last week. I followed as many tweeting religion writers as I could and it sounded awesome, particularly the panel discussion and the karaoke.
I had forgotten that this weekend was what some called the “Day of Rage” where protesters hoped to occupy Wall Street. Why? Well, as the New York Times put it:
It doesn’t happen often but occasionally the Washington Post and New York Times will choose the same exact photo to illustrate their respective front-page, above-the-fold, lead story of the day. It happened earlier this month and late last year.
Last night, the Supreme Court halted the execution of a man convicted of killing two people in Texas 16 years ago. There’s no dispute about his guilt but his lawyers contend that the sentence itself was unfair because of a racial question asked during his sentencing trial.
I know “Pat Robertson says something shocking” hasn’t been a man-bites-dog story in decades. But occasionally his comments are interesting enough to warrant media attention. Or, as Religion News Service put it yesterday:
An Arizona organization that went by the name Phoenix Goddess Temple was raided last week. The group claims it provides religious services while the Maricopa County attorney says those services were sexual and were traded for money. Readers were not pleased with how this was presented in various media reports.
