Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
This is one of those cases when the mainstream press cannot be accused of burying the lede. The headline in the New York Times says it all (kind of): “2 Ex-Timesmen Say They Had a Tip on Watergate First.”
As I keep reading the waves of media coverage of the University of Notre Dame rites honoring President Barack Obama (click here for a flashback), I continue to be impressed with two facts.
How did NPR’s Scott Simon make it into this post? Hang on, gentle reader, and all will be clarified.
When diplomats want to make a specific point or argument, they tend to speak in very precise language in an attempt to prevent misunderstandings. This is especially true when their statements address issues linked to major world powers or leaders — such as the president of the United States.
When Pope Benedict visited the Holy Land last week, every religious move he made was analyzed for its political significance. On Monday when Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet President Obama in Washington, just the opposite will be true: the political moves will be analyzed for their religious significance.
Amy Sullivan of Time launches a nearly 1,200-word report on President Obama and Notre Dame University with this ludicrous sentence: “At the rate things are going, Pope Benedict XVI may find his next trip to the U.S. dogged by airplanes overhead trailing banners with images of aborted fetuses.” Sullivan qualifies this language in her next sentence, calling it “a bit of hyperbole,” but the rest of her report proceeds in a similar vein, arguing that an article in L’Osservatore Romano “essentially urg[ed] the bishops to chill out” on Obama. She repeatedly confuses diplomatic silence with tacit endorsement of the university’s decision.
Celebrity confessionals are a vertiginous business. Not so much for the authors, who get to beat their breasts, name a few names, absolve themselves and move on, but for us, their market, consumers, fans or critics.
South African President Jacob Zuma knows how to work a political rally, as shown by the video atop this post — in which Zuma sings “Awuleth’ Umshini Wami” (“Bring Me My Machine Gun”). The Weekly Standard sounded a warning about Zuma earlier this month, and retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has raised concerns about him for years.
