Center on Religion & the Professions

Course Title
Journalism 8001 Topics: Journalism, Religion and Public Life (3 credit hours)
Public Affairs 8001 Topics: Journalism, Religion and Public Life (3 credit hours)
General Honors 3070H: Journalism, Religion and Public Life (3 credit hours)

Edmund B. Lambeth

Schedule
Winter 2005
Tuesdays, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Location
202 Lee Hills Hall

Instructor
Professor Emeritus Edmund B. Lambeth

Course Description
An interdisciplinary examination of the interplay of citizens, journalists and other professionals as they seek to understand and relate effectively to the growing salience of religion to public life at home and abroad.

Enrollment Requirements
Graduate standing, Honors College seniors, and others with instructor's permission.

Purpose
The presence of religion in the news media has increased significantly since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. However, other factors are at work. The 1990s witnessed the rise of the "culture wars" among domestic religious groups, a development that continued during the 2004 presidential campaign. Meanwhile, during the same period, a record number of immigrants entered the United States from countries with diverse cultural and religious traditions.

How well journalists cover the social, political and international dimensions of these developments is important not only to Americans, but to new American immigrants and others across the globe. Equally important is how knowledgeably journalists, other professionals and citizens understand and interact with newcomers to the United States. The course will cover these and related issues. It is offered by the Missouri School of Journalism and cross-listed by the Honors College, the Truman School of Public Affairs, and the Department of Religious Studies.

Goals
The goals for the course are to

sharpen and focus our understanding of the news media's coverage of religion and of professions that play important public service roles in a democracy;
relate the readings and insights of the course to professional practices within the vocations students are pursuing;
identify possible changes that could improve coverage of religion as well as communication between journalism and the professions; and
consider measures that might lift the quality of public life, including proposed reforms within the particular professions and in the relationship of professions to the citizens they are obligated to serve.

Requirements
The course requires the following:

in-class discussions,
brief, periodic essays (two pages, double spaced) that critically evaluate and/or apply the content of assigned readings to weekly topics, and
a research paper.

At appropriate points, we also will include in the seminar discussions with citizens from the Columbia area. They will add depth and realistic connections to public life and to professional practices related to the weekly topics of the course.

Grades
The grades will be distributed across the requirements as follows:

Attendance: 15%
Periodic essays: 30%
Participation in discussion: 15%
Research paper: 40%

Periodic Essays
Graduate students enrolled in the seminar are expected to write seven of the ten assigned essays in response to the questions listed in the syllabus; seniors are expected to write four. The quality of writing and the thoughtfulness and clarity of the content are equally important. Neatness is a plus! The goal of the essays is to engage the readings individually and more deeply than a mere reading will allow, thereby enriching the conversations in the seminar. Essays are expected to be at least two pages, double-spaced, in 12-point type with half-inch margins.

Final Research Paper
The fourth week of class has been set aside to begin conversations about your research paper topic and how you might go about doing the research. We will have other such sessions later. Your paper can take the form of

the beginning of an M.A. thesis proposal;
a critique of news media performance intended for a journalism review or scholarly journal outside journalism;
a module that could be used in a future offering of this course, together with a description of the readings and essay questions and a significant essay giving the rationale for such a module and how it might advance objectives of the course; or
a proposal to improve the quality of professional services delivered to a client, patient, customer, citizen, or public institution.

Graduate student papers are expected to be at least 20 pages, double-spaced; senior papers are expected to be at least 15.

Course Materials
The only required text for the course is The Elements of Journalism (New York: Crown Publishers, 2001) by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. This is a paperback book that will be available in the University Bookstore.

Almost all of the other readings will be available online via the School of Journalism Library and/or the website of MU's Center for Religion, the Professions and the Public (http://rpp.missouri.edu). On occasion, some readings may be available only at the Journalism School or Ellis Library, but in those instances I will give you advance notice, or there will be photocopied material distributed to you in advance of or in class.

