Sitting in the front pew
I'm running so behind. I've wanted to write about this for two days now. Julia Duin, chief religion reporter for The Washington Times, bemoans the lack of religion reporters at the nation's newspapers. In this essay posted at the Poynter Institute Web site, Duin says, "Those of us who've been on the religion beat for a while know there's fear and loathing of religion among many gatekeepers who call the shots on newsroom staffing. Partly because they attach insufficent importance to the subject, they often fail to hire the best person for the religion beat."
We've had a religion reporter ever since I've been here (20 years this month. Aack!). Nancy McLaughlin has covered religion for us for the past couple years. She did not have previous religion reporting experience, as Duin suggests religion reporters should have, but she has brought a nice style and intimacy to our coverage. The beat is so large that, if we had the resources, we would have a second reporter helping out. As it is, she has more stories on her list than she can get to.
Not that that will stop us from giving her more responsibility. Nancy is going to start blogging religious, faith, values and spiritual issues in a few weeks. She'll write about controversial issues as well as providing notes about faith-based activities in the area. Look for it under its working title, "The Front Pew." Ideas for topics of interest? Post them here or send them straight on to Nance at nmclaughlin@news-record.com
Comments (3)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Well, you could see this coming from a mile away, but: Amen.
Memo to other editors: If you want tremendous amounts of reader feedback and involvement with your news organization, cover religion as hard news and run it on the front page. The N&R took that approach during my tenure on the beat ('95-'98), and the feedback we got was very positive even from people who often have little good to say about the newspaper.
And we got a lot of feedback: more letters -- letters, in the Internet age! -- in my first six months on the beat than I'd gotten for all my work combined in the previous eleven years.
Posted on January 6, 2005 10:26 PM
I'll say "Amen," as well. Readers WANT religious coverage. They don't want to be preached at or condemned, but they do want to know about matters of faith, hope, love and God - however they believe He may exist.
From new age to Christianity, to "positive visualization," readers want to hear inspiration - be it healing, angels, hope, triumph or peace. Journalists - so many of whom were shocked to hear Bush won, are missing the boat on this issue as well. There's a reason our parents advised us never to talk about politics or faith - it brings out the strongest feelings possible in readers. I say, cover not just "religion" as a "how-to," but delve into the impact faith [whatever kind of faith - Christian or not] has in your reader's lives. You'll never lack for letters to the editor again.
Posted on January 9, 2005 3:20 PM
I agree that more papers need religion reporters. But they need reporters like Lex and Nancy, not reporters like the one the Poynter pieces hints at.
Look at all sides. Cover the controversies. Find good features. Don't treat it any differently than any other beat. That may sound disrespectful, but for those who want religion to be part of the daily conversation, isn't this exactly the way it should be?
Posted on January 13, 2005 1:45 PM