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Let’s face it. There are hot-button topics in the American public square that, in even in the context of our increasingly post-Christian culture, are going to raise religion flags.
When I saw that the New York Times magazine had an 8,000(!) word piece on the “The New Abortion Providers,” my heart sank a bit. This is an otherwise interesting publication that doesn’t just seem obsessed with churning out pro-abortion propaganda, it has a history of wildly botching stories on the topic and refusing to correct them.
Religion is nowhere to be found in a fascinating New York Times Magazine article titled “Until Cryonics Do Us Part.”
Kate Murphy recently wrote for The New York Times about the proliferation of dream groups where people gather to discuss their sleep experiences. The story is mostly experience-quote-experience-”expert” opinion, but I was glad she at least mentioned that dreams might be associated with religion.
A few months ago, we looked at stories about Angie Jackson, the woman who video taped herself having an abortion. Now we have stories coming out of Iowa about Planned Parenthood’s initiative to dispense an abortion drug after a video conference.
When I think of a classic example of a mainstream news story that is in urgent need of GetReligion treatment, the opening goes something like this:
The birth control pill turned 50 this year. Time magazine celebrated the anniversary with a 5,000-word look at the sociological history of its development and use. And I have to say that while the piece reads a bit like a love letter to 1960s feminism, author Nancy Gibbs discussed religion and values throughout the piece. This seems like the obvious thing to do when talking about something related to sex and procreation — but we all know how many reporters would avoid including religion in the discussion.
I know CNN fancies itself as a serious news source relative to other cablers, but imbalanced stories such as this one don’t exactly help them int he claim. In a puffy piece that ran on Earth Day, we got this advice on how to have a “green” love life:
Anyone who picked up a major newspaper today knows that one of the hot stories on the other side of the Atlantic is the resignation of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Brugge, Belgium — the latest star to fall in the current wave of clergy sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.
