Abstract

What does it mean to be a religion journalist in an increasingly globalized world? What constitutes religious or spiritual news, how is it packaged and circulated and for whom? How have interfaith and intrafaith issues been changing religion and news about religion in the world? These questions should tantalize anyone who writes about religion or wants to. This chapter begins with a brief survey of humankind’s relationship with news and how sharing the news evolved into journalism, a universe of multiple venues mirroring the world in which we live. It then considers the global influence of two new tools – the computer and the World Wide Web. The digital revolution has upended everything we know about news and journalism, including news about religion by both religious and secular writers. What does the journalist writing about religion need to know in this brave new world? The second half of this chapter profiles two interfaith projects and how they handle news about religion – United Religions Initiative (URI) and The Interfaith Observer (TIO).