But she didn't go there - not quite. Instead, she ... well, let's see how she handled it. She set it up by saying the Air Force Academy has "pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths." Then she interrupts herself:
Witches in the Air Force? Chaplain Maj. Darren Duncan, branch chief of cadet faith communities at the academy, sighs. A punch line waiting to happen, and he's heard all the broom jokes.All in all, it's a good story about a subject that could have been just awful. How do you write about people who believe in religions that many people would consider odd without sounding preachy, on the one hand, or sarcastic, on the other?
For the record, there are no witches among the cadets this year. But the two spiritual leaders for all Earth-based religions — one a civilian, one an Air Force reservist — are witches and regularly cast spells, which they say is not so different from offering prayer. There also are no druids this year. But there could be next year.
That, in a nutshell, is what Deam had to do in this one.
It's also a good example of a story that's based on one key interview - with chaplain Duncan - plus personal observation and a couple of other, shorter interviews. A good model for the feature stories you're writing this week.
Among other things, she:
- Made it clear the Air Force considers witches and druids protected under the First Amendment just like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists or members of any other faith. "This is not about religious tolerance — a phrase Duncan, a Christian, rejects as implying that the majority religion is simply putting up with the minority. He calls it a 1st Amendment issue. If the military is to defend the Constitution, it should also be upholding its guarantee of religious freedom."
- Made sure readers know what witches, pagans and followers of other "Earth-based" religions believe - "an ancient religion that generally does not worship a single god and considers all things in nature interconnected."
- Referred to a controversy in 2005 about "aggressive proselytizing" by officers seeking to convert cadets to a fundamentalist version of Christianity, and quoted critics of the academy in an otherwise positive story.
- Worked in some nice on-the-scene description amd explained its significance: "Back at the solstice preparations, with glue guns drawn and takeout pizza within easy reach, the pagan cadets decorated yule logs with bits of ribbon and glitter. Yule logs, whose ritual burning symbolizes faith in the reappearance of the sun, will be displayed alongside the Christmas trees and menorahs in next month's crowded religious calendar at the academy."
- Made sure she talked with a cadet who follows one of the Earth-based religions, a pagan who said she "has taken no serious grief from other cadets, save occasional questions about whether pagans dance naked (she doesn't) or whether she can cast a spell on commanding officers (she wouldn't even if she could)."
11 comments:
To make an uncommon religion sound appealing to the mass audience, honesty is the best avenue. I think it would be most beneficial to use a lot of quotes, background information on the religion, and explanation. Point out its best aspects!
I found it more difficult to write a feature article based on an interview with only one person as opposed to several, or many, interviewees. Interesting..
i thought she did a good job of respectfully reporting this story. she really could have ripped on someone or something instead she just reported a pretty strange story. i like the randomness of the story and i liked that she wrote the story respectfully.
The expalnation of a religion that is not known to many people is hard to write. You must learn to go in depth and get more information. Explain what the religion is, and what people say about it. utilize the words of those who you have interviewed to help you to get all the information you need.
This is a good example of our armed services respecting the religions of our service men and women. The story is well written and very respectful of this not so popular religion and also shows that efforts made to accommodate all religions in our military.
I was quite impressed with the author's neutrality. I did not think I could write about this subject with such objectivity until the author points out that it is not an issue of religious tolerance, but of first ammendment rights. I could argue that witches and druids have first ammendment rights. But I could never objectively write about paganism as a legitimate faith. This is because, all modern paganism is a reconstruction. At least written religions have the credence of a body of followers believing in A single consistant thing throughout a period of time. It seems that all followers of New Age "religions" take the attitude: We have freedom of religion, so we're not only going to believe what we want, we're gonna be super-rebellious and make up a religion to piss of the man!
Can't we just assume that freedom OF religion also means freedom FROM religious nuts of all kinds?
to write on any religion topic, it is important to be biased in the situation. she did a great job of doing this and explaining the religion. to write this story she needed to talk to alot of people and sift through information that was fact or ficition. she wrote a good story about a very unique topic.
The author of this feature did her best to try not to step on any toes, yet still makes it known that this particular topic is quite open to sarcasm and/or skepticism. The fact that she had two seemingly polar opposite interviewees, (the Pagan cadet and the Chaplain) gives her story much more clout but in order to completely round out this type of article, she shouldv'e added maybe someone with negative attitudes towards this religious expansion.
She did a great job of reporting the sotry without judgement. I think that it is hard to write in an unbiased manner about stories that contain beliefs or morals that do not necessarily aling with ones own. She portrayed the beliefs in a positive light on the same level of other religions.
It's very important to allow the subjects to speak for themselves. That which is not widely known, can be easy to misunderstand. This can lead to unintentional bias and judgment. She did a great job of letting the people speak for themselves, and tactfully tackled a potentially touchy subject.
The author did a great job respecting this not so popular religion. When writing on religion, it is important to try as much as possible to not offend any memebers of the religion. Easier said than done.
I like how she interviewed the Pagan cadet and the Chaplain.e By doing so she was able to tell the story through two totally different perspectives. Even though this religion is viewed as a joke to some, the reporter told a story without stepping on anyones toes.
Post a Comment