USA TODAY: 1989-2013
Breaking News/Religion specialty (2010-13)
- Directed coverage of 2013 papal transition (assignments, graphics, lead stories)
- Growth of the global Muslim population (lead story, video, U.S focus sidebar)
- Tim Tebow’s NFL heyday
- The rise of the ‘Nones’
Religion, spirituality and ethics beat (1999 to 2010)
Established the beat at USA TODAY. Set the bar for media coverage of social trends survey research. Highlights:
American Religious Identification Survey
- 1993: First national coverage of 1991 research detailed in the authors’ 1993 book, One Nation Under God
- 2001: Comprehensive trend cover and graphics leading to multiple enterprise covers such as a look at civic life in the least religious state
- 2008: Package of stories, graphics and videos examining 18 years of religious change and succeeding enterprise stories
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey followed by a cascade of Pew Forum stories such as:
- American syncretism
- “Switchers”
- Those who say “So what?”
Baylor Religion Survey introduces four views of God
LifeWay Research reports such as the finding that Christmas is more jingle than Jesus
Faith & Reason Blog (2008-12)
Launched a leading national religion blogs and led the civil-but-lively discussion forum. A sampling of posts, pegged to news and newsworthy research:
- Sarah Palin’s invention of ‘death panels’
- TomKat’s interfaith divorce
- Many paths to heaven
- Would Jesus pack heat?
Features, profiles, coverage of biomedical issues (1999 to 2010)
Memorable moments:
- Billy Graham before his last crusade
- The Dalai Lama explains ‘emptiness’
- The rough blessings of Cowboy Church
- Nancy Guthrie’s living faith at her babies’ grave
- Defining a ‘good death’
- Hospital ethics committees’ bedside dilemmas
Leisure travel (1990-99)
I ranged from Seattle to Cuba to Jerusalem, addressing the needs of budget vacationers, the desires of luxury travelers, and the dreams of armchair voyagers.
THE MIAMI HERALD, Miami, Fl,: 1972-1989
Highlights:
- 1973 Arab-Israeli War and 1976 Entebbe rescue exclusive stories
- Personal columnist, 1979-83
- Lead feature project writer/editor, 1984-87 Orchestrated survey research and reporting two comprehensive series: Political and personal impact of abortion in Florida; Economic, social and judicial impact of divorce.
- Assistant Editor of Living Today, 1988-1989. Penney Missouri Journalism Awards for best feature section
FELLOWSHIPS AND HONORS
- East West Center Senior Journalists Seminar: Islam in Asia, 2007
- Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowship in Science and Religion 2005
- USA TODAY Enterprise All-Star, 2001 and finalist for Best of USA Today, 2005
- 1987-1988 University of Michigan Journalism Fellowship
- Nominated for Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting, 2006
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Religion Newswriters Association: Board member 2005-11, convention co-chair 2009-10
MEDIA APPEARANCES
- Television: C-SPAN Washington Journal, USA TODAY LIVE, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, numerous regional TV newscasts in the USA.
- Radio: NPR Los Angeles, WTOP Washington, regional talk shows
EDUCATION
- B.S.J. Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism
- Graduate of a three-course certificate program in Clinical Ethics and Health Policy from the Center for Practical Bioethics, May 2013
