Reporting on Religion and Political Candidates

Course Overview

Title:
Reporting on Religion and Political Candidates
Type:
Webinar
Cost:
$9.95
Originally Broadcast On:
April 11, 2012
Time Estimate:
One hour for the main presentation and questions. Sometimes presenters stay longer to answer additional questions from participants

Thanks to a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation and the Scripps Howard News Service, this webinar is available to participants for $9.95.

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About Webinars

In this virtual classroom, participants can join in a seminar led by Poynter faculty and visiting faculty. This screencast includes live audio and a slideshow presentation in which participants can post questions and respond to poll questions posed by the host.

This Webinar was originally broadcast on:
April 11, 2012 Enroll Now
Watch and listen to the original one-hour Webinar in its entirety. This Webinar recording features the full presentation led by Poynter faculty and visiting faculty including Q&A from the audience and resources from the presenter.

The 2012 election season provides multiple opportunities to report on religion and political candidates. But even veteran journalists can stumble on common reporting errors and miss the nuance and complexity of faith and how it effects the individual.

This one-hour Webinar will help you build your confidence in reporting comprehensive and accurate stories about candidates and how they integrate their personal faith with their job.

Learn how to research information from the right sources and avoid leaning on commentary from critics. Better inform your audience about theology with clear language and the right vocabulary. And understand how to assess what a politician has done in their past to demonstrate how they manage their faith with their job.

We'll review best practices from religion reporters and share strategies on how to write about this topic successfully.

What Will I Learn:
  • Identify the journalism values that underpin great stories about a political figure’s faith, as well as the values that undermine great work
  • Make belief-systems understandable by moving up and down the theological ladder of abstraction
  • Frame stories with honest, nuanced narratives
  • Ask better questions and seek better sources
Who Should Take this Course:

Anyone looking to build and better their religion and politicians reporting and writing.

Course Instructor:

Kelly McBride

Kelly McBride is a writer, teacher, and one of the country's leading voices when it comes to media ethics. She has been on the faculty of The Poynter Institute since 2002. Her current work involves Poynter’s Sense-Making Project, a Ford Foundation project examining the transformation of journalism from a profession of a few to a civic obligation of many, the effects of technology on democracy, and the media habits of the millennial generation. She conducts workshops in newsrooms and at journalism conventions across the country. Twice she has traveled to South Africa to lead advanced reporting and writing seminars geared toward reporters working in a young democracy. You can follow her on Twitter at @kellymcb.

Sponsor:

Scripps Howard News Service

ScrippsNews is an online consortium of current events and culture, featuring news, in-depth analysis and investigative reporting as well as opinions and commentary from a network of exclusive columnists and bloggers.

Scripps Howard News Service (SHNS) provides news and features to hundreds of newspapers and Web sites around the world. SHNS was founded in 1917.

The Scripps Howard Foundation

The Scripps Howard Foundation is the corporate foundation of The E. W. Scripps Company. Our mission is to advance the cause of a free press through support of excellence in journalism, quality journalism education and professional development. The Foundation helps build healthy communities and improve the quality of life through support of sound educational programs, strong families, vital social services, enriching arts and culture, and inclusive civic affairs, with a special commitment to the communities in which Scripps does business.

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