Writing a puff piece: a how-to manual
Truth be told, in our bias for fair, accurate journalism, we at GetReligion probably focus too much on the negative. We point out mistakes in mainstream reporting. We cry out for balance. We complain...
View ArticleIs “marriage equality” our term, their’s and everyone else’s?
Back in May, I noticed a curious decision by some media outlets to scare quote the term “religious liberty.” Religion News Service defended the use of the scare quotes. Contributor Mark Silk had one...
View ArticlePod people: Same-sex marriage on the march
On this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, host Todd Wilken and I discussed Dave Brubeck’s sacred music and religious life — and how substantive discussion of same were missing from many obituaries about the...
View ArticleWPost: Yes, we fear and loathe religious traditionalists
On Feb. 15, Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton made a startling statement: It is possible that I’ll be The Washington Post’s last independent ombudsman and that this chair will empty at the...
View ArticleGuess which WPost reporter refuses to cover you fairly
This weekend, we looked at the Washington Post ombudsman column that revealed that the newspaper has an extremely serious problem with doing basic journalism when it comes to the thorny issue of...
View ArticlePlaying the same-sex marriage card
Over the weekend, the better half stirred up quite a hornet’s nest for a post noting that some in the media aren’t the slightest bit interested in covering the same-sex marriage debate with any degree...
View ArticleIs Politico as partisan as The Weekly Standard?
Today is Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton’s last day. You can read his memo to staff here. To mark it, I’m ruminating on a Twitter exchange I happened across last night. So telling. It begins...
View ArticleEvangelicalism is political, but not a political movement
How many political issues do American evangelicals care about? Apparently, just two: abortion and same-sex marriage. At least that is the impression you’d get if you read about evangelicals in the...
View ArticleWant balanced coverage? USA Today shows how it’s done
A few weeks ago a study on news media coverage by the Pew Research Center showed that stories with more statements supporting same-sex marriage outweighed those with more statements opposing it by a...
View ArticleA tune on gay evangelicals that evangelicals won’t recognize
While working on a recording together, Johnny Cash asked Bob Dylan if he knew “Ring of Fire.” Dylan said he did and began to play it on the piano, croaking it out in typical Dylanesque fashion. When he...
View ArticleCan’t headline writers and reporters get on the same page?
We live in an age of unprecedented communications technology. With access to cell phones, Skype, email, Twitter, etc., it is has never been easier for people to communicate with one another. So why...
View ArticleThe curious incident of the Catholic school in the L.A. Times
In one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Silver Blaze, the clue that led to identifying the criminal was a dog that didn’t bark. “Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my...
View ArticleIf at first you don’t succeed … find another source
Tis a lesson you should heed: Try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, Try, try again. British writer and editor W.E. Hickson popularized this quotation in the 1870s, and I’m dusting it off today...
View ArticleInterview or argument? There’s a difference, CNN
Want to get drunk fast? Watch this video and take a swig of an adult beverage every time Chris Cuomo interrupts Bill Donohue. After 12 minutes, you won’t be able to stand up. Cuomo brought Donohue onto...
View ArticlePod people: There really are two sides to every story, folks
The stories we critique here at GetReligion usually fall into one of two categories. First we have the good stories: well-written pieces that are fair, balanced, properly sourced and complement the...
View ArticleThey didn’t even agree on what they disagreed on
Can you have a meeting of minds when you don’t agree on what you discussed — and neither do news media? President Obama and Pope Francis met for the first time on Thursday, nearly all of it behind...
View ArticleSome finger-waggling about a Catholic school story
The scowling, scolding, dogmatic nun is among the few stereotypes that persist in otherwise sensitive, all-accepting society. So it’s important for media to guard against perpetuating such images. This...
View ArticleBaptists ‘unofficially’ changing doctrine on homosexuality?
Southern Baptist leaders are seeking a “softer approach on homosexuality,” reports National Public Radio’s ”All Things Considered.” While noting that “the country’s largest protestant (sic) group …...
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