We live in the age in which print and video forms of journalism are merging into something new and, at this point, uncertain.
The last patriarch in Turkey (and why)
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The missing Mormon murder
Frequently when we’re talking about violence against religious minorities, it’s a foreign issue. But it happens stateside as well, sadly. Recently there have been a few attacks that have received media attention. When Michael Enright stabbed his New York City cab driver Ahmed H. Sharif, for being a Muslim, it was major news. When a fire broke out at a construction site of a Tennessee mosque, it was major news. This weekend word came that the ATF has ruled that fire arson, it was also major news.
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Female Catholic priests, again
Is there something about non-Roman Catholic churches ordaining women that makes all journalism skills fly out the window? I’m pretty sure there is some ridiculously high correlation between ordinations of women who are not Roman Catholic and poorly written stories about said ordinations. Here’s yet another example, this one from the Arizona Republic: “Catholic church ordains woman as priest.”
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Why PCUSA won't marry gays
Forgive me if I seem a bit prejudiced, but I’m a strong believer in the position that an editor should never send a general assignment reporter to do a religion reporter’s job.
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Communion in a mineshaft?
Back at the beginning of the crisis in the mineshaft 700 meters below the surface of Chile’s Atacama Desert, Sarah Pulliam Bailey quickly noted that spiritual issues were sure to arise in this story. Would journalists recognize this?
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Vanity Fair's swing at Palin's faith
I came across Vanity Fair‘s profile of Sarah Palin right before I read the New York Times‘ memo on anonymous sources, and I don’t think it was a coincidence.
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One Nation, under Islam
So the Associated Press has this really interesting story about how early Nation of Islam documents were found in the attic of a Detroit home. Totally a Middlesex plot come to life, right? The documents apparently detail the early structure and teachings of the group. The article quotes attorney Gregory Reid whose Keeper of the Word Foundation oversees various collections.
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Life and death of Mike/Christine
LA Weekly recently published what is, in many ways, a stunning account of the life and death of Mike Penner/Christine Daniels. It’s an extraordinary, heartbreaking story of the Los Angeles Times sportswriter who killed himself in 2009 after a highly public transition from Mike to Christine and, finally, back to Mike.
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Ghosts in Lee's green manifesto?
For some reason, it does not surprise me that a Google News search for the phrase “disgusting religious-cultural roots” currently yields little or nothing in terms of information or commentary from reporters in the mainstream press.
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