Well, this is it.
Sort of.
After nearly a decade of contributing to GetReligion — some 1,500 posts in all — this is my last official one in my old role of writing four posts a week.
In the new year, I’ll be transitioning to a new role writing a weekly column for Religion Unplugged, an online news magazine funded by TheMediaProject.org. My move coincides with the downsizing of GetReligion that editor Terry Mattingly announced a few weeks ago.
Basically, tmatt will be doing GetReligion part-time again, like in the old days, operating in a partnership with the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi. Familiar names will still be here, only in smaller roles.
A little personal news: I’m changing part-time jobs (while remaining with my full-time gig as editor of The Christian Chronicle).
After nearly 10 years of contributing to @GetReligion, I’ll begin writing a weekly column on media and religion for @ReligionMag, effective Jan. 1.
— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) December 10, 2019
But here’s the good news (or the bad, depending on one’s perspective): I’ll still be around. GetReligion and Religion Unplugged share some content, and tmatt plans to republish my new column here. I’ll share a bit more about that column in a moment.
First, though, some reflection: I was a GetReligion reader before I became a GetReligion contributor. In 2010, I heard that GetReligion was looking for someone with Godbeat experience to write a few posts a week. Before joining The Christian Chronicle, I had served as religion editor at The Oklahoman and covered religion for The Associated Press. Plus, I loved GetReligion’s emphasis on informed, balanced coverage of religion news. So I emailed tmatt to express my interest.
My time at GetReligion has allowed me to work with so many wonderful people, including Sarah Pulliam Bailey, George Conger, Julia Duin, Dawn Eden, Brad Greenberg, Mark Hemingway, Mollie Hemingway, Mark Kellner, Douglas LeBlanc, Clemente Lisi, Richard Ostling (my former AP colleague), Ira Rifkin and, obviously, tmatt. For a while, my wife, Tamie Ross, was a part of the team. If I missed anybody, I apologize. As I age, I’m afraid I’m losing brain cells as well as hair.
From the beginning of my time with GetReligion, I think tmatt had concerns that I was too nice to be a media critic. My first practice post for him was a positive one, so he asked me to do another one on a story that I felt needed more balance or had some essential holes in the facts. I must have passed that test because he gave me this opportunity.
Over the years, I probably developed a niche as the “good cop” at GetReligion. I struggled to produce the kind of edgy opinions that drive up click counts. My inclination to present all sides in an impartial manner makes me an excellent reporter but, at times, not necessarily a terrific blogger. Despite this, tmatt played to my strengths, such as encouraging me to develop the “Friday Five.” Eventually, my role grew to four posts a week — as GetReligion added more and more content that wasn’t pure media criticism.
There were certain topics that often got my dander up: Religious liberty. Chick-fil-A. Baseball.
I suspect all three of those subjects will make their way into my new column at Religion Unplugged. That column will be called “Weekend Plug-in.” Each week, it’ll open with my analysis of a major religion story. Other standing features will include top religion stories of the week and “behind the bylines” news about journalists who cover religion.
Hot takes? Probably not, although I might make an exception if my beloved Texas Rangers ever win the World Series.
Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash
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