My journalist son Keaton and I were watching the vice presidential debate Wednesday night when he burst out laughing.
“Is that a fly on Mike Pence’s head?” my 23-year-old son wondered out loud.
I glanced up from the Words With Friends game on my iPad and squinted at the TV.
“It sure looks like it,” I said.
We both rushed to check Twitter. Confirmation of our suspicion came quickly. And suddenly, a nation weighted down by too much heavy news had a reason to giggle again.
My hard-hitting journalism for the day up on @Sojourners: https://t.co/DF7bw3KTt3
— Jenna Barnett (@jennacbarnett) October 8, 2020
The New York Times dutifully reported:
Vice President Mike Pence, his hair perfectly coiffed, never reacted to the fly’s appearance on the right side of his head. It stood out against his bright white hair, standing still for the most part but moving around slightly before, well, flying away.
A local TV news reporter from California clocked the fly’s screen time on Mr. Pence’s head at 2 minutes, 3 seconds.
Despite the buzz that it created, the fly did not respond to an interview request. However, America’s most famous insect did start a viral social media account.
Please don’t whack me with a fly swatter, but that “spiritual ramifications” title at the top of this week’s column was clickbait.
If that bugs you, though, Sojourners’ Jenna Barnett has you covered with “5 Bible verses about flies.” See, there’s always a religion angle. Even with Flygate.
Concerning the actual debate, Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris clashed briefly over religious belief. Religion Unplugged’s Timothy Nerozzi delves into the specifics.
Before we proceed, let’s end this portion of Weekend Plug-in with an appropriate hymn.
I wanted to find out how the coronavirus was affecting worship attendance in Tennessee. Thankfully, @USATODAY data reporter @dian_zhang_ new how to measure it with @SafeGraph cellphone data. https://t.co/NuQwYbqd8v
— Holly Meyer (@HollyAMeyer) October 7, 2020
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. COVID-19 is changing how Tennessee churches reach people online as in-person attendance lags: What happens when a top religion writer and a talented data reporter collaborate?
You end up with a compelling trend story like this one by The Tennessean’s Godbeat pro Holly Meyer and USA Today numbers guru Dian Zhang.
For more insight on the pandemic’s impact on churches, check out this story by Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana. “Most congregations are doing all right during COVID-19,” the RNS article notes. “But the future is uncertain.”
2. Amy Coney Barrett’s People of Praise ties highlight charismatic Christianity: Washington Post religion writer Sarah Pulliam Bailey offers a helpful primer on “a sprawling, sometimes misunderstood movement that started in the early 20th century and continues to spread rapidly all over the world.”
Doctrine is crucial to reporting on the Supreme Court nominee’s ties to a charismatic lay community, and Bailey nails that aspect of the story.
CONTINUE READING “The Spiritual Ramifications Of The Fly That Landed On Mike Pence’s Head” by Bobby Ross Jr.
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