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I went on a little rant last week about whether media outlets are dividing up their resources in savvy ways. One of the biggest issues I see is whether reporters should rush to cover the latest trending topic when they’re not given the time to develop unique, original stories.
In this week’s podcast Issues Etc. host Todd Wilkin and I discussed two recent GetReligion stories: the withdrawal of First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs from the PC(USA) and the latest developments in the Irish abuse scandals.
Before we get to the coverage of Mitt Romney’s visit to Liberty University, I’d like to flash back to the scene-setter story that ran in The Washington Post on the day before that commencement address.
One of the things that unites readers and reporters is that we are writing or reading news because we’re curious about the world around us. USA Today runs a story about something quite common — the celebration of Mother’s Day — and yet I found it interesting because it satiates some of that curiosity I have about Mother’s Day.
This is a conclusion I have drawn in my years as a religion reporter. Story proposals on a new doctrinal development or a report on a major church conference seldom excites the interest of an editor. [A story proposal about doctrinal development discussed at a conference in Canada is the kiss of death].
A few readers sent along an interesting story about a Catholic school in Arizona that defaulted rather than play a co-ed baseball team. It reminds me a bit of the New York Times story about the all-girl prom at Hamtramck High School. Both are stories about religion, while the all-girl prom was done for Muslim sensibilities.
This just in: a lengthy Associated Press editorial focusing on the culture wars and the Girl Scouts of the USA.
It’s amazing how much news and information one misses when attempting to follow hot stories in the online versions of major newspapers.
The other day, my husband and I began the fifth season of The Wire. So four years ago, right? We watched this episode called “More with Less,” showing how reporters and editors at the Baltimore Sun have to do “more with less,” more stories, more tweeting, more multimedia with less reporters, less pay, less resources.
