David Waters, producer of the On Faith Web site, said, “Religion is the most important topic out there. It matters to nearly everyone, even to atheists and agnostics. It affects nearly everything – from how we raise and educate our kids, to how we make and spend our money, to how we run corporations, communities, and even countries” (Willis 87).
Part of what makes us who we are is our belief or lack of belief in ideas or the world around us. If anyone could single out what makes others truly different from others, stirs controversy, and prompts them to do an action, it is their beliefs, or specifically, religion. Whatever religion you may be, the practice of worship and integrating a belief system into one’s life has been around for thousands of years. Religion is one of the biggest factors that causes controversy as little as between 2 people or nations.
Sally Quinn and John Meacham, reporters for On Faith, said, “Religion is the most pervasive yet least understood topic in global life. From the caves of the Afghan-Pakistan border to the cul-de-sacs of the American Sunbelt, faith shapes and suffuses the way billions of people – Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and nonbelievers – think and act, vote and fight, love and, tragically, hate. It is the most ancient of forces . . . And so, in a time of extremism . . . how can people engage in a conversation about faith and its implications in a way that sheds light rather than generates heat?”
What’s even more interesting is that as big as religion is in everyone’s lives, whether they claim it be or not, it is hardly covered in the news. Many journalists admit that religion is not covered as much as some of the other beats. It’s become taboo among journalists because many of them don’t want to upset or offend their audiences. However, every story that is covered involves religion even if it’s not mentioned. Why stories are chosen or covered is supported by religious beliefs. In fact, so much in our world is touched by religion. If it affects everyone, why isn’t it covered more than other beats? I bet religion and events that are backed by religion would be better understood if religion was officially covered. It would solve many stereotypes, miscommunications, and bring in a bigger diversity of ideas.
Bill Keller said, “I also endorse . . . that we cover religion more extensively, but I think the key to that is not to add more reporters who will write about religion as a beat. I think the key is to be more alert to the role religion plays in many stories we cover, stories of politics and policy, national and local, stories of social trends and family life, stories of how we live. This is important to us not because we want to appease believers or pander to conservatives, but because good journalism entails understanding more than just the neighborhood you grew up in.”
No matter what religion you believe, or don’t believe in, our views have been shaped by religious practices. Even those who claim that they aren’t religious, their ideas about how the world works are not new. Everything has an origin. After realizing that religion is not covered as extensively as other news, I too agree that religion should be covered more. However, there are a few things that we need to keep in mind if news organizations decide to cover religious news.
Some recommendations that journalists and news organizations who have reported on religion have found that these techniques tend to be successful:
- Remember that context is the key to the complete reporting of a story.
- Distinguish between the group and the action.
- Consider a religion section.
- Accentuate religion close to home.
- Be balanced in terms of coverage.
- Reflect a newspaper’s region and country.
- Develop a means of obtaining advice and expertise about religion.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies said, “All news is religious news. That’s not a statement of faith or an assertion about the importance of religion to society. Rather, it’s a lot like saying all news is political because there’s nothing that’s not touched by some politician’s interests or some piece of legislation. Religion is the same way, with tendrils of connection to everything . . . The difference between political news and religion news is that most papers have a political or city hall reporter, but many don’t have someone dedicated to religion. It’s not hard to imagine how that happened; it is a secular press, after all, and religion can seem a step removed from the practical world of sewers and subpoenas. But it is not.”
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