Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
At GetReligion we must often acknowledge how difficult it is for reporters to tell complex stories in shrinking news spaces — which makes it so important to praise reporters who do an exceptional job.
Having spent the past two years almost exclusively reporting on the American Jewish community, it’s easy to forget how foreign some parts of traditional Jewish life are to most Americans. That’s why I could really appreciate this story from the Associated Press that does an excellent job of educating readers while informing them about a development in Big Sky country:
Any longtime reader of GetReligion knows that the gang here likes Q&A interviews, especially when they allow newsmakers to dig deeper into complex topics and tell their own stories in their own words. I think this journalistic tool is especially valuable on the religion beat — which is so rich in history, symbolism and doctrine.
I’ll admit right up front that my eyebrows arched way up when I saw that my local newspaper — that would be the Baltimore Sun — had published an A1 news feature on efforts by the Southern Baptist Convention to plant a circle of new churches in and around this unique urban environment that some call Charm City.
As you may have noticed, we don’t ignore hot button topics, even when they involve sex, sexuality and the sex lives of politicians. There are many places where sex and religion coverage intersect. One of those places is in the arena of sex and values education — a topic which traditionally was the province of families and religious communities.
It’s been weeks since I first read Caitlin Flanagan’s cover story for Time magazine titled “Is There Hope for the American Marriage?” The article was incredibly provocative and interesting.
In the summer of 2006, Father Martyn Minns of Truro Episcopal Church outside Washington, D.C., became Bishop Martyn Minns of the Convocation for Anglicans in North America, a missionary effort of the gigantic Anglican Church of Nigeria. That would be three years ago.
I know that neither the Vatican nor the White House made it easy to cover President Obama’s meeting with Pope Benedict XVI last week, but the situation seemed especially desperate when a reporter must begin interpreting body language for coded messages. Here’s Jeff Israely of Time:
“Pastor who opposes homosexuality may get Chicago City Council seat,” the Chicago Tribune reported with a mouthful of a headline (and that’s the shortened version).
