I recently was interviewed by Dr. Alfonse Javed, host of the podcast Our Urban Voices. We spoke about the necessity of religious literacy in reporting on this often-troubled region, and how I go about my job. It runs about 35 minutes, and the topics are listed by timestamp, below.
Additionally, Isabella Meibauer interviewed me (among others) on a similar topic for her article in IJNet, “Tips for Reporting Ethically and Accurately from Abroad.”
Please click here for the link to the podcast, and click here for the link to the article. It is our privilege as journalists to represent the perspectives of our sources. Thanks for your interest, from time to time, in what we think as well.
Timestamped Show Notes:
01:41 – Topic: The Importance of Representing all Views in Journalism
01:50 – Family, from America to Lebanon
03:39 – A Day in the Life of a Journalist
06:59 – Reporting Complexities Fairly
08:56 – Representing 2% of Population
10:04 – What is Sympathetic Reporting?
10:28 – Hope, Reflection and Prayer
13:28 – Handling an Accusation of Bias
16:22 – Religion Impacting News in the Middle East
18:05 – Religion a Factor in Community Relations
18:23 – Religion a Factor in Politics
20:37 – Christians in the Middle East and Diaspora
21:37 – Relations Between Christian and Muslim Communities in the Middle East
23:17 – Religious Identity and Neighborliness
24:02 – Surprised by Christians in the Middle East
25:26 – Christians in Egypt
27:10 – Learning about the Middle Eastern Culture
27:46 – Cheaper Way to ‘Travel’ to the Middle East
28:04 – Middle Eastern Hospitality
28:22 – Connecting Middle Eastern Christians to Americans
29:17 – Contacting Jayson Casper
30:45 – Joke: A Sheikh and Albert Einstein
Jayson Casper 
One reply on “Don’t Forget Religion: The Middle East and Journalism”
Jayson, I listened to this interview, you did a good job as usual. david
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