1.1 Religion and the News Journalism 606 Regent University, Northern Virginia campus Fall, 1999 Terry Mattingly Associate Professor and Journalist in Residence I. OVERTURE There's a hole out there in journalism world and, for decades, writers and editors have been falling into it. Or maybe it's a blind spot or an invisible wall. Pick a metaphor, any metaphor. Simply stated, the whole subject of "religion" gives news professionals sweaty palms. They just don't know what to do with it. All available surveys indicate that reader interest in the subject is high. Major religion stories receive high levels of response via calls, mail and ratings. Year after year, stories rooted in religious and moral issues place high in polls to determine the year's most important global and national trends and events. Do the math. Yet even a quick glance of research linked to news values will find evidence that religion remains one of, if not the, most poorly covered major subject in American life. There is another side of this issue. Approximately 10 percent of America's publications are religious in nature. This is not a small number. Surely, these publications have been able to do something to take up the slack, when it comes to providing accurate coverage of religion? But there's a problem. Simply stated, the whole subject of "news" gives religious professionals sweaty palms. They just don't know what to do with it. They know, from experience, that the news media continue to have a major impact -- direct and indirect -- in the lives of people inside and outside the church. They know that Americans wrestle with social and moral issues that refuse to go away and that the media shape the debate. Do the math. Yet it is possible to count on one hand the number of religious publications in the United States of America that make a serious issue to even cover the hard, basic, news that affects their own churches and subscribers. And what about the news covered in the media of the secular, mainstream press, with all of its complex moral overtones? Oh well. Whatever. Never mind. Meanwhile, the nation's scores of Christian colleges, universities and seminaries give little or no attention to journalism. Some people insist the words "Christian" and "journalism" are not on speaking terms. Others proclaim the need for a unique brand of "Christian journalism" that has little or nothing to do with mainstream newsrooms. This wall, this blind spot, this whatever, has two sides. What's going on here? Is there anything that can be done to bridge the gap between religion and news? Also, can thinking Christians survive, or do any good, in the secular news media? Can thinking journalists survive, or do any good, in Christian media? The purpose of this course is to do a lot of reading and some writing, while looking for answers to these questions. We have no choice but to take a subject such as "Religion and the News" seriously, in light of the stated mission of Regent University to prepare Christian leaders to work in the public square of American life. The bottom line: Our goal is to produce Christians who are prepared to work in the context of the secular media, as well as communications professionals who are ready to work in the church. I have been working on this course, in one form or another, for about 20 years. Now it's your turn to get involved in this journalistic maze. Well, there's another image. I'm going to try them all. Good luck and thanks for your willingness to take part in the test flight of this new course. II. COURSE DESCRIPTION This is a journalism seminar, focusing on a topic that is currently the subject of lively debate both in academia and the working press. Thus, we will study materials from both worlds and we will do two kinds of writing - academic writing and news writing. The class will include some lectures, but will be driven by the readings. 2 III. OBJECTIVES (a) Our primary goal will be to study four theoretical approaches - four "camps," so to speak - that can be found in debates about journalism and religion news, as described in our textbooks and in the professor's own research and writing, during 20 years of work on the religion beat. (b) Students will be exposed to research - some published, some unpublished - about religion news in the American press. They also will gain awareness of the challenges facing reporters who write in the world of religious publications, denominational structures and public-relations firms. Much of this work will be done using the World Wide Web. (c) Most importantly, students will address how this issue relates to their own studies, their own work in journalism and their own sense of "calling." The issue of what is, and what is not, "Christian journalism" remains a topic of hot debate at Regent University. We want to help students face their futures - whatever course their journalism careers take. IV. TEXTBOOKS: Required texts for the fall of 1999 The Associated Press: Stylebook and Libel Manual, by the staff of The Associated Press. (Any edition within the past two years.) Religion in the News: Faith and Journalism in American Public Discourse (paperback), by Dr. Stewart M. Hoover. Sage publications (1998) Telling the Truth: How to Revitalize Christian Journalism, by Dr. Marvin Olasky. Crossway Books (1996) Prodigal Press: The Anti-Christian Bias of the American News Media, by Dr. Marvin Olasky. Crossway Books (1988). Unsecular Media: Making News of Religion in America, by Mark Silk. University of Illinois Press (1995) Recommended text: Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America (paperback), by Dr. James Davison Hunter. Basic Books (1991). V. REQUIREMENTS (a) Concerning my priorities in assigning grades: please keep the following in mind. This class is built on lively participation, especially in seminar discussion sessions. Dive in. Come up with new ideas. Speak up. Students will quickly realize that I will strive to raises questions in this class about what it means to be a Christian who works in mainstream journalism. I urge students to take part and raise questions of their own. The class will meet, as we decided together, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday nights, in the seminar room at the Regent Graduate Journalism Center, unless the participants agree to meet in another location for some special reason. (b) Attendance is critical and will affect your final grade. I would strive not to miss more than three scheduled class meetings. Students must do their own writing in this class - following the university's academic policies at all times - but are encouraged to discuss their work with each other throughout the semester, as colleagues would in a news room. (c) All students will read each of our four required texts. Then, each student will read at least one other book, to be selected with the help of the professor and other members of the class. Each student will write a 1,200-word or more report on this book and make a presentation on it, with a discussion period, in class. Also, students will bring to class each week one example of religion news writing that we will dissect and discuss in class, with a brief cover letter - three or four paragraphs - describing why this article is either a very good or a very bad example of religion news writing. The professor will occasionally assign specific subjects for students to research, as they look for these articles. I will collect the articles in a folder for each student as the semester progresses. Each student's work linked to these readings - the report, the presentation and the weekly periodical reading assignments - will combine to provide 33 percent of the final grade. (d) At mid-term and at the end of the semester, each student will turn in one major news story or feature on a news topic linked to religion. One will be a hard-news story of between 700 and 1,200 words. The other will be a news feature story or package of story that is at least 1,500 words long. These stories must be written on a word processor, using Microsoft Word. Grades on individual stories will be based on grammar, use of Associated Press style and news content. These stories will count as 33 percent of the final grade. (e) As is the case with any editor, I will accept assignments early, but never late - except when arrangements for a late story have been made in advance. An incomplete grade ("I") will be given to a student only in the event of illness, emergencies or some other extreme cause that is acceptable to the professor, who will consult in each case with the director of the center. If the missing work has not been completed by the end of the following semester, an "FX" will automatically be posted - which equals an "F" in the computation of the student's GPA. (f) There will be no mid-term exam. The final exam will cover lectures and the assigned texts. Each of these exams will contribute 33 percent to your final grade. The exam will be given at the time appointed by Regent University. V. COURSE CONTENT: (a) We will study two basic subjects, in the course of the semester. First, we will ask why the church seems to have so much trouble dealing with the role of journalism in our culture. This will require us to study a controversial writer's work addressing a pivotal question: What does it mean to be a "Christian journalist"? Dr. Marvin Olasky is convinced that he has the answer. Many disagree. We will take in-depth looks at several case studies - stories that were covered in World Magazine, in other "Christian" news publications and in the secular press. In the first half of the semester, students will do their own research, week by week, into news coverage within the world of religious publishing. (b) In the second half of the semester we will turn this first question around and ask why it is that the mainstream news media have so much trouble understanding the role that religious groups play in our culture. Lectures in these weeks will cover material from a number of research projects -- by myself and by other writers -- into the paradoxes of religion news. Special attention will be given to the theoretical work of Dr. Stewart Hoover, Prof. Mark Silk, the Los Angeles Times, the Media Research Center and the Freedom Forum. Many of our readings can be found on the World Wide Web, either through my own Home Page or others. Thanks, in advance, for your efforts in this pioneer year for a new graduate program here inside the Beltway. Work hard. Under The Mercy, Prof. Terry Mattingly (w) 703-837-1912 (h) 410-451-3214 (cell) 410-533-6028 (fax) 703-837-1914 Office hours: 3-5 p.m., M, W, F tmatt@tmatt.net tmatt@regent.edu http://www.tmatt.net O Heavenly King, O Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of Life: Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O gracious Lord.