What’s it like to be a religion correspondent? Is the religion beat still worth pounding?

To find out, listen to this excellent talk from The Times Religion  correspondent Ruth Gledhill.

She  makes a very good case that the subject is central to any modern news organisation, and, by implication, something journalism schools should be looking at with their students.

Pressing the point
Pedagogy aside, the talk is entertaining and very thought-provoking. Her opening is brilliant:

“The only place the press is mentioned in the Bible is in Luke 19 when Zacchaeus the tax collector has to climb a tree to see Jesus because of the crowds. The King James Version renders this: ‘he couldn’t see because of the press’.”

Spreading the word
And it did  make me think that maybe j-schools are missing something here. Too many of our debates are about how to deliver content, rather than about what content to deliver. So:

• Are we neglecting this and other similar subjects?
• Are we following an agenda that’s too narrow, driven by things like accreditation criteria?
• Should we be trying to find space to bring issues like this to the curriculum?

Thoughts?