Blog 4

In chapters three and four of People of Faith, John Schmalzbauer writes about how Christians work in the secular fields of journalism and academics. Basing his observations on personal interviews, he notes that, sadly, some professionals keep their faith completely out of their work. Other journalists, however, do not and connect their faith to their work using what Schmalzbauer refers to as “multivocal bridging language.” Such bridging language includes the language of justice and peace and that of intellectual refinement.

Under the language of justice and peace, Schmalzbauer cites journalist Coleman McCarthy as an example. In their one-on-one interview, McCarthy states that he likes to “write about people who are on the margins, who are voiceless…and I do what I can to align myself with their hopes for reform, or to ease their suffering somehow. I think that’s a legitimate use of your journalistic skills.” I absolutely agree with this assessment. This is one good way – if not the best way – for me to live out my faith while working as a journalist. As a Christ follower, my job is to do whatever I can to help those less fortunate than I am. And as a Christian journalist, this involves giving a voice to the downtrodden, to the overlooked and to the otherwise inaudible voices in our society.

Stemming from this idea, as McCarthy touches on, I can also live out my faith through my Christian duty to seek social justice for those who cannot. Jeremiah 22:3 says, “Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed.” And Micah 6:8 tells us that “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Clearly, God is a God of justice; therefore, I believe it is my responsibility to champion justice as well. For me, this means seeking out the truth no matter the cost and, again, giving a voice to those who would not otherwise have one.

Finally, I can live out my faith in the secular journalism field by bringing a biblical worldview into my reporting. That said, this does not necessarily mean using my writing as a pulpit. As NBC reporter Lester Holt told The Christian Chronicle in 2005, “My place as both a Christian and a journalist is not to judge. If I give voice to all relevant sides of an issue or debate, with proper context and perspective, then the viewers can formulate their own opinions.” Instead, having a biblical worldview means reporting and interpreting through a God-centered filter in which God’s truth is the standard by which everything should be compared, but communicating it in the language of the culture without departing from the truth.

Approaching secular journalism from this perspective, I believe that God will provide both the means and the audience to witness His love and justice.

Blog 3 – Interview with a professional journalist

Note: So, I know we were supposed to think big, and I did. Last week I emailed and called (that is, when I could find a phone number) a number of journalists at three different papers (The L.A. Times, O.C. Register, and The Tennessean – since I want to intern in that state). However, I still haven't heard back from any of them. And since I was stuck in Arrowhead taking care of my little brother during my parent's 25th anniversary trip, I had to think a little smaller. So hopefully that is okay.
__________________________________________________
For this blog, I interviewed Mary-Justine Lanyon, editor of the Mountain News – a newspaper serving the San Bernardino Mountains. Originally an English major, Mrs. Lanyon planned to be an English teacher. However, that “fell by the wayside” and she eventually fell into writing. Now, she says, she loves it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Do you feel journalism is your calling?

I do now. I planned to be an English teacher, but that fell by the wayside a long time ago. And then I kind of fell into writing. What I love most about this job is getting to meet all the people that I get to meet and getting to tell their stories. Because that’s what journalism is – good or bad – telling people’s story.

What is your philosophy of Journalism?

Well, I think…I’ll start with a story: One of the things I cover here is the Lake Arrowhead Community Services district. And after I was here a while and covering their meetings, the person who was president at the time commented to my publisher that she thought my coverage of the meetings was very objective and very fair, and she seemed a little bit surprised. And I was astonished because here I thought that’s what my job was. Everyone has their own opinions, but as a journalist you can’t inflict that upon an article – that’s for your editorial. But I guess she’d had experience with someone who couldn’t separate themselves from the article. So, I guess my philosophy is to be as fair and objective as I can and to just tells as many stories as I can.

So, do you think what you do as a journalist matters? How?

Oh, I think it matters a great deal – just speaking for the people on the mountain. Right after the 2007 fires, I went to all the recovery meetings they had and tried to digest all this information that was truly overwhelming. And I felt this strong sense of responsibility to get the information and deliver it in as uncomplicated a way as possible to help people. So it matters for important information and for smaller things as well.

Do you think God shows up in your work?

Um, God does show up. A lot of people up here feel a strong connection to God and often mention God. So, I mean, it’s not something we go seeking, but it does show up and that’s what the person feels so that’s what we’re going to report. But I don’t put my own faith into my work because that wouldn’t be appropriate. Although, maybe I can report on certain people more easily because I do understand what they’re saying.

Do you believe God is real to people in your profession?

Well that’s a very personal thing, so it depends. But when you’re reporting – whether God’s real to you or not – if He’s real to the person you’re interviewing then that should come out in your story.