Other Readings
Other readings are intended to give you further background and references useful for your final research paper. Not every class date will have such references, but I can help supply them if you need them for your research papers. Note: If you find one of these other readings more valuable to you for a particular weekly essay, feel free to substitute it for one of those listed as required.

Standards of Honesty and Responsibility
Each weekly essay and final research paper must be the original work of the person submitting it for grading and evaluation. Instances of plagiarism and misrepresentation are violations of the ethical standards of the academic community and will be forwarded for investigation and possible disciplinary action under the rules of the University of Missouri.

Biographical Sketches
I value knowing about your interest in this course and in the degree program you are pursuing at MU. Please send me a biographical sketch and resume (if you have it handy on your computer). Please list your past positions, including both full-time work and/or summer internships. That will allow me and the seminar colleagues to draw upon our respective backgrounds during the course. I also value knowing how you see your vocation, post-MU degree. Thanks in advance!

Schedule and Readings

January 18
Orientation to the weekly seminars, readings, commentaries and final essay

For Week 2, read the articles below and bring a two-page essay to class using the guidelines indicated below under "Do."

January 25
Locating and Finding Ourselves on a Challenging Planet

Required Readings

William M. Sullivan, "Education as care of the self: Identity and meaning in the global era," The Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Foundation, July 1994, pp. 1-26.
Richard Brookhiser, "Why virtue is in short supply: Stephen Carter sets out to define integrity, both personal and political," New York Times Book Review, March 3, 1996, p. 12.
Robert Coles, "The disparity between intellect and character," Chronicle of Higher Education, September 22, 1995, p. A-68.
Mark Hertsgaard, "Oprah buffa, we're becoming a talk show nation, and one journalist [Howard Kurtz] is not amused," New York Times Book Review, March 3, 1996, p. 24.
Karen J. Winkler, "Sharp increase reported in courses on ethics," Chronicle of Higher Education, September 4, 1979, p. 15.

Other Readings

Judith Buddenbaum, Chapter 3, "The varieties of American religions," pp. 37-57; and Chapter 4, "Beliefs and behaviors," pp. 59-72, in Reporting News about Religion (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1998).

Do: Write a two-page essay in which you relate your own educational experience in college and university life to the issues addressed by Sullivan and by one or more of the four authors of the one-page articles listed for this week.
Purpose: To evaluate the relevance of the readings to your own prospective choice of a vocation and to the values related to that choice in what Sullivan calls the "global era."

February 1
Journalism, Religion and the "Stewardship of Free Expression"

Required Readings

Gal Beckerman, "Across the great divide, Faith: Why don't journalists get religion? A tenuous bridge to believers," Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2004, pp. 26-30.
Brent Cunningham, "Across the great divide, Class: Today's journalists are more isolated than ever from the lives of poor and working-class Americans. So what?" Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2004, pp. 31-38.
Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Chapter 1, "What is journalism for?" in The Elements of Journalism (New York: Crown Publishers: 2001), pp. 15-33.

Other Readings

Edmund B. Lambeth, Chapter 3, "Toward an eclectic system of journalism ethics," Committed journalism: An ethic for the profession, 2nd ed., (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992).
Julia Lieblich, former reporter, Associated Press and Chicago Tribune; James Carroll, Boston Globe; and Chris Hedges, New York Times correspondent, "Beyond the headlines: Reporting about religion," Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Fall/Winter 2003, pp. 21-23.
"U. S. funds Evangelical-Muslim project," Christian Century, Dec. 27, 2003, p. 11.

Do: Write an essay in which you relate the ideas in Kovach and Rosenstiel's opening chapter to one or more of the ideas in the other required readings.
Purpose: Engage your own thinking about the goals of journalism as they relate to coverage of religion or values-related issues such as those Beckerman and Cunningham address above.
Note: Individual Conversations with EBL (appointment times will be set during the above session of the class). Be sure you place in EBL's box by this Friday a one-page memo identifying one or more topics from which you may want to choose to address in your research paper. This will be an exploratory session. We'll also discuss how to write a paper proposal, which will be due in class on March 15.

February 8
Journalistic and Religious Values: Compatible or Competing … or Both?

