A page of religious terms from the AP Stylebook. (Photo by Alec Brooks)
One interesting aspect was how McBride divided journalism values into ones that aid religious reporting and ones that hurt. Context, accuracy, authenticity, fact-checking and nuance all help, she said, but simplicity, deadlines, brevity and conflict do not.
I'm not sure I agree entirely that "deadlines" is the best word in this situation. The problem isn't setting and sticking to reasonable deadlines, it's trying to get a story out without allowing enough time to get it right. Minor quibble aside, I liked the webinar.
I was particularly interested in her point about knowing what terms mean because it seemed to justify all the time I spent in the AP Stylebook and on the web making sure I got the term right. Still, I realized that I didn't entirely have a good definition for the term evangelical.
For those of you who are in a similar spot, here's the Stylebook's definition: "Historically, evangelical was used as an adjective describing Protestant dedication to conveying the message of Christ. Today it also is used as a noun, referring to a category of doctrinally conservative Protestants. They emphasize the need for a definite, adult commitment or conversion to faith in Christ and the duty of all believers to persuade others to accept Christ."
I also thought she was right to call out reporters who had repeatedly used the same source. I don't know if the problem is laziness or deadlines that don't give enough time to find better sources, but some of the examples she highlighted had pretty embarrassing sourcing. As journalists, we must do better.
I'm not sure I agree entirely that "deadlines" is the best word in this situation. The problem isn't setting and sticking to reasonable deadlines, it's trying to get a story out without allowing enough time to get it right. Minor quibble aside, I liked the webinar.
I was particularly interested in her point about knowing what terms mean because it seemed to justify all the time I spent in the AP Stylebook and on the web making sure I got the term right. Still, I realized that I didn't entirely have a good definition for the term evangelical.
For those of you who are in a similar spot, here's the Stylebook's definition: "Historically, evangelical was used as an adjective describing Protestant dedication to conveying the message of Christ. Today it also is used as a noun, referring to a category of doctrinally conservative Protestants. They emphasize the need for a definite, adult commitment or conversion to faith in Christ and the duty of all believers to persuade others to accept Christ."
I also thought she was right to call out reporters who had repeatedly used the same source. I don't know if the problem is laziness or deadlines that don't give enough time to find better sources, but some of the examples she highlighted had pretty embarrassing sourcing. As journalists, we must do better.
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