Too often when those two forces collide, a train wreck demanding GetReligion attention of the negative kind occurs (examples here, here and here).
Textbook example of balanced reporting
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Normalizing nihilism: Euthanasia in Holland
It has been almost ten years since the Dutch parliament voted to legalize euthanasia. While the Netherlands became the first country to grant state sanction to a mercy killing, doctors the world over have long quietly colluded in the “good death” of the terminally ill or those in extreme suffering. The BBC reported that the 1 April 2002 — April Fool’s Day — law set the following parameters for Dutch mercy killings:
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Headline most likely to be corrected, pronto
As I have explained before, one of the most painful realities that reporters face is that the vast majority of news consumers do not understand who writes, and who does not write, the all-important headlines that top news reports.
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Huh: fundamentalist Catholics protest provocative art
Sometimes we come across a story that could be called “The Onion, GetReligion style.” It’s so strange that you’re not even sure where to begin. We have a story like this from AFP, and it appears the media outlet released two versions of the same story yesterday.
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Post returns to military cemetery (landfill)
We may have an answer to the unspoken religious questions in a shocking story that broke about a month ago here inside the D.C. Beltway. Do you remember the pre-Veterans Day headlines in The Washington Post about the military remains — partial remains and body fragments — that were, well, taken out to a nearby landfill? Click here for a reminder of what went down.
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A Mormon college's skinny jean ban (not)
The Internet soaked up a skinny jeans story yesterday when some writers thought Brigham Young University had banned the tight pants. It turns out that the confusion revolved around rules at BYU’s sister school in Idaho over those really tight pants the average Americans can’t fit into.
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Evangelical Pujols to the highest bidder?
That was my immediate question this morning to my GetReligion colleague — and St. Louis Cardinals uber-fan — Mollie Ziegler Hemingway as news broke that superstar first baseman Albert Pujols will sign a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. MZ, alas, remains out of wifi and Internet range — although this story may reach her through some psychic or spiritual ripple in the universe.
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NYTimes struggles to label Eddie Long
Before we examine a slice or two of this recent New York Times piece about Bishop Eddie L. Long, I feel the need to ask a few basic questions about this troubled church leader’s theology.
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A post-Schiavo world
Product placement and packaging — these are the first tasks of a freelance author who has a story to write. Who will publish this article? What pitch will win over the editor? An experienced author knows the interests and quirks of the publications to whom he markets his work. In addition to the question of content — no poultry breeding articles for Car & Driver — an author must be conversant with the style sense and audience of an outlet. Do they like it hip or heavy? AP or Times of London style book? The definitive New Yorker treatment or a People magazine popular summary?
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