Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Christopher Goffard of the Los Angeles Times has told the pathos-laden story of conflicts between pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa and his namesake son, pastor of Capo Beach Calvary.
RightWingBob sounds the alarm today about an unsourced and unfounded aside in an otherwise routine profile of Bob Dylan in The Christian Science Monitor:
Try to imagine that you are reading a news report about complicated, emotional issues linked to death and the burial of the dead in the city of Jerusalem.
Tom Cruise‘s dumping by Paramount Pictures for his off-screen behavior brings Scientology back into the news. It’s still too early to say for sure, but early news accounts are fairly clear that Paramount executives were put off by his crazy antics over the last year.
We all agreed to take a look at Jon Meacham’s lengthy mash note to the sainted Billy Graham. I alternately enjoyed the Newsweek piece and felt it went a bit over the top in luscious praise. But I’m pretty sure I would have hated it if I hadn’t read Meacham’s earlier pieces on the Nativity, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When Newsweek‘s Jon Meacham is on target, there are precious few more elegant stylists writing about religion in contemporary America. God is in the details, or the devil is, depending on which folk saying you believe, and Meacham’s eye for detail is what makes his reporting such a pleasure to read.
I wanted to like Jon Meacham’s Billy Graham exclusive Newsweek cover story. It contained lots of good information. There were colorful, well-described scenes and a solid understanding of Graham’s mission as an evangelist. It dealt with most of the Graham-related scandals. At about 4,500 words, the piece was thorough and non-repetitive.
As noted in the past, Newsweek Managing Editor Jon Meacham really doesn’t do ordinary journalism anymore.
