Blind Spot When Journalists Don't Get Religion [Hardcover]

Why do the media so often miss or misunderstand major news stories? One reason is that, in today's complex and pervasively religious world, understanding religion is vital in accurately reporting and interpreting current events. The authors ofBlind Spotargue that all too frequently journalists and commentators do not take religion seriously and therefore fail to grasp the religious context of the news.

Blind Spot's essays examine news stories reported by major media sources in which key religious dimensions were ignored, overlooked, or misrepresented. These stories range from the 2004 U.S. presidential elections, to Iran, Iraq, and the papal succession.Blind Spotoffers all readers -- whether people of faith or not -- an interesting and balanced analysis of the news media's uneasy relationship with religion and religious issues.

It's not often that I let out a whoop of joy when I read a book, but I did while readingBlind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion. I've been preaching this gospel for 15 years and it's great to see it so brilliantly argued and supported in these pages. The editors have assembled a top-flight team of scholars and writers to build the case brick by solid brick. It is now an unassailable truth: without an understanding of religion, a journalist can miss the greatest stories of our time. This is the book I -- and my students -- have been waiting for. --Professor Ari Goldman, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and author ofThe Search for God at Harvard

Since press blindness is one reason for the declining circulations of standard newspapers and newsmagazines,Blind Spotshould be required reading for journalists and journalism professors who hope to respond not only to technological changes but to cultural ones as well. --World

This is an instructive book for practitioners. It is written by experienced analysts of religion who l³Á