Change
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- September
- 8
My days as a full-time religion reporter are over. For now.
You may have heard that the newspaper business is hurting, big time. We’ve seen massive cutbacks across the industry for years and the demise of several newspapers.
Here at LoHud/The Journal News, the news staff has been shrinking for some time.
The week before last, we lost more than 40 reporters and editors. The NYT even wrote about a major reorganization here.
I was fortunate to be “rehired.” But some beats had to go. Religion was one of them.
Newspapers across the country have been eliminating their religion beats. It seems that religion is seen as a “soft news” beat and a luxury at a time when newspapers are emphasizing breaking news on their Websites.
Clearly, I think religion news is important in many ways—and that the beat is perhaps the most interesting in journalism. I’ve written about this many times.
But these are tough times for everyone and the newspaper industry is going through a brutal transition period. No one knows what the news media might look like, say, a decade from now.
So I am now a general assignments reporter—as I was before I started covering religion in March 1997.
I’ll cover some religion stories, for sure. But I’ll spend most of my time reporting and writing on other subjects.
As far as this blog goes, I hope to continue writing it.
But I won’t post 3 or 4 times a day, as I have done for the past three years. I’m thinking one post a day—and we’ll see where things go.
Change is tough, especially when I’ve loved (mostly) covering the God Beat. But I’ll continue to look out for the big stories and trends and I’ll try to note some of them here.
Thanks for reading.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
Gary, you’ve been the best at this beat for a long time, and the blog is great. Good luck and God bless.
Good luck to you, Gary, and thank you for your support.
I noticed last week that there was only one post a day and thought that something might be wrong. Thankfully, you still have your job, unlike so many others.
The blog has been great to read and keep up the great work!
Gary, Thank you for your insightful, thoughtful religion coverage. I can’t believe it’s been 12 1/2 years – your readers have been spoiled.
Good luck with the new/expanded beat. I’m glad you’ll be continuing the blog.
Wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m just not.
I despise Gannett and look forward to the day it closes shop completely.
Sorry for those who will lose jobs, but people should have some integrity when choosing a company to work for in the first place!
Gary: Your writing has been superb. The priorities of your bosses are skewered. Spirituality is the ultimate story of our very essence. More and more people are coming to this reality. They will hunger and thirst for more columns from you, and the editorial staff shall take notice, or contribute to the downfall of this one daily. Not a happy decision, though perhaps counter-productive !
Gary – your coverage and writing has been superb – fair and far-reaching. I’ve looked forward to the daily blog and your commentary, and will miss your holding up a lamp to illumine our time. Madeline Albright’s The Mighty and the Almighty described the disastrous result of political powers failing to take seriously the religious history and commitments of a people. We continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.
What a shame. I’ve enjoyed your blog for quite some time. I wish you the best of luck with your new beat.
I recall your excellent reporting during Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to the U.S.—I hope they’ll recognize your talent and find similar opportunities in the future. Glad to see this blog continuing as well.
Gary, I’m so sorry to hear you will not have the ‘luxury’ to focus on religion. How unfortunate, in a country that wrongly yet strongly mixes faith and patriotism, that religion and news about faith will be relegated to the fundamentalists (newsmakers and newsorthy, I guess) among us. Your column was a place for the religious professionals, the religious faithful, and the curious to gather without judgment or competition, a chance, a hope that people of faith share – that we are more alike than different, and that all of us desire peace and the chance to pursue our religious convictions in safety. Thank you for your good work, and God bless your future endeavors.
Dear Gary:
Your coverage of the religion beat has been superb. You are one of the best in the field, nationally. It is unthinkable that Gannett does not understand that you are Lo Hud’s most valuable player. Everyone seriously interested in religious news recognizes your work. There is no one who knows the New York scene better, and you have an unmatched network of sources. Your influence goes far beyond the local scene.
All best wishes for the long and distinguished career you deserve.
Susan Gannon
A terrible loss for the Godbeat. I’m glad to hear, though, that you’ll keep blogging, if a bit less religiously.
Sorry to see the change, but I hope your transition goes well.