Praying for the Press

Okay, so that wasn’t the response I was hoping for, I thought glumly. The cold Connecticut winter drew frosty breaths from my frequent sighs as I walked into the high school alone. I dug my hands further into my pockets and told myself that it was time to face the facts.

At some point, every journalist must face the facts.

The facts: In my senior year, I was co-editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. I was also and am still a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words, I am a Mormon. When I became an editor, I knew that some of my classmates and teachers would look at my articles and editorials with skepticism because of my faith. However, I promised myself that I would always strive for balance in my articles. But then a problem arose.

The problem: After the suggestion came from my advisor and another student, my high school paper decided to run a story on the Mormon seminary I attended close by my school. I had no intention of writing the article, knowing it would be seen as Mormon propaganda. Instead, I assigned the story to one of the student reporters, went with her to seminary, and encouraged her to interview the people there. Of course, I was not interviewed for objectivity’s sake.

I silently gave myself a pat on the back for being so objective, but then the reporter’s article showed up on my desk.

The article began: “A student wakes up at 5:30am and scrambles to get ready. She dresses herself in a black robe and bonnet and fixes her hair around her horns. She says goodbye to her father and his wife…and then his other wife, and she is off to a morning of rituals and prayer…just kidding!...These are all common misconceptions about the Mormon religion.”

My reaction as an editor: Great introduction. This will really hook the readers.

My reaction as a Mormon seminary student: Oh no. What is everyone in my seminary class going to think about this?

The answer to the last question is that they were not happy. I walked into my high school alone after they heard the introduction.

Yes, as an editor I printed the introduction. Why? Because the title of the story was “Pancakes and Prayer: My Experience at a Mormon Seminary.” Indeed, it was the reporter’s experience at seminary. It was not called “Pancakes and Prayer: What a Reporter Got from Going to a Mormon Seminary According to Her Mormon Editor.” One, the latter title is much too long and I don’t think readers would appreciate the obvious bias.

More importantly, the entire article accurately conveyed the reporter’s experience at seminary. What she wrote was true and well written. I couldn’t let my fears draw red lines through her work. Eventually, my fellow seminary classmates realized this too. Especially when non-member students mentioned how much they enjoyed the article.

One of the questions for today’s blog assignment was “Can you be a person of faith and still (objectively) fairly report about religious issues?” Well, I sure hope so! If not, then I’m afraid there would either be no religion beat or no fair reporting. Every religion reporter is “a person of faith,” whether they have faith in a Christian God, a Jewish God, or no god at all.

In our assigned reading from Jim Willis’s The Mind of a Journalist, the On Faith Web site producer David Waters says, “Religion is the most important topic out there. It matters to nearly everyone, even to atheists and agnostics” (87).

Likewise, in an article on PoynterOnline, Diane Connolly discusses her experience as religion editor at The Dallas Morning News. Ms. Connolly says that one of the qualities she looked for in religion reporters was a, “Recognition that religion is a potent force that unites and divides people in powerful ways that affect everything from military conflicts to government policy to everyday actions in ordinary people's lives.”

Both Mr. Willis and Ms. Connolly recognize that religion is not just a prayer on Sunday. Religion is the reason for many headlines. Indeed, faith leads to action and action leads to the news.

Indeed, religion is in the news in simple divorce stories and in complex war stories. Religion was even mentioned on the front page of today's issue of The New York Times with another version online.

Even for me, a student reporter in high school, religion was a topic of interest. Near the end of my senior year, another problem arose relating to religion.

Another problem: I wanted to write a profile on a teacher in my school who is a member of the Family Federation for World Peace. Members of this federation are often called “Moonies." When I interviewed the teacher, I excitedly scribbled down his thoughts regarding his arranged marriage and beliefs in Jesus Christ. However, throughout the interview, the teacher attempted to relate his religion back to my own. While he was trying to help my understanding, I had to remember that as a reporter my faith is not a part of the story I’m covering. I respectfully listened to what he had to say, but, throughout the interview I reminded myself that I was a reporter.

When I picked up my pen, I edited my own beliefs out.