Media Watch: The Statesman’s Faith-Based Initiative

With circulation continuing to slide and the media world a throbbing mass of confusion, the Austin American-Statesman is turning to the heavens for help. The paper has launched its own faith-based initiative, including an expanded weekly Faith section and a new emphasis on God-infused stories throughout the paper. Even the Sports section tossed up a Hail Mary with an in-depth report on how UT football players pray before games, breaking the news that cornerback Aaron Ross “prays for a good game.” …

… Within the dusty confines of newsrooms, religion coverage is a hotly debated topic. Many serious-minded journalists feel that newspapers should enforce a separation of church and state. Reporters are taught to be skeptics, which naturally clashes with the concept of blind faith. But ignoring religion also seems out of whack to many in the industry, considering the number of people who believe in God, in one form or another. “If [religion] is an element of a story that helps people understand what is going on, it should be there,” said Aly Colón, head of the Poynter Institute’s reporting, writing, and editing group. “I think there is heightened awareness in more journalists that religion plays a role — and, in some cases, a significant role — in how people make decisions and carry out their lives.”
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