Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
One of the sad consequences of journalists’ low reputation is that sources can claim mishandling even when it might not be true. Yesterday, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s comments about the Mormon religion in this weekend’s Sunday New York Times Magazine 8,100-word profile were revealed. He claimed he was taken out of context. Yesterday, reader Hans noted:
Newsweek editor Jon Meacham’s cover story on what the magazine calls “A New American Holy War” reads less like a news report than a sometimes exasperated prep-school instructor’s departmental memo about a pair of bickering students named Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. A quick aside about Newsweek‘s headline: Calling a lively religious debate in primary season “A New American Holy War” is like referring to door-to-door evangelism — whether by Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses or Southern Baptists — as “Spiritual Waterboarding.”
When it comes to covering the Youth With A Mission shootings, journalists in the mainstream media are still searching for a template to use.
Someone should inform American journalists that there is something of a shift going on across the pond regarding the Christmas wars. Thanks to Jerry for sending us the following story from Reuters that should be put on the desks of The Washington Post‘s features department editors for reasons that shall be discussed later in this post.
Okay, so I hate delving into more political coverage, but recent stories about Mike Huckabee are just begging for criticism. To lay my cards on the table, I’m opposed to most all government encroachment and as such find Huckabee to be my worst nightmare. I know many readers here love Huckabee and others love every other candidate along the spectrum. More power to you all. However, we should remember to keep discussion focused on media coverage of this religion story rather than the political issues themselves.
News accounts about the shooter who killed four people at a Christian missionary center and church in Colorado have been quoting anti-Christian rants he posted on the Web. Using the name “nghtmrchld26,” Murray spilled out increasingly disturbing diatribes on a forum where former Pentecostals discuss any number of issues.
When American legal scholars talk about defining limits on religious liberty, it doesn’t take long to map out the extreme borders.
We rarely, rarely cover the work of religious publications here — because that is not what GetReligion.org is about.
