As newspapers continue to shrink and reduce staff, too often the first to go are religion reporters. Religion stories are now covered by general news reporters, many of whom don't know much about the nuances of religion reporting.
But the good news is that there are an increasing number of blogs by current or former religion reporters that are a good source of news and perspective. Here is a list of some I've come across. If you know of others I should be aware of, please post them in the comments section, I'd love to check them out.
Top on my list is GetReligion which reports on how the media covers religion news, when it gets the story right and, frequently when it gets it wrong. It's edited by Terry Mattingly of the Scripps Howard News Service, with frequent posts by a group of able journalists.
Religion News Blog, published by Religion News Service, has a daily roundup of religion stories in the news that's good for a quick overview.
CNN's Belief Blog has reporting by Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, with frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.
USA Today hosts Cathy Lynn Grossman's Faith and Reason.
The Washington Post's Under God features religion reporters Michelle Boorstein and William Wan focusing on religion's impact on politics, policy, and government; along with Elizabeth Tenety, who writes about religion's impact on popular culture.
Manya Brachear writes The Seeker for the Chicago Tribune.
Texas Faith at The Dallas Morning News focuses on Texas stories, many of which are of larger national interest.
At the Austin American-Statesman, Joshunda Sanders writes Of Sacred and Secular.
Arkansas Online, associated with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette has Bible Belt Blogger by religion editor Frank Lockwood.
Brad Greenberg writes The God Blog at the Jewish Journal in Los Angeles.
Bill Tammeus, former faith columnist for The Kansas City Star, writes Faith Matters.
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly's religion blog features a variety of authors and content.
Peter Smith at the Louisville Courier-Journal is a long-time religion reporter.
Finally, for a Canadian perspective, Charles Lewis at The National Post edits Holy Post.
Duane Shank is senior policy advisor at Sojourners.
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