It is never news when a Huffington Post blogger says that Mitt Romney, or any other Republican candidate, is beyond the pale. One of the times that happened last week, it involved a Democrat Mormon saying that he was upset with Romney. Unlike most criticism of Romney emanating from the illustrious pixels of the HuffPost, though, this article went after Romney as a Mormon. Even that isn’t surprising. But then one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the country — Senate... Read more
When a feature story dominates the Sunday front page of The Washington Post, you know that editors there have given the subject quite a bit of thought — to say the least. In our management-intensive era of newspapering, this means that the concept of the story survived several high-level planning meetings and, thus, the editors almost certainly considered its content more than significant — it’s symbolic. So I was interested when I saw the recent Post news feature about an... Read more
It’s almost obligatory now for religion reporters to write their own version of “Romney is a Mormon,” ensuring readers know precisely what they’re getting into if they vote for him in two months. Or you have the general assignment reporters who think no one has already written that tired narrative. In this case, we have the religion reporter for the Los Angeles Times connecting Romney’s faith to his view of personal responsibility. The piece launches with a Mormon couple who... Read more
The Orange County Register has a story headlined “Former Crystal Cathedral pastor defaults on home.” It’s all about how the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, former senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral and the son of its founder the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, is part of the housing crash: With a foreclosure sale looming in November, Schuller is seeking bank approval to sell his Laguna Beach house “short” – that is for less than the $1.66 million he owes on two... Read more
A few months ago we looked at a survey that showed that the vast majority of Americans have no idea whatsoever what percentage of the population is gay. Mainstream studies indicate that percentage is somewhere in the low single digits, but Americans believed — on average — that 25 percent of the population is gay. Yes, 25 percent. This includes data showing that 35 percent of Americans think that more than 25 percent of the population is gay. I’ve long... Read more
Surely anyone who follows American politics, at least with serious intent, knows something about the “pew gap.” Then again, maybe not. You see, people often use this term incorrectly, claiming that religious people vote for Republicans and non-religious people vote for Democrats. That is not what the term means. Highly secular voters are more likely to vote for Democrats, that is true. But so are religious believers who are part of traditions that are doctrinally and culturally liberal — which... Read more
Oh well, here we go again. I realize, at this point, that I am severely testing the patience of the many GetReligion readers who are convinced that our elite media have little or no interest in balance and fairness when it comes to covering the hot-button issues that severely divide our nation, yet trigger severe group-think in so many newsrooms. So, to set the stage for this latest bias case study, let’s try to imagine the following fictional scenario. It’s... Read more
Go read Sports Illustrated’s “The Boy They Couldn’t Kill.” It is far and away the best magazine story I’ve read all year and I’m pleased that we get to talk about it here at GetReligion. It’s long and I can’t begin to excerpt it in any way that gives it justice but the subhed to the piece is “Thirteen years ago, NFL receiver Rae Carruth conspired to kill his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn son. The child has not only... Read more
Even as we head into beautiful fall color changes, we’re still talking about Chick-fil-A apparently. No news becomes news apparently, if you read this Associated Press report that spends most of the story rehashing what happened earlier this summer. Chick-fil-A is once again in the public relations fryer. The controversy flared up this week when a Chicago politician said the company was no longer giving to groups that oppose same-sex marriage, angering Christian conservatives who supported Chick-fil-A this summer when... Read more
From The Associated Press comes shocking news: Apparently, not all Tennesseans are Islamophobes. You may recall CNN’s recent 9/11 anniversary report that used the Volunteer State as a launching point for making the case that “rising anti-Islamic sentiment in America troubles Muslims.” In case you missed it, I bashed that report here at GetReligion. One of my complaints was the sensationalistic disregard for ordinary Muslim life in that Bible Belt state: Through my work with The Christian Chronicle, I am aware of... Read more
GetReligion
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In