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 realize that, as a member of an Antiochian Orthodox Christian parish, my concerns about events in Damascus, Syria, are going to focus on religion more than those of the average news consumer. After all, the Patriarchate of Antioch is located in Damascus, on the “street called Straight.” (Acts 9:11)
In July, we looked at some of the media coverage of a priest who was removed from his parish by Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Illinois. He wasn’t just removed from his parish. Braxton also removed his faculties. There were some problems with the previous story dealing with how those faculties were characterized and what, exactly, were his violations. We knew that he was improvising portions of the mass but we didn’t get specifics.
The Baltimore Ravens won a grudge match with the New England Patriots the other night because star wide receiver Torrey Smith made the decision to take the field hours after he learned about the death of his 19-year-old younger brother. The two were especially close, since Torrey had served as a father figure after his father abandoned the family.
Readers of GetReligion are familiar with that mainstream media holiday tradition of releasing news stories that are supposed to shake the foundations of Christianity. Easters over the last few years have explained to all those gullible believers that Jesus walked on an ice floe (not water), that he wasn’t crucified in the manner in which people think, that Jesus’ father was — of course — a Roman soldier named Pantera and that Jesus didn’t die on the cross so much as pass out after being doped up.
Like many other Baby Boomer believers who grew up in the era of ugly-as-sin church architecture, I am a total sucker for stately, soaring old churches.
Well, there goes that Archbishop Charles Chaput guy again, “thundering” away at his flock on a matter of Catholic doctrine.
One of the hardest concepts to explain to people who have never worked in a newsroom is why some events in a city are “news stories” in the eyes of most journalists and other events, that seem similar, are not.
I will be the first person to admit that I did a double-take when I saw the short, one-line New York Times front page headline — online and iPad, at this stage — for its obituary for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
