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IN
THIS ISSUE:
• Published world religions guides online about public issues that intersect matters of faith. Our latest source guides include politics, Islam, Hinduism and bioethics. • Awarded scholarships to 11 reporters. Thanks to support from the Lilly Endowment Inc., journalists took religion courses for free at universities and theology schools. Since 2004, we've awarded 122 scholarships totaling more than $200,000. • Received a record number of reporting contest entries. Submissions totaled 331, which included nearly 1,300 religion stories and sections from print, radio and television media. • Received $15,000 in support for these and other projects. Recent grants and donors include:
Our members work hard to inform you how faith and values impact the worlds of politics, arts and culture. Recent stories by members include:
Want to see more? Each weekday, Religion Newswriters culls the top religion headlines from more than one hundred news sites at www.ReligionHeadlines.org. Our members value Religion Newswriters as they strive to deliver excellence in faith and values news. Meet member Melissa Nann Burke, of the York (Pa.) Daily Record. "I never expected to cover the religion beat until I was thrown in headfirst with admittedly little training for the task. The learning curve is tremendous and, at times, exhausting. But after just a few short months, I'm hooked. "I cover York and Adams counties in south central Pennsylvania, a region that's overwhelmingly Bible based and socially conservative . . . Many county residents don't know much about religions beyond their own—partly because of the lack of diversity here. I believe it's the local newspaper's responsibility to educate readers about faith issues, especially those religious traditions that might seem foreign to them." New York Times staff writer Andrea Elliott won a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year for her three-part series, "An Imam in America," about an Egyptian immigrant who led a mosque in Brooklyn. Elliott specializes in covering Islam in America, a task she began in 2005, to explore the impact on Muslims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The prize-winning stories focus on Sheik Reda Shata and his struggles to live as a Muslim in America. The stories attracted significant attention, even before they won the prestigious award. After they were reprinted in Arabic throughout the Middle East, Sheik Reda was lampooned by a jihadist Web site in Britain. Scholars joined the debate. Unmarried Muslims who saw the series sought his help to find mates. And many priests, ministers and rabbis reached out to Shata.
Elliott chose to focus on the mosque because it is a central gathering place for many immigrant Muslims and a microcosm of religion and culture. Her aim was to know these neighbors of her New York readers, people who lived life with the same concerns about family, career and daily life as they had, but who faced special challenges following 9/11. "I quickly found that many people were afraid to talk to me," Elliott said. "They felt the press had misrepresented their faith by covering Islam very selectively, with an emphasis on terrorism. So in order to gain access to my subjects and really capture their experiences, I had to spend a lot of time with them. I was lucky to work at a paper that freed me up to do this kind of reporting, and later provided the space for long, in-depth stories."
Elliott received hundreds of e-mails, letters and phone calls about her story. "Religion touches every part of human life, shaping politics, war, culture, commerce," she said. "I think readers have a huge appetite for in-depth religion coverage."
Religion Newswriters wants to improve the public's understanding of religion. Our resources and materials reach editors, writers, news directors, news producers, CEOs, clergy, homemakers and policy analysts. Your support enables us to continue as the country's premier educator about religion and public issues in the mainstream media. Please join the many others who help support Religion Newswriters with your tax-deductible gift. It's easy to do online. To reach Religion Newswriters' Development Director, e-mail Ruth Sternberg at Ruth@RNA.org. |
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She also found
that her lack of knowledge was an asset. "I began many questions with,
"Help me understand . . . " she said. "Sometimes it helps to
be an outsider. I was raised Catholic. Many Muslims I interviewed wanted to
teach me about their faith. In doing so, they often opened up about a range
of things they might not otherwise have discussed, including the deeply personal
struggles many have had since 9/11."
