Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
While much of the American media is obsessed over how to best exploit something a political opponent said on the radio last week, there are a few other religion stories out there. We looked at media coverage of the murderous riots in Afghanistan over inadvertent Quran-burning already but as the riots continue, so does the coverage.
Many weeks ago, we noticed that the discussion over the Obama Administration’s new rule (to force religious groups to fund things to which they’re doctrinally opposed) was being framed in two different ways. One side framed it as a religious liberty issue, since the federal government is telling religious groups to go against their religious teachings. The other side, because the Obama Administration is forcing religious groups to fund sterilization, abortifacients and contraception, framed it as an “access to contraception” issue.
There is much to discuss in the feature story on Rick Santorum’s faith that has been served up by The New York Times. There is lots of interesting information, some questionable information and then a pretty large chunk of missing information.
Gentle readers, I have spent much of the day dodging tornadoes and hail on the interstate from Jackson, Tenn., to Guitar Town and I am exhausted. It will take all the energy I have left to type a few paragraphs that will point GetReligion readers toward one of the must-read journalistic items of the day.
I was seriously sick this week — bed rest and the whole nine yards — and am catching up on some news. I’ve sent out an APB on Twitter (from both my personal account and the GetReligion account) asking for any good stories at all — anywhere — by the mainstream media about religious liberty this week. Would you send along any links you have to stories that did a good job covering the major religious liberty issues in play right now in America regarding this HHS mandate from the Obama administration?
At the beginning of last month, tmatt highlighted the main framing device in the news and commentary in the battle over the Obama Administration’s mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for abortifacients, sterilization and contraception even if they have religious objections:
One of the terms that journalists hear during many continuing education sessions at the Poynter Institute down in Florida is “stakeholder.” Basically, a stakeholder is someone whose life will be directly affected by the accuracy and fairness of a story.
