Headlines Tell the Story

Now I'm not one to obsess about news coverage. In this political season, I am looking at the Washington Post more than the New York Times. Different news organizations have their own perspective. To deny this is foolish and to not take responsibility in the midst of this fact is to be irresponsible.

In another cyberspace discussion recently, I found the headline of the Christian Post about the HighPoint church that in the end denied a fellow member rights to celebrate the life and death of his brother because he was gay particularly telling. The article spoke of "Harrasment" of the congregation, although here was none reported in the text of the story. The Christian Post is a ultra-right wing rag associated with Pat Robinson's Regent University. We should not be surprised.

I would be interested to hear how writers at the Post might report on the story out of Columbus where members of the so-called Minutemen [sic] United are disrupting Sunday morning worship services in a couple of "open and affirming" churches!

As an Atlantan, I can not help but reflect on the reporting about the recent death of Richard Jewell. The NYT headline read about the death of the Olympic bombing hero. AP (now who owns that?) reported that the former suspect of the Olympic bombing had died. Finally, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who had been in a decade long litigation about their faulty reporting in 1996, simply reported that Richard Jewell had died. They reported the story on the internet only one time. Michael Vick made the headlines over and over again.

In the end, Jewell was finally lauded for professional police work that di save many lives. He was a hero, but he paid a terrible price.

As Christians, we must learn to hear the news behind the news, the sub-texts and indeed the distortions. Such caution must even be with taken with the Good News that we study and proclaim as well.

Hey, I didn't mention Fox News with its fair and balanced reporting once.....oops!