Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Time for a dip into my GetReligion folder of guilt, that file into which I put stories that I really want to write about when I finally get a few minutes, somehow, to read them carefully and then write a post.
Yes, Christian rockstars are real. But Katy Perry isn’t one. She years ago gave up on Christian music, and her image is anything but.
Regular GetReligion readers know all about our M.O. on this blog. Our goal is to pick away at the errors that regularly mar mainstream coverage of religion news, while paying special attention to stories that are haunted by “ghosts,” which we define as major religious issues or themes in stories that journalists have missed or mangled (or both).
Everywhere I turn, it seems I’m unintentionally listening to a song by Lady Gaga in the grocery store or stumbling upon a spoof of her music videos (So far, I vote for NPR). Chances are, you’ve at least heard snippets of “Telephone,” “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” and “Paparazzi,” to name a few of her hits.
Here is a sticky question: What is a reporter supposed to do when writing a story about a religious group that does not see itself as a denomination and strives not to use traditional (remember that word) language to describe itself and much of its work? Do you use the traditional terms and explain that the group being covered does not use them or do you use the group’s unique terms, knowing that you’ll need to translate them for readers?
Religion is overrated. Here in the bubble of GetReligionland, we sometimes forget that. Thank you, CNN, for reminding us.
We’ve taken issue with some of the coverage of serious issues related to the Vatican recently. That’s a bit of an understatement.
Usually, I keep my compulsion for ’80s pop hits — the music of my youth — under control. This week, though, I’m in Philadelphia on a work-related trip, and my rental car — unlike my family’s minivan — has satellite radio. Satellite radio with an all-’80s station!
It’s been two months since Haiti was rocked by a catastrophic earthquake, and the American attention span for this humanitarian crisis is clearly waning. That’s why it’s good we have media outlets constantly reminding us that Haiti’s problems are still ever present.
