{"id":118879,"date":"2014-03-04T20:26:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T01:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=118879"},"modified":"2014-03-04T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2014-03-05T01:30:00","slug":"mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/","title":{"rendered":"Mysterious role of religion in Newsweek resurrection?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It\u2019s hard to miss the religious zinger in this passage from a New York Times<\/em> article<\/a> about the return of Newsweek<\/em> to ink-and-paper reality after its quiet existence in cyberspace ever since that famous final cover.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t very subtle.<\/p>\n

Etienne Uzac, 30, and Johnathan Davis, 31, founders of IBT Media<\/a>, believed they could recreate Newsweek as a vibrant and profitable web-only magazine. But now, having tripled Newsweek\u2019s online traffic, they plan to punctuate the magazine\u2019s comeback by turning on the printing presses again. Hard copies are expected to hit newsstands on Friday.<\/p>\n

Break out the banner headline: Newsweek Is Back From the Dead!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now is that just an over-the-top metaphor or are the editorial troops at the great Gray Lady trying to tell us something?<\/p>\n

A former GetReligionista send the URL in the end of the article highlighted. More on that in a minute.<\/p>\n

It seems to me, after reading that passage, that there are several GetReligion-related questions implied.<\/p>\n

* What kind of religion coverage<\/strong> can readers expect to see in the resurrected newsweekly, both online and in print?<\/p>\n

* Will the magazine staff<\/strong> include a trained, talented Godbeat specialist? Lord knows there are plenty of talented folks \u2014 young and old \u2014 available at the moment.<\/p>\n

* Might the religious content<\/strong> of the renewed publication be influenced by the professional and personal backgrounds of the new owners?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read the following and tell me if I am reading too much into the Times<\/em> take on this:<\/p>\n

When IBT bought Newsweek, Mr. Davis and Mr. Uzac came under scrutiny for their religious ties. An article published<\/a> on Christianity Today<\/em>\u2019s website tied the two to a Korean pastor named David Jang, and it described Mr. Jang as a controversial, messianic figure.<\/p>\n

Mr. Davis and Mr. Uzac say they are dismayed that their religion has become an issue. They admire Mr. Jang, they said, and acknowledge that Mr. Davis\u2019s wife works at a university Mr. Jang started. They said Mr. Jang had no financial stake in IBT or influence on the business, and the idea that they considered him the messiah was preposterous.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy faith is my faith, the work is the work,\u201d Mr. Uzac said. \u201cThe editorial is 100 percent independent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wait! There is more.<\/p>\n

You know that recent Godbeat trend in which news stories about atheism, agnosticism and the religiously-unaffiliated-nones spectrum are \u2014 finally \u2014 being taken more seriously? Check out this final quote:<\/p>\n

Mr. Impoco, the magazine\u2019s editor, said he had not seen any religious or conservative agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I\u2019ve been here I\u2019ve had less interference than any other place I\u2019ve worked,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve written more stories on atheism than anything religious.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mediate on that for a minute. Now, all together: Say what?<\/p>\n

More to come, I am sure.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to miss the religious zinger in this passage from a New York Times article about the return of Newsweek to ink-and-paper reality after its quiet existence in cyberspace ever since that famous final cover. This isn\u2019t very subtle. Etienne Uzac, 30, and Johnathan Davis, 31, founders of IBT Media, believed they could recreate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,7,18,12,5,24],"tags":[2021,3021,326,116],"class_list":["post-118879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicals","category-journalism","category-people","category-religion","category-webtech","category-world","tag-christianity-today","tag-david-jang","tag-new-york-times","tag-newsweek"],"yoast_head":"\nMysterious role of religion in Newsweek resurrection?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's hard to miss the religious zinger in this passage from a New York Times article about the return of Newsweek to ink-and-paper reality after its quiet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mysterious role of religion in Newsweek resurrection?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's hard to miss the religious zinger in this passage from a New York Times article about the return of Newsweek to ink-and-paper reality after its quiet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GetReligion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-05T01:26:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-05T01:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/files\/2014\/03\/newsweek-final-cover-756x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/\",\"name\":\"Mysterious role of religion in Newsweek resurrection?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-05T01:26:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-05T01:30:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"It's hard to miss the religious zinger in this passage from a New York Times article about the return of Newsweek to ink-and-paper reality after its quiet\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/03\/mysterious-role-of-religion-in-newsweek-resurrection\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mysterious role of religion in Newsweek resurrection?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/\",\"name\":\"GetReligion\",\"description\":\""The press . . . just doesn't get religion." - 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