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I mentioned the story of Shaima Al Awadhi the other day. (Previous coverage here, here and here.) I became mildly obsessed with her after news of her unbelievably brutal killing broke in March. Al Awadhi was only 32 years old when she died and was a mother of five. She was attacked in her home, succumbing to her injuries a few days later.
Back in March I wrote in “How To Cover A Hate Crime” about my obsession about the horrific beating death of Shaima Al Awadhi, a 32-year-old mother of five:
A journalism fellowship program I’m involved with recently heard from one Sam Feist, CNN’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief. He told us that many moons ago, heâd written some copy for the on-air talent to read for that nightâs show. The line was something like âClinton believes that the tax bill will pass.â The guy who was supposed to read the line â he happened to be an old-school journalist of some renown â excoriated him. He told Feist that a reporter can never know what a politician thinks, believes or feels. The reporter can only know what the politician says.
The New York Times published an interesting story about the Atlanta Jewish Book Festival (“Jewish Book Event in Atlanta Cancels Authorâs Talk on Zionism, and Uproar Follows“). It’s a great piece with the weirdest missing element. Here’s the top:
The New York Times published a riveting piece about Salafism in Tunisia. From the beginning, the reader is transported to Kairouan:
Back in May, I noticed a curious decision by some media outlets to scare quote the term “religious liberty.” Religion News Service defended the use of the scare quotes. Contributor Mark Silk had one defense and editor Kevin Eckstrom had another, writing:
Even by Friday night news dumps, this one was a doozie. David Petraeus resigned on Friday afternoon for reasons related to adultery. Which led Joyce Carol Oates to tweet:
Of the many curious coverage decisions the mainstream media made this year, I thought the relative lack of interest in the plight of Mark Bassely Youssef, who made “Innocence of Muslims,” was noteworthy. There’s no question the dude is shady and broke the law in matters unrelated to the YouTube phenomenon. But the Obama administration’s focus on him, the physical threats issued against him, and his incarceration over the last few months also merited some serious discussions about free speech as its practiced in the United States.
Well, everyone, we made it through another presidential campaign year! Congratulations to the winners and condolences to the losers and all that.
