Lamenting the loss of religion writers at newspapers

Terry Mattingly has written an excellent column on the cutbacks of religion writers at newspapers. The layoff of one of the best - Mark Pinsky - as part of cuts at the Orlando Sentinel prompted the blog post at Get Religion. 

An excerpt also notes why blogs cannot - and should not - replace newspapers:

The problem, of course, is that there is more religion news out there than ever, not less, and the beat is getting more complex, not less.

On one level, we have to see this religion-beat crisis as a reflection of what is happening in the news industry. There is no painless way to cut a shrinking pie. Yet, of course, the news pie is not shrinking. It’s changing into forms that do not include solid, workable forms of advertising. A key element of American public life and discourse is hanging, twisting slowly in the wind, waiting for someone to create an ad form more winsome than those pop-up mini-monsters that we all hate so much.

However, do not click “comment” and tell me that you get all the news you need from the Internet and from blogs.

It takes real money to pay people to report and edit real information. Most of what happens in weblogs — like this one, frankly — is secondary writing and criticism. We are all like those little fish stuck on the flanks of big sharks. Someone has to fund the shark, which does the real hunting.

Springsteen Lyric of the Day - Gypsy Biker

"The speculators made their money on the blood you shed
Your momma's pulled the sheets up off your bed."

"To him that threw you away, you ain't nothing but gone."

Making Ideas a Reality

A friend once told me that I had more ideas in an hour than he had in a year. The problem with that, of course, is I have a tendency to not know which one to work on - or to start on one than then become fascinated with another. As a result, few are accomplished in a way that I hope. I found this blog post helpful today.

Now to see if I can apply it. :-)

This is from copyblogger

Seven Ways to Battle Productivity Brain Drain

Too many ideas at once dig into your mental and physical energy resources just as credit cards dig into your money. Too much mental spending creates debt, leaving you with a mess and feeling overwhelmed trying to stay afloat.

Financial advisors have the perfect solution. These number-crunching pros have strategies that reduce conventional debt, and these can also help reduce and eliminate idea debt and brain drain. You’ll restore some balance in your life and actually get things done with these seven adapted strategies.

1. Cut up your mental credit cards. People who want to reduce debt cut up the tools that let them accumulate more debt. The same applies to entrepreneurs – cut off new, incoming ideas. Write those ideas on a list you can set aside (you don’t want to forget them, after all.) Come back to the list when life is back in order.

2. Uncover the real expense. You probably have a ton of great ideas. When you put those ideas into words on a list, it can be surprising to realize just how much work might be involved. Make a list of each project, all related tasks and subtasks, and get the big picture of just how much your ideas cost you.

3. Budget your mental spending. With the big picture and the (long) list of everything each project requires, it’s easier to see where you need to cut back the unnecessary expenses that cost you time. Cut the spending, and apply the savings to your mental debts.

4. Pay more than the minimum. If the bill comes in and you only pay what’s necessary to stay in good credit, it takes a long, long time to eliminate the debts – and you also rack up interest, making the debt harder to pay off. When you work a little on multiple projects, their progress is slow and you become more tired plugging away.

5. Reduce one debt at a time. Financial experts suggest tackling one debt fiercely (usually the one with the highest interest) to eliminate it before working on eliminating the next debt. Do the same with your focus and time – pick one project and work on eliminating all the tasks to reach the goal. Then move on.

6. Don’t spend what you don’t have. People wake up when families are a mess, partners are complaining and kids are neglected. These people suddenly realize they didn’t have the available time to commit to their ideas the first place. Know how much time you have, and don’t commit more than you can invest safely.

7. Pay yourself first. If all your time goes to your business, you never have a moment to just relax and do something else. Rest your brain and set aside a chunk of time for something besides business.

National Recovery Month in September

Do any churches or other organizations have plans in connection with National Recovery Month?

Embarrassed by ABC

Being a member of the journalist community, I have often been the one that friends and acquaintances will direct their comments disparaging the media. I guess because they don't have anyone else to whom they may vent. I generally have tried to defend my brothers and sisters of the fourth estate, but that continues to be more difficult.

The latest embarrassment was the recent ABC News debate between Clinton and Obama. I kept yelling at the TV, "Are you kidding me!" and "What the ...." as I heard one stupid question after another being asked. The media keep saying the candidates are out of touch with the American people, but it is the media that won't let the real debate go forward because of their focus on the inane.  

Frank Rich of the NY Times has written an excellent column today.

Gospel according to bruce worship service

The pastor of Grace Church United Methodist in Greensboro, NC, is preaching four weeks using texts from a Bruce Springsteen song each week.

He began using words from "Hungry Heart." Others to be used in the coming week a "Brilliant Disguise," "My City of Ruins" and "Devils and Dust."

From the article in the Greensboro News-Record:
..."But what's compelling to Brown at the moment is being able to tap into Springsteen's "absolutely incredible gift" to describe the struggles of human beings. Brown is using the opportunity to turn to the teachings of Jesus to find positive ways to deal with those struggles.

"The sermon series might seem unusual, but it's not an unreasonable stretch, says Kate McCarthy, a religion professor at California State University at Chico , whose work includes "God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture."

"Springsteen's music, though secular, has deep religious roots," McCarthy says. "From his earliest records, he has employed themes of sin and atonement, forgiveness, transcendence and liberation to make sense of contemporary American life."

Linda Randall , whose master's thesis at Wake Forest University is on Springsteen and his spirituality, has seen him perform around the world 30 times. In Sunday's audience, she agrees with Brown's assessment of the things people long for, including those connections with each other.

"The connection is the need humans have to be a part of something, to feel community, to connect," Randall says.

(From Hungry Heart)
"Everybody needs a place to rest
"Everybody wants to have a home
"Don't make no differences what nobody says
"Ain't nobody like to be alone."

"Many of us feel lonelier than ever in the digital world, where we don't have to move from our keyboards, don't have to interact with real, living humans," Randall says. "To find people we can relate to as well as trust is something precious."

Springsteen Lyric of the Day - devils&dust

I got God on my side
And I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love
Fear's a powerful thing, baby
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
And fill it with devils and dust

- Devils & Dust

Image NY Times

Journalists turn to live blogging

Live blogging is helping journalists to become better writers and reporters, say some of the practitioners. Others fear that concentrating on blogs takes away from the main story. I wonder how many people keep up with live blogs. Do people watch and event on TV and closely follow the live blog, do they watch the event and then return to the blog?

This article is taken from one of my daily must-read sites.

Springsteen Lyric of the Day

Everybody's got a secret, Sonny,
Something that they just can't face,
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it,
They carry it with them every step that they take.
Till some day they just cut it loose
Cut it loose or let it drag 'em down,
Where no one asks any questions,
or looks too long in your face,
In the darkness on the edge of town.

-Darkness on the Edge of Town
View the video