Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the holy season leading up to Easter–and another chance for journalists to pull together one of those “what are you going to give up for Lent?” stories.
What do you think about the media coverage of the beheading of Buffalo-area woman Aasiya Hassan? I came across the story as it was breaking — but only because I was on the Buffalo News site looking for information on that Feb. 12 commuter plane crash in Buffalo. I expected the story to be huge because the prime suspect in the killing was Hassan’s husband, Muzzammil Hassan.
It has been a long time since I have voiced the following complaint about coverage of Islam in the mainstream media. However, I have been frustrated all week by the coverage — just about everywhere — about the Pakistani pact that is supposed to bring some kind of peace in the Swat Valley.
The Pittsburgh Tribune published an interesting perspective on its region’s religious communities, stating in the headline that the city’s “Bible Belt rivals South’s, scholars say.” Overall the story is an interesting feature on the religious communities in the amazingly diverse city that is Pittsburgh, but the comparison with the South and the use of the term “Bible Belt” raise too many unnecessary issues that could cloud the story’s purpose for some.
People who oppose abortion are divided on how best to fight the political threats they face in the current environment and one area in particular that pro-lifers have been divided on is how to fight the Freedom of Choice Act. The bill, which was first introduced in 1989, is described by supporters as an attempt to codify Roe v. Wade at all levels of government. Opponents note that it could be used to fund abortion and invalidate parental notification laws, informed consent laws, and bans on partial birth abortion.
When media critics — like me — start arguing about why mainstream journalists often fail to “get religion,” the discussions almost always turn into a discussion of the various biases that affect news coverage.
My first preview of at photographer Jona Frank’s book of portraits about Patrick Henry College occurred through Mother Jones, where it appeared alongside image galleries on phone sex operators, Aryan outfitters, and women in Afghanistan. (Mother Jones‘ photo galleries reflect a wide variety of topics, but I’m mentioning the ones it promoted alongside the photos from Frank’s second book, Right: Portraits from the Evangelical Ivy League.)
When discussing the Anglican wars, one of GetReligion’s mantras is that reporters must struggle — even in short stories — to place these events in the context of church structures at the local, regional-diocesan, national and global levels.