Required Readings

Bill Kovach, Chapter 4, "Journalism of verification," Elements of Journalism, pp. 70-93.
Doug Underwood, "Secularists or modern day prophets? Journalists' ethics and the Judeo-Christian tradition," Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2001, pp. 33-47.
Ken Waters, "Competing moral visions: Ethics and the stealth bible," Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 48-61.

Note: No essay is due this week, but please read the articles above as preparation for classroom discussions. Other related examples can be seen in Beckerman and Cunningham in Week 3, above. Collectively, our discussion will focus not only on content, but also on possible methods or approaches to use in your paper.

February 15
Religion in the Public Square

Required Readings

Evan Cornog, "Let's Blame the Readers: Is it possible to do great journalism if the public does not care?" Columbia Journalism Revew, January/February 2005, pp. 43-49.
Martin Marty and others, "Religion and public discourse: Principles for religious participants," Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith, and Ethics, Chicago, IL, 1998.
Kovach and Rosenstiel, "Journalism as a public forum," The Elements of Journalism pp. 131-145.

Other Readings

Douglas A. Sweeney, "Skating on thin ice: The precarious life and hard times of religion in the university," a review of D. G. Hart, The university gets religion (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) and Jon H. Roberts and James Turner, The sacred and the secular university (Princeton University Press, 2000), pp. 34-35.
Stuart Smith, "Religiously ignorant journalists," Books & Culture, January/February 2004, pp. 6-7, and replies by Kelly Hughes, President of DeChant-Hughes & Associates and Debra Mason, Executive Director of Religion Newswriters Association, Books & Culture, March/April 2004, pp. 5-6.

Do: For your essay topic, pick a religious or values-related topic that you know and care about and that is currently being debated publicly. Consider what the debate might look like if it were guided by the approach recommended in the Marty reading. In your essay, evaluate whether the Marty recommendations are compatible with the perspectives of the Kovach and Rosenstiel chapter.
Purpose: To begin asking ourselves how to identify the criteria and rationale for building a robust public dialogue on issues that include religion or religion-related public values.

February 22
Religion in the Workplace

Required Readings

Douglas A. Hicks, Chapter 2, "The corporate interest in spirituality," and Chapter 3, "Which spirituality in the workplace?" in Religion and the Workplace: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 27-62.

Do: Come prepared to discuss this week's readings. Use an Internet search to find an example linked to the readings which, when discussed in class, can help us assess the pros and cons of this important issue. Consider whether and, if so, how religious expressions can be practiced in the workplace in ways that are consistent with the First Amendment's protection concerning "an establishment of religion" and the "free exercise" of religion. Hand in the article and relevant comments or questions on an accompanying sheet of paper.

March 1
On Holding Professions Accountable: Whither Society's Ombuds?

Required Readings

E. J. Dionne, "Public issues and public engagement: The roots of modern journalism," The Philip M. Foisie Memorial Lecture, Organization of News Ombudsmen, May 11, 1999. (21 small pages.)
Review Kovach & Rosenstiel, Chapter 4, "Journalism of verification," The Elements of Journalism, pp. 70-92.
William F. May, "Anarchy at home and abroad, crumbling pillars, instead of sustaining order elites have been withdrawing from society and scoffing at government," Christian Century, July 12, 2003, pp. 28-30.

Optional Readings

Michael Lewis, "The irresponsible investor, corporate fraud? Sweatshop abuse, no charitable giving? Blame the shareholder?" New York Times Magazine, June 6, 2004, pp. 68-71.
Herbert J. Gans, "Journalism, journalism education and democracy," Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Spring 2004, 59/1, pp.10-16.
Sherron Watkins, "Life after whistle-blowing: The former Enron vice president talks about the bosses she exposed, capping C.E.O. salaries and her difficulties finding a new job," New York Times, June 6, 2004, p. 25.

Do: Identify a specific newspaper or magazine article or radio or TV documentary on religion or values-related public issue that you believe deserves to be problematic and for which journalists need to be held accountable. Then, using the standards articulated in this week's required readings, write an essay explaining why the article of your choice should be critiqued — either in the particular medium itself or in a journalism review.
Purpose: To encourage our ability to identify religion and values-related public issues the coverage of which needs to be improved.

