You can read it at The Washington Post. And at ABC News. And at the Charlotte Observer. And at many other news sites.
Yonat Shimron’s Religion News Service story this week on Megan Lively — headlined “The cost of coming forward: 1 survivor’s life after #MeToo” — is “out in wide release, thanks to our friends at The Associated Press,” notes RNS editor-in-chief Bob Smietana.
AP distribution of RNS content is, of course, part of the big partnership between the news organizations funded by an 18-month, $4.9 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. announced earlier this year.
An AP editor’s note on Shimron’s piece points out:
This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story.
That seems like an improvement on the note appended to the first RNS story (“US Latinos are no longer majority-Catholic, here's why” by Alejandra Molina) that AP distributed recently:
EDS: This story was supplied by Religion News Service for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.
RNS stories always have been distributed on the wire, but only a certain number of newspapers have subscribed to that content. The partnership with AP dramatically expands RNS’ reach, which is good news for the Godbeat. Smietana told me he expects a few RNS stories a week to be shared by AP.
Now, let’s dive into the Friday Five:
1. Religion story of the week: Speaking of AP, I posted Thursday on a lovely story by veteran journalist Ted Anthony exploring how Mister Rogers’ faith echoes in his hometown of Pittsburgh.
The feature is tied, of course, to today’s opening of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” starring Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers.
Read my post for more insight on the AP story as well as links to our resident expert Terry Mattingly’s recent commentary and podcast on the religion of Mr. Rogers.
2. Most popular GetReligion post: Chick-fil-A was back in the news this week, but this time conservative Christians weren’t praising the fast-growing chicken sandwich chain. Instead, they were raising concerns about it.
Our top post was my analysis headlined “As Chick-fil-A capitulates, should press characterize Salvation Army and FCA as anti-LGBTQ?”
3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): Here’s one more Mister Rogers-related feature that’s worth a read.
In a piece for Sojourners, award-winning religion journalist Kimberly Winston talks to journalist Tom Junod about the “spiritual genius” of Tom Junod.
Her lede gets right to the bare truth:
Not every journalist can say they’ve seen Mr. Rogers naked. But Tom Junod beheld the late children’s television host in all his 143-lb. glory when he spent a summer trailing him, even to the locker room of the gym where Mr. Rogers swam every day.
That unlimited access resulted in “Can You Say . . . 'Hero?'” Junod’s 1998 Esquire magazine cover story of the man whose cuddly, stuffed animal voice and slow charm helped raised half the kids in this country, including this reporter. The story is the basis of the new Sony film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers, which opens in theaters on Nov. 22.
Like the magazine story, the film explores Rogers’ quiet spirituality. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister who saw children’s television as his ministry. But on occasion, he would adopt adults as “projects,” and Junod, who was in his 30s when he met Rogers, became the focus of the older man’s prayers and guidance. They were friends for four years, until Rogers’ death from stomach cancer in 2003.
4. Shameless plug: I traveled to East Texas this past weekend to join my colleague Hamil Harris — who spent 24 years with the Washington Post — in covering the funeral of a trailblazing African American minister.
After I returned home, I was inspired to write a narrative on the “story behind the story.”
I’d be honored if you’d give it a read.
5. Final thought: Um, OK. Moving right along, Mr. Curmudgeon.
Happy Friday, everybody! Enjoy the weekend!