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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
CHICAGO — Don’t ask me to explain nuclear science, but I can offer intelligent insight on a few subjects.
The beauty of baseball. My love for Chick-fil-A. News coverage of natural disasters.
In my 35-year journalism career, my role as a reporter has exposed me to way too many tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires, as I noted earlier this year.
I traveled to the Windy City this week to share my experience at the Associated Church Press annual convention. Rebecca Snyder, the faith-based journalist group’s executive director, invited me to tackle two key questions:
— “How can journalists cover natural disasters without exploiting the tragedy?”
— “Are there practical tips for going to disaster-affected sites and producing quality pieces?”
In response to the first question, I proposed a few simple ideas. They all mostly revolved around the same biblical principle: the Golden Rule.
Not familiar with that rule? It’s best summarized by Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Photo by Adelle M. Banks