March 8
The Challenges of Growing Religious Diversity

Required Readings

Thomas C. Berg, "A life with others," a review of Thomas B. Hutchison, Religious Pluralism in America (Yale University Press, 2003), in Christian Century, Sept. 11-24, 2002, pp. 34-38.
Clifford Orwin, "The unraveling of Christianity in America," The Public Interest, Number 155, Spring, 2004, pp. 20-36.
Kovach and Rosenstiel, "Independence from faction," The Elements of Journalism, pp. 94-110.

Other Readings

Diana L. Eck, Chapter 1, "Introduction to a New America," in A New Religious America, How a 'Christian Country' Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation, (HarperSan Francisco, 2001), pp. 1-25.
John Kelsay, "Muslims and militants — three views, speaking of Islam," a review of Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response (Oxford University Press, 2002); John Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2002) and Giles Kepel, (Harvard University Press, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam 2002), all in one review in Christian Century, September 11-24, 2002, pp. 34-38.
"Trends in Immigration and the Foreign-Born Population," Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States, U. S. Bureau of the Census, 2000.

Do: Write an essay that draws upon readings to date as well as your own relevant background knowledge. Evaluate Orwin's contribution to The Public Interest, Number 155. That is, what points does he try to make? How well does he make his argument, i.e. what are its strengths and weaknesses? What new knowledge or perspectives does he impart? What information or background is missing?
Purpose: Practice the kind of interpretive and persuasive writing that would prompt others to consider your views a worthy contribution to civil discourse on religion.

March 15
Conflict & Dispute Resolution: What Role for Religion & the News Media?

Required Readings

American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Magazine, Spring 2004, see Richard Chernick, "Acclaim and Blame," p. 2; R. Seth Shippee, "Peacemaking, Applying faith to dispute resolution," pp. 3-6; Tom Porter, "Circles of Conversations, One trial lawyer's journey into sacred space," pp. 7-8; Arnold M. Zack, "Hindu DR, Developing a global program for Hare Krishnas," pp. 9-12; Hedi M. Tauscher, "Embracing Religion, Spiritual tools to help meet meditation challenges," pp. 13-16; Erica Ariel Fox and Marc Gafni, "Negotiating Wisely, Third eye of decision making, pp. 18-21.
Kovach and Rosenstiel, Chapter 5, "Independence from Faction," The Elements of Journalism, pp. 94-109.
Miscellaneous authors, "Journalism and Conflict Resolution," Conflict Resolution Notes, Vol. 12, No. 2, September 1995, pp. 11-23.

Do: Earlier in the seminar (after our initial orientation to the course) we were focused on coverage of religion or public issues that involve values in which some religions — and citizens — perceive they have a stake. Not all issues in our society, obviously, end in court disputes or are resolved by state or national legislatures. An increasing number are the subject of negotiations handled by a growing cadre of practitioners of dispute resolution. The readings this week focus on such work and its implications for journalism. Come prepared to discuss this trend and its implications for coverage of public issues that have generated competing religious perspectives. Do so by bringing to class a thoughtful article that relates to conflict resolution in public or private life that can be added to the bibliography reflected in this syllabus.
Purpose: Build our ability to add significantly to the content of the dialogue in the seminar.

March 20-27
Spring Break

March 29
The First Amendment: Vital Protection, Ideal, Ideology, Religion or All Four?

Required Readings

Judy Buddenbaum, Chapter 2, "The Role of the First Amendment," in Reporting News About Religion, pp. 19-36.
Kovach and Rosenstiel, Chapter 2, "Truth: The First and Most Confusing Principle," The Elements of Journalism, pp. 36-48
Jay Rosen, "Journalism is itself a religion," in The Revealer, http://www.therevealer.org/archives/feature_000149.php, January 8, 2004.
James K. A. Smith, "Schools of Thought," Reflections on the 2004 U. S. Supreme Court Decision on Locke vs. Davey at Sightings, website from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago, June 17, 2004, http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2004/0617.shtml

Do: Write an essay in which you link the major points of at least two of the above readings to the seminar sessions of March 8 and 15.

