Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
It always amazes me how many religious concepts and themes have become embedded in our nation’s ongoing debates about abortion. Truth is, it’s impossible for the mainstream media to avoid these religious entanglements because they have soaked into the language used in these events, debates, laws and court cases.
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.)
intercede: To plea on someone else’s behalf; To act as a mediator in a dispute; to arbitrate or mediate
Last week we discussed the invention of a quote and related fraudulent framing of a story so that Pope Benedict XVI’s words on the importance of baptism became a treatise on celebrity baby naming trends. Some readers were surprised that journalists might stray so far from reality when composing their stories. Others pointed out that it happens often when the subject of the story is the Pope.
I love visiting New York City. Riding the subway trains and maneuvering the bustling streets, I always am amazed at the diversity of people and languages. At the Manhattan Church of Christ, where I have worshiped a few times, the 43 birth nations of active members range from China to Cuba, Germany to Guyana, Japan to Jamaica.
Last week, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced he would grant two sisters an early release from prison. Gladys and Jamie Scott had both served 16 years of their life sentences for armed robbery. Because life sentences are unusually long for armed robbery, their cause had been advocated by civil rights groups.
When we look at how the media writes about religion, we focus on news stories. But that’s only one of the ways the mainstream media discuss religion, of course. Even apart from the op-ed page — which we tend to stay away from unless there’s some breaking news there — there are photos, graphs, art reviews, advice columns and so on.
The topic of this Boston Globe magazine piece could not be more explosive — literally. It’s about suicide bombers and the controversial issue of why they do what they do.
