Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
I’ve been wondering whether the tea party has somewhat replaced religious conservatives in some of the 2012 presidential election coverage, but maybe it’s too soon to tell. After all, if someone like former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney or former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee gets the nomination, we probably will see quite a bit of religion coverage.
Since Mitchell Landsberg assumed religion reporting duties for the Los Angeles Times about a year ago, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has written a lot of stories that have drawn heavy criticism here at GetReligion.
Events in Egypt roll on and, of course, journalists and diplomats are all trying to figure out what is up with the Muslim Brotherhood and it’s potential role in the new secular or Islamic state of Egypt. In other words, will a democratic process lead to an Islamic republic?
Before the 2008 election, there was a lot of ink spilled on the Democratic outreach to religious voters, but this time, the cycle seems more focused on the tea party. Part of the shift is probably due to the state of the economy and current horse race coverage on potential Republican candidates, but maybe the media cycle just needs to jump to the next exciting group to fuel election content.
In a new video, a Planned Parenthood manager is seen assisting someone who claims he is a pimp involved with the sex trafficking of children as young as 14. She rather cheerfully and eagerly finds way to assist him with information about abortion and medical exams and contraception. When he asks about abortions for underage girls, she gives him the name of another clinic with lower protocols than hers. She warns him off of a nurse who cares more about the rules than she does (calling her an unprintable and horribly misogynistic name). You can watch the released excerpt or the full, unedited video here. It is absolutely horrifying — particularly about midway through — and includes crass language and distasteful subject matter.
Did you hear about the man arrested with a car full of explosives (M80 fireworks) outside a Michigan Islamic center? Here’s the Detroit News lede for “Plot to blow up Dearborn mosque foiled by tip to police”:
No, we’re not breaking news here. The Alabama governor and the vision from God referenced in the title are separate items. Smile.
CNN’s Reliable Sources from Sunday details some of the general problems or opportunities with media coverage in Egypt. Host Howard Kurtz and his guests discuss everything from Al Jazeera being shut down in Egypt to how reporters are dodging bullets with protesters being felled all around. The closure of foreign bureaus means that those hungry for news have been tuning into Al Jazeera English, which focuses on Middle East coverage. Tmatt already looked at one ghost in the coverage — the fate of Egypt’s Christian community.
A reader alerted your friendly neighborhood GetReligionistas to a Tulsa World story on two legislators in my home state of Oklahoma introducing bills related to the teaching of evolution in public schools. (Click these links to download House Bill 1551 and Senate Bill 554.)