April 5
Journalism, Religion and Health: Understanding Their Important Relationships

Claudia Kalb, "God & health: Is religion good medicine? Why science Is starting to believe," Newsweek, Nov. 10, 2003, pp. 44-56.
Jonathan Shaw, "Stem-cell research: When medicine meets moral philosophy," Harvard Magazine, Vol. 106, No. 6, July-August 2004, pp. 36-45.
Michael Sokolove, "The lab animal: elite athletes always have and always will pursue every competitive advantage — health and law be damned. Is generic manipulation next?" New York Times Magazine, January 18, 2004, pp. 28-33, 48, 54, 58.

Other Readings

Harold Coward, "Hindu Bioethics," a review of S. Cromwell Crawford's Hindu Bioethics for the 21st Century (SUNY Series in Religious Studies, Albany: State University Press, 2003), pp. 2759-2760. (2 pages)
Harold G. Koenig, "Science, Religion and Health," in The Healing Power of Faith: Science Explores Medicine's Last Great Frontier, pp. 11-27.
Lynne F. Landsberg, "The Healing Power of Religious Community," Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Fall-Winter, 2003, pp. 34-35.
"Is Faith a Tool for Medicine? Theologians Challenge Concept," in Vital Theology, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 1-7. (7 pages)

Do: Critically evaluate the performance of Harvard Magazine, Newsweek or the New York Times in one of the articles above. How well does "your article" answer the Who, What, Where, When, How, Why and So What questions that you had in mind as you read it?
Purpose: Experience the work of a media critic and/or appreciator. What talents and sensibilities does a good health and medical journalist require in tackling the interface of bio-medicine and religion?

April 12
Social Work and Education

Jody Heymann, "Families on the edge: Overcoming untenable choices on work, health childcare and education," Harvard Magazine, July-August, 2003, pp. 50-53.
Kovach and Rosenstiel, Chapter 10, "Journalists Have a Responsibility to Conscience," The Elements of Journalism, pp. 179-196.
Dale Maharidge, "Close Enough to Hurt: On Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, by James Agee; and the Importance of 'Living' Journalism," Columbia Journalism Review January/February 2005, pp. 54-57.
Andres Tapia, "The Myth of Racial Progress," Christianity Today, Oct. 4, 1993, pp. 16-27.

Do: Assume you are a reporter for the Columbia Missourian or the Columbia Daily Tribune. Then, write a story idea memo to your city editor that speaks to the underlying moral and/or civic issues raised in one or more of the above articles?
Purpose: Experience a major means by which journalists can exercise their First Amendment responsibilities: the origination of story ideas with the public interest in mind.

April 19
Land of Technology and Religion: Where the Ghost of Jacque Ellul Still Lives?

Required Readings

Stewart M. Hoover, Lynn S. Clark and Lee Rainie, "Faith online," from Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 7, 2004.
Brent Staples, "What adolescents miss when we let them grow up in cyberspace," New York Times, May 29, 2004, from the Editorial Observer column.
Jon Gertner, "Proceed with caution: That's what Bill Joy, Silicon Valley legend, says that markets need to do," New York Times Magazine, June 6, 2004, pp. 32, 34, 36.
Heather Wax and Gerald Shaw, "Master of His Universe," Science & Spirit, January/February 2005, pp. 28-36. (Plus: "And the Winner Is…," p. 37).

Do: Bring to class a typed list of questions you would ask each of the authors of these articles if they were visitors to our seminar.
Purpose: Exercise your critical thinking skills.

April 26
Reports and Discussion of Research Papers by Seminar Participants

May 2
Reports and Discussion of Research Papers by Seminar Participants

May 9
Reports and Discussion of Research Papers by Seminar Participants

For more information about the course, contact Professor Emeritus Ed Lambeth at (573) 882-6295 or lambethe@missouri.edu